Carl Edwards Shines at Ill-Lit Gateway International Raceway

Saturday night's "racing under the lights" took on a new meaning at the NASCAR Nationwide series race, especially since there were no lights! 

The Gateway International Raceway experienced a major power outage and was in the dark for quite some time before the race began. Even when the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 finally got underway, the track lights were only partially on, while pit road was totally in the dark.

Teams scrambled to find old signboards to write messages to their drivers and to find goggles and helmets that were lighted for pit stops destined to take place in total darkness. NASCAR scrambled to place officials around the track with yellow flags since the caution lights were also inoperable.

The race officially began under partial lighting, with the drivers agreeing that they could see well enough to race. Jamie McMurray, with a pole speed of over 133 mph on his qualifying lap, brought the field to the green in the semi-darkness.

NASCAR then wisely threw a competition yellow at lap 22 because of the lighting situation.  They wanted to ensure that all racers could pit safely, given the lighting conditions. At lap 25, however, the power was restored and all of the lights finally shone brightly at the track.

As bizarre as the lighting problems were, the race was filled with major crashes.  One five-car accident involving Landon Cassill, Mike Bliss, Reed Sorenson, and Steven Wallace, resulted in a very hard hit into the wall for Scott Wimmer.

Fortunately, thanks to the improved safety in the cars and the safer barriers outside the cars, all drivers were able to walk away unharmed. The race was, however, red flagged as order was restored. The field then returned to racing with 84 laps to go.

And then it happened again...the lights went out. NASCAR threw another competition yellow on lap 72 to ensure the safety of all on the track.

When the lights were restored, and the field returned to green, it was all about hometown hero Carl Edwards, who took the lead from Jason Leffler and flew into Victory Lane to share his traditional, but crowd pleasing, back flip.

This was Edward’s second win at the track, and was a sweet one for him, having grown up in the area and racing often on this track. Joey Logano, Joe Gibbs Racing's protégé ,and potential heir to the Tony Stewart ride in 2009, came in second.

The two Jasons, Keller and Leffler, came in third and fourth, respectively. Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s young gun, rounded out the top five.