Early on in the running of Sunday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, it looked like Carl Edwards didn’t have a prayer.
After missing an early pit stop, a green flag stop for a cut tire put Edwards some two laps down. But he and his Joe Gibbs Racing team kept fighting, made up the two laps, and when a caution flew with 12 laps to go, his team got him off pit road first, and that was the winning difference, as Edwards took the win in one of the most competitive races of the season.
Edwards had a mirror full of teammate Denny Hamlin over the final eight laps, but would not be denied his first victory at the track “Too Tough To Tame.” Brad Keselowski got around Hamlin on the final turn to take second, with Joey Logano taking fourth and Kevin Harvick in fifth.
During the post race interview, Edwards spoke to the media about the win. Edwards’ crew chief, Darian Grubb and team owner Joe Gibbs also discussed the win, while Keselowski talked about his second place finish.
One word can sum up Denny Hamlin's run in Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway - domination.
Hamlin led 117 of the race's 147 laps en route to the win. But it wasn't as easy as it may sound. A near disastrous pit stop on lap 71 almost threw the race away, as his crew failed to fill the No. 20 Toyota with fuel.
But it worked to Hamlin's favor, as an extra stop allowed him to have fresh tires over the closing laps. That let Hamlin quickly run down teammate Daniel Suarez, making the final pass for the lead with two laps to go. Kyle Busch finished in third, with Kevin Harvick in fourth and points leader Chris Buescher in fifth.
Afterwards, Hamlin talked about the final run to the win. Busch spoke to the media about his second place run, while third place finisher Suarez talked about his day.
With one race left in the race to the Chase, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series descends on Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va. this weekend. WDUN will have live MRN Radio coverage of Saturday night’s race.
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