LOUDON - In his first New England race driving the No. 99 Red Sox Ford, Carl Edwards fell victim to a Bill Buckner moment.

Edwards was running in the top two in yesterday's Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway when he entered the pits under a green flag on lap 193, having moved up significantly from his starting spot at 22. But his car slipped off the jack, and what was supposed to be a quick stop turned into 47 seconds of agony. By the time Edwards's crew got the car boosted back up and the tires changed, he was a lap down.

He rallied to finish 13th, an appropriately unlucky number for the man representing a franchise that was so long defined by a curse.

"I don't know if I can describe how frustrated I was," Edwards said, adding "It's not a curse," a phrase with double meaning for Sox fans in attendance.

Edwards, team owner Jack Roush and NHIS owner Bob Bahre threw out the first pitch before Friday's Red Sox game against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park to mark NASCAR's first visit to New England since Sox owner John Henry teamed with Roush. The marriage was designed to help the Roush team increase its visibility among non-NASCAR fans, and to give the Sox more marketing opportunities.

There are still some kinks to be worked out.

In a television spot before yesterday's race, Edwards admitted he didn't know who wore No. 9 for the Sox. That number, which is doubled on Edwards's hood, was immortalized by Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Roush teammate David Ragan, wearing a No. 6 jersey on Friday, failed a similar history lesson when he was asked if he knew who made that number famous.

"Babe Ruth?" the rookie driver guessed.

Ruth's time with the Sox came before players wore numbers. The answer, of course, is Bill Buckner.

Weather

Temperatures during yesterday's race stayed in the mid- to upper-60s, much cooler than the historical July 1 average high of 81 degrees. The sun also stayed largely behind the clouds, keeping the track cool and helping race winner Denny Hamlin pull off his two-tire gamble at the end.

The cooler track meant Hamlin's two older tires didn't wear down as fast, a significant consideration since he beat Jeff Gordon by just .068 seconds.

"We knew it was going to be cool and overcast ... We chased that today," Mike Ford, Hamlin's crew chief, said. "Going in, if it were hot, we may have had to think about it a little harder to get two tires, but I think we would have had a better car if it were hot."

Going Green

Eight of the top 10 drivers yesterday are above the Chase for the Nextel Cup cut, and another, Ryan Newman, is one spot below the line. The surprise finisher yesterday was Jeff Green, who tied his season best with a sixth-place showing.

Single page