Carl Edwards won his seventh race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, but points leader Jimmie Johnson increased his lead in his quest for a third consecutive Nascar championship. Johnson roared from 11th place to second in the final eight laps of the event to boost his points lead to 183 over Edwards with three races remaining. "We just fought, fought and fought to get back," Johnson said. "So I am leaving here very happy. It's almost like a win today."
Johnson had dropped as low as 30th when he received a penalty for speeding on pit road. Edwards, who had been fourth in the points race before this race win, did a back flip in the pitlane after his victory, but his mood changed after learning of Johnson's late-race surge. He said: "I could have done without that. Jimmie is an awesome competitor." Denny Hamlin finished third, followed by Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch.
Greg Biffle, who had been second to Johnson in the points race, finished 10th. * Reuters
