(NASCAR)—Columbia’s Carl Edwards claims his ninth top-ten finish in fourteen races on the NASCAR tour, coming home eighth at Pocono.  The race, won by Kurt Busch in fuel-saving mode, was rained out on Sunday, the first race rainout of the year.

carlpocono (nascar)

Edwards started fifth, ran a solid race although he never led, and finished eighth.  He’s third in the points standings for drivers eligible for the championship chase at the end of the season.

Joplin native Jamie McMurray, who has never found Pocono a particularly friendly track, started 26th and crossed the line 17th.  He continues to run among the top sixteen drivers in overall points, at 14th. The top sixteen drivers are eligible for the ten-race chase after the first 26 races of the season.

Edwards, McMurray, and the rest of the NASCAR drivers, will run next at Michigan. Edwards has wins there in 2007 and 2008 and fourteen top-ten finishes in 23 races. McMurray has struggled at Michigan, finishing in the top ten only five times in 26 events.

(photo credit: NASCAR)

-Bob Priddy, Contributing Editor