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Carl Edwards wins Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte

 
Carl Edwards visits Victory Lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first time in Sprint Cup.
Carl Edwards visits Victory Lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first time in Sprint Cup.
Published May 25, 2015

CONCORD, N.C. — Carl Edwards won for the first time in 31 races — and the first time since joining Joe Gibbs Racing — moving in front 20 laps from the end to take the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night.

Edwards ended his 11-year association with Roush Fenway Racing this past offseason, hoping for bigger things with JGR.

He got it at Charlotte Motor Speedway after shuffling in front as most of his competitors needed green-flag pit stops close to the end. Most figured Edwards would stop, too, but he remained on the track and cruised to his first victory at Charlotte.

It was the 24th and perhaps the biggest Sprint Cup victory for Edwards, who hadn't won in 20 tries at Charlotte and has never won in two of NASCAR's two other showcase events, the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400.

"I just had the best guys on the pit box," Edwards said. "I can't believe we won this race."

Greg Biffle was second, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., pole-sitter Matt Kenseth of JGR and Martin Truex, who had his 11th top-10 finish in 12 events this season.

Edwards parked his car, did his signature backflip and rushed into the waiting arms of his crew, all jumping around in celebration. He climbed into the stands to grab the checkered flag before heading to victory lane.

"JGR is back," Edwards said.

The win gave JGR a Charlotte sweep after Denny Hamlin won the All-Star Race on May 16.

Hamlin looked like he might sweep on his own. He was leading when he had to pit under green with 37 laps to go due to a loose wheel. Hamlin finished eighth.

The fourth Joe Gibbs racer, new father Kyle Busch, was 11th in his first points race since breaking his right leg and left in a crash at Daytona three months ago.

Edwards joins Hamlin and Kenseth with wins this season, all figuring to make the 10-race, season-ending Chase for the Championship.

Biffle had his highest finish of the year after struggling to crack the top 10 all season. He said he tracked down Edwards despite his crew telling him to save fuel. "I got pretty close to him with two to go, but then the fuel light came on that the pressure was low," Biffle said.

Earnhardt had gambled on fuel again as he had here in 2011 when he famously ran out of juice on the final lap as Kevin Harvick passed him for the win.

"I was hoping the guys in front of me would run out of gas," Earnhardt said. "We tried to go for a win. We didn't have a fast enough car so we had to do something different. I like the gamble."

Truex, of the one-car Furniture Row Racing operation, led the most laps with 131. He, too, got shuffled back after having to pit late.

"They gave me an awesome race car. I'm so proud of them. It hurts to come home fifth and run that hard and lead that many laps," he said. "But at the same time it's pretty awesome to run like that. Sooner or later we are going to get a little luck on our side."

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Jeff Gordon, who started the day driving the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 before flying back to Charlotte, could not find a rhythm in his final Coca-Cola 600 and finished 15th.