Fifteen years ago, Iowa Speedway hosted one of the wildest and strangest finishes in NASCAR history.
On 6 August 2011, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series contested the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. The race was dominated by Roush cars, with Carl Edwards and teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. combining to lead 134 of 250 laps.
Things got a bit tense between the teammates, and they even made contact while battling side-by-side late in the race. At the time, they were fighting over third place. A subsequent caution allowed both drivers to regroup and refocus on the chequered flag.
On the ensuing restart, they resumed their side-by-side fight directly behind leader Elliott Sadler. And with 22 laps to go, Sadler slid up the track, allowing Stenhouse to pull up alongside. Edwards also seized the opportunity, diving beneath Stenhouse as the trio went three-wide for the lead.
Once again, contact was made, but Edwards backed out to avoid an incident. The last thing Jack Roush wanted to see was both of his cars torn up when they were in position to bring home a 1-2 finish.
They ultimately managed both: destroying the cars while still finishing first and second. However, it was not a case of teammates overdriving and running into each other. No, it was much weirder than that.
Stenhouse pulled away as the laps ticked by, and he held nearly a second lead at the white flag. But in a moment that felt like it was plucked straight out of a Hollywood movie, Stenhouse was exiting the final corner with the checkered flag in sight -- and then, boom.
The engine detonated on the No. 6 Ford, spilling fluid and billowing smoke everywhere. Edwards rapidly approached, but was both struggling to maintain control in the oil slick and blinded by the smoke. Mere feet from the finish line, Edwards slammed into the back of Stenhouse's car, lifting the rear off the ground and ironically giving him the momentum he needed to cross the finish line.
Stenhouse crashed to the right and Edwards to the left, with both damaged Roush cars spinning across the line as the crowd erupted. Stenhouse climbed out of his destroyed car, stood on the roof and celebrated the wild win. He then rode a safety truck back to Victory Lane.
"I thought, no big deal, I'll drive around him," said Edwards after the race. "And then he started to turn a little bit and when I tried to turn more, the front tires just were sliding. I hoped by the time I got to him, that he would be out of the way. That was my only hope to win the race, but I don't think anyone has ever finished 1-2 with two torn up race cars like that."
Stenhouse focused more on the tense battle that preceded the dramatic finish, saying of the duel with his teammate: "I was aggressive there at the end. You gotta do what you gotta do to win. I wasn't going to let another one slip by us. He kind of ran us up the race track there at Turn 4. When I got by him, he crossed us over and ran us up the race track, so I wasn't about to back down."
The official margin was only 0.066 seconds, but that number barely begins to explain one of the most extraordinary finishes in NASCAR history. The complete final lap can be watched below:
