Stenhouse Finishes 14th, Edwards 22nd after accident
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 21, 2013) – For the second time of Daytona Speedweeks Roush Fenway’s Greg Biffle came up just short of victory, finishing second to Kevin Harvick in Thursday afternoon’s first Duel Qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway. Biffle came in second to Kevin Harvick in last Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited all-star race as well. Biffle will start Sunday’s Daytona 500 fifth based on the finish.
“I was on his bumper in three and four but you just have to have some help,” said Biffle. “You have to get that accordion affect. I knew there was a lot going on behind us so I didn’t think about backing up to the bumper of the 42 because I didn’t think that would be smart.
“You have to be in the right place at the right time,” added Biffle. “You have to get a run and have some cars with you and side draft a guy and get out front. A bunch of people wanted to know why I didn’t turn him. It doesn’t take any talent to wreck somebody for the win and wreck 20 cars behind you. You have to run as hard as you can and trade a little paint but at the same time we all have to finish.”
Unfortunately RFR’s Carl Edwards also suffered the same fate as in last Saturday’s Unlimited, getting caught up in an accident that dropped him to a 22nd-place finish in the day’s first duel. Roush Fenway’s Trevor Bayne, running in the Wood Brothers’ No. 21, led a race-high 37 laps in the Duel, before getting caught up in the same accident that ended Edwards’ day.
“I don’t know exactly what happened, ”said Edwards. It looked like Denny (Hamlin) got sideways and wrecked us. That is the fourth time we have wrecked since we have been down here. I told Jimmy we wrecked four times, so we have the black flag already and the race hasn’t even started.
“We are getting it out of our systems,” added Edwards. “Fortunately we have a really good group of guys and have a good backup car, which is our Shootout car. We will just go get them in the 500. I learned a lot. If we can just have a little luck I would not count our No. 99 team out. It will be a good race for us.”
Sprint Cup Rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was Roush Fenway’s lone entry in the second duel, finishing 14th.
Stenhouse will start 28th in Sunday’s Daytona 500, while Edwards will roll off 36th. Bayne will start 33rd.
Sunday’s (Feb. 24) Daytona 500 is set for 1:00 p.m. EST and will be televised live on FOX.
