Edwards' victory small part of bigger picture for Roush

FONTANA, Calif. -- Roush Fenway Racing might have been caught by surprise last season but it came as no surprise to anyone that Carl Edwards was the class of the field late in Monday's conclusion of the Auto Club 500.

And anybody who thought Ford teams might not have a chance in this season's championship might want to rethink that opinion. It sure looks like they've caught up -- and caught on -- to this new car.

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"Everyone has worked really hard this winter and it's paid off," Edwards said. "This is the reason we won this race [Monday], because of the preparation. I'm proud to be driving that car right now. It's a lot of fun."

Certainly things looked anything but fun for Ford at Daytona, at least when it came to the finishing order. While Toyotas, Dodges and Chevrolets clicked off laps up front, Roush's blue oval brigade wound up with two wrecked cars and Greg Biffle in 10th.

But anyone watching closely at the end of last season saw the team making strides, and it appears that Edwards could be the equal of those Rick Hendrick Chevrolets, at least when it comes to downforce tracks like California.

Of course, Auto Club Speedway has been a Roush stronghold for years -- Edwards becomes the fifth different driver to win here for the Cat in the Hat -- but this was the year that might be different for the Ford camp.

Yep, different, as in "what a difference a week makes." Or "what a difference 24 hours makes," in the case of this long night's journey into day.

Edwards' No. 99 Ford was one of the top cars in last month's testing, back when the track was known as California Speedway. And it once again came to life when the California sunshine returned, finally.

"I told my guys that we've got them right where we want them," said Edwards of the multiple delays and restarts. "This is was what we prepared for. The tougher it gets, the more competitive it is. If we had a 55-hour red flag, we're still going to go out there and race as hard as possible.

"That's what I prepare for. I enjoy that kind of stuff."

Edwards didn't enjoy Sunday's racing between the raindrops. Running no more than 10 green-flag laps at a time, Edwards never had a chance to see what his car could do. By the time the race was red flagged for the second time in the gathering gloom, Edwards was mired in ninth place.

But with some heat -- and a long green-flag run -- Edwards immediately regained the speed he had shown in testing. By Lap 120, he was up to fourth and dropped out of the top five only during pit stops. Three laps later, he led for the first time as leaders began to pit under green.

"I like to think that it didn't really matter if we raced [Sunday] night or [Monday], we had a really good car," Edwards said. "But that's part of it, we've all had to sit and wait through rain delays. We've all had things where anxiety builds up and stuff like that. It just adds another variable to it and that's fun."

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He then began to break up what up until then had been almost exclusively a 1-2 Hendrick party for Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon at the front, taking the lead from Johnson on Lap 161 and after another caution, Gordon on Lap 180.

After Jeremy Mayfield brought out the caution on Lap 221, Johnson beat the field off pit road, followed by Gordon, Jamie McMurray (who only took two tires) and Edwards. At that point, the driver of the No. 99 seemed not the least bit concerned. And with good reason.

As McMurray fell back out of contention, Edwards set his sights first on Gordon -- disposing of the No. 24 Chevrolet within six laps of the restart, then chasing down Johnson's No. 48. He went to the outside of Johnson down the front straight on Lap 237, stuck his nose ahead in Turns 1 and 2 -- and by the time the two cars hit Turn 3, Edwards was ahead for good.

"I was just trying to go wherever Jimmie wasn't and then he went where I wasn't," Edwards said. "I'm lucky that he was a little bit loose, because that would have been really, really tough to get by him if he wasn't so loose. We were very fortunate there."

So where does Roush stack up when compared to the team that finished first and second in last year's Chase? Can Monday's win be a measuring stick?

"I hope it's an indication that we've caught up with them," Edwards said. "They were still second and third [in the finishing order]. They were the guys to beat [Monday]. I hope that this is a sign that we're up to their standards, to their level. I believe we are.

"I know that last year, I would not have traded my car in for one of theirs at any of the races toward the end of the year. I thought we had the best car. I'm proud of what Jack and [crew chief Bob Osborne] and all the engineers did last year when we saw how far behind we were. That reaction and action that came after that is what got us here today."

And it wasn't just Edwards this week. Matt Kenseth wound up fifth. And Biffle and David Ragan were factors before fading late.

So Roush played catch-up to perfection on Monday at the first downforce race of the season. And that's worth thinking about, as Las Vegas now looms larger than ever.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.