Carl Edwards Pulls Out Late Win at Darlington
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Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images(DARLINGTON, S.C.) — Carl Edwards won for the second time this season, taking the lead with eight laps to go in a caution-filled Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday.
Edwards had lost two laps early in the race after deciding to stay on the course with old tires when the rest of the leading cars headed to pit road under caution on Lap 62. That decision resulted in Edward having to pit early on Lap 89 when Michael Annett’s crash trapped him two laps down. But a speedy pit stop under the 18th caution of the night — a track record — helped Edwards get in position to pull ahead after a restart with eight laps to go in the race.
The race was run with NASCAR’s new low-downforce aerodynamic package, which suited Edwards just fine. “I don’t think I can get in trouble for how much I liked it, but I loved it — this is as good as it gets,” Edwards said according to NASCAR.com. “This is what it’s about. We’re sliding cars, tires are falling off — this is the style of racing — if there’s any chance we can run this in the Chase, I hope we can do it. It was an awesome day.”
NASCAR will run its standard competition package throughout the Chase this season.
Edwards’ Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Kyle Busch also had a good night. After missing 11 races to injury, Busch locked up a slot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup with a seventh-place finish.
Here are the top 10 drivers in the Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina:
1. Carl Edwards
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Joey Logano
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Kurt Busch
7. Kyle Busch
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
9. Martin Truex Jr.
10. Kyle Larson
Here’s an updated look at the standings:
Kevin Harvick — 948 points
Joey Logano — 906 points
Dale Earnhardt Jr. — 855 points
Brad Keselowski — 837 points
Jimmie Johnson — 817 points
Martin Truex Jr. — 806 points
Matt Kenseth — 776 points
Denny Hamlin — 754 points
Kurt Busch — 752 points
Jamie McMurray — 726 points
Ryan Newman — 714 points
Carl Edwards — 713 points
Jeff Gordon — 700 points
Paul Mendard –692 points
Clint Bowyer — 682 points
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