Carl Edwards' final race with Roush ends in disappointment

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Carl Edwards' final race with Roush Fenway Racing was as disappointing as the second half of his final season with the team.

Edwards encountered a flat right rear tire and hit the wall on Lap 115 of the 267-lap race Sunday and never recovered, finishing four laps down in 34th place in the Ford EcoBoost 400, the NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Edwards announced in July that he'd be leaving RFR at the end of the season. It was later revealed that he would be joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015.

In those final 16 lame-duck races with RFR after his announcement at the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis, Edwards had a troublesome time. His best finish was fifth — at Watkins Glen International, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway — but he still managed to make it into the Chase, thanks to wins at Bristol Motor Speedway and Sonoma Raceway before the announcement.

However, he failed to advance out of the Eliminator round (third round) of the Chase and finished ninth in the final Sprint Cup standings.

In 11 years with Jack Roush's Cup team and the No. 99 Ford, Edwards won 23 races and finished runner-up in Cup championships in 2008 and 2011.

"It's been an honor to work with everyone here," Edwards said. "If it weren't for Jack Roush and Ford and everybody that's worked so hard, I definitely would never have had all the success we've had. The 99 (car) will always be a part of my life."

Edwards said he thought someone else had lost an engine when his tire blew.

"I heard a noise and thought, 'Oh, somebody's engine is blowing up,' " Edwards said. "It was my tire flapping. I just drove in there and backed into the fence. If I would been a little bit quicker realizing what was going wrong, I think we would have still had a good finish, but I had a good time."

Sunday's finale also marked the retirement of crew chief Jimmy Fennig, who is leaving the pit box. He has 38 career wins in Cup and spent the past two seasons with Edwards.

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PHOTOS: Carl Edwards through the years