U.S. Cellular 250: Stenhouse Jr. Sweeps Iowa Speedway

NEWTON, Iowa -- Roush Fenway Racing picked up another 1-2 finish at the Iowa Speedway Saturday night but this finish was far crazier than the first.

Coming out of turn four on the final lap, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., winner of the first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the Iowa Speedway in May, blew an engine, sending smoke and oil everywhere.

Stenhouse, driver of the No. 6 Rickyvs.Trevor.com car, regained control but teammate Carl Edwards, who finished second in the spring, was able to close the distance.

Nobody expected what happened after that as both cars raced to the finish line.

Edwards' No. 60 Fastenal Ford rear-ended Stenhouse, lifting the rear tires off the ground and pushing him across the finish line.

"I was doing all I could to make sure I blocked him and it paid off," said Stenhouse. "It was a good one for the fans, that's for sure."

Coming down the back stretch on the final lap, Stenhouse told crew chief Mike Kelley that the motor was letting go.

"I thought he was kidding," said Kelley. "I thought he was trying to do something to entice Carl to make one more stab at him."

Stenhouse and Edwards had been racing hard the entire night. About halfway through the race their cars made contact. Edwards was able to break away at that point.

With about 25 laps to go, the two met again and battled hard for the lead. Stenhouse was able to break away. He said they may have raced a little too hard since they're teammates.

"I felt like he ran us up the race track there in turn four and got into us and then, after that, I was going to drive as hard as I could to make sure I got back by him," said Stenhouse.

Edwards said team owner Jack Roush asked if everything was OK after the initial incident. Carl said he thought so.

"I think there was a good chance we were going to run into each other, either way," said Edwards. "But at the end of the race it ended up working out."

"Ricky is a great driver," said Edwards. "He does a great job and, man, that was just an amazing race. We'll work out any of the issues we had back at the shop."

Stenhouse, the Nationwide Series points leader, left with a 12-point lead over Reed Sorenson, who finished sixth. Sorenson collected $100,000 in the Nationwide Series Dash for Cash.

Annett, Gase run well at Iowa

On a local note, Iowans Michael Annett and Joey Gase ended the night with finishes to be proud of.

Annett, a native of Des Moines, Iowa, finished 12th. Gase, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, finished 20th in his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut.

Below are the complete results and a video of the finish that was posted to YouTube by the Iowa Speedway.

U.S. Cellular 250 Unofficial Results
1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2. Carl Edwards,
3. Elliott Sadler
4. Josh Wise
5. Aric Almirola
6. Reed Sorenson
7. Kenny Wallace
8. Steve Wallace
9. Michael McDowell
10. David Mayhew
11. Drew Herring
12. Michael Annett
13. Jason Leffler
14. Brian Scott
15. Scott Wimmer
16. Joe Nemechek
17. Jeremy Clements
18. Mike Bliss
19. Mikey Kile
20. Joey Gase
21. Timmy Hill
22. Charles Lewandoski
23. Robert Richardson Jr.
24. Sam Hornish Jr.
25. Trevor Bayne
26. Eric McClure
27. Tim Schendel
28. Blake Koch
29. Justin Allgaier
30. Derrik Cope
31. Mike Wallace
32. Morgan Shepherd
33. Jennifer Jo Cobb
34. Jamie Dick
35. Matthew Carter
36. Mike Harmon
37. Mark Green
38. Johnny Chapman
39. Chase Miller
40. Carl Long
41. Tim Andrews
42. Brian Keselowski
43. Jeff Green

Wild finish at U.S. Cellular 250