Carl Edwards extended his Sprint Cup points lead to 20 with his 11th top-10 finish of the year in Sunday’s NASCAR Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Following the race, Edwards’ crew chief, Bob Osborne, received Federal-Mogul’s MOOG Chassis Parts “Problem Solver of the Race” Award in recognition of the #99 Aflac “Now Hiring” Ford’s race-best performance improvement over the final 100 laps.
One of Sprint Cup racing’s most prestigious weekly honors, the MOOG Problem Solver Award recognizes the crew chief whose car posts the best second-half improvement in average lap speed while finishing on the lead lap. The MOOG-equipped Roush Fenway Racing-owned Ford delivered a 0.101-second-per-lap change while finishing fifth at MIS. Edwards started the day in 23rd position.
“Carl had a real rocket from the start, and his MOOG-equipped chassis helped him crack the top five within the first 45 laps. Bob and the Roush Fenway crew gave Carl an excellent car and made it better during almost every pit stop,” said Federal-Mogul Motorsports Director Tim Nelson.
Edwards seemed to be cruising to his second victory of the year after taking the lead on a Lap 164 restart. With the top 10 drivers in fuel-saving mode, Edwards held a nearly 1.5-second lead until a caution reshuffled the field with just nine laps remaining. Although disappointed with the outcome, Edwards padded his Cup points lead over Kevin Harvick and returned to form after last week’s early-race engine failure at Pocono.
In winning his second weekly MOOG Problem Solver award of 2011, Osborne moves into a tie for second place in the battle for the prestigious season-ending MOOG “Problem Solver of the Year” Award. After 15 Sprint Cup starts, Steve Letarte (#88 Chevrolet) and Gil Martin (#29 Chevrolet) lead with three weekly MOOG Problem Solver awards apiece.
For the latest news and statistics regarding the MOOG Problem Solver awards, simply click on the “NASCAR” link on the brand’s popular www.moogproblemsolver.com website. This technician-focused site also includes extensive technical information about MOOG steering and suspension components and a wide range of common chassis repair challenges. To identify the right MOOG part for virtually any application, use the convenient, free www.FMe-cat.com electronic catalog.
