Stellar pit stop earns Carl Edwards dramatic Southern 500 win

Sept. 6, 2015 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – On a night when throwback paint schemes recalled NASCAR’s past in vivid color, and a low-downforce aerodynamic package suggested the future direction of the sport, Carl Edwards overcame early misfortune to win an exhilarating race at the Lady in Black. Grabbing the lead thanks to a blisteringly fast pit stop under the track-record 18th caution of Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Edwards pulled away after a restart with eight laps left and beat polesitter Brad Keselowski to the finish line by .902 seconds to win his first…

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Logano holds off Harvick to defend Bristol title

With Kevin Harvick hounding him mercilessly for 63 laps, Joey Logano kept his No. 22 Team Penske Ford out front after taking the lead on a Lap 438 restart and held on to win Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Successfully defending last year’s victory at Thunder Valley, Logano won his third race of the season, his second at the .533-mile short track and the 11th of his career. Harvick recovered from two pit road speeding penalties to finish second, a mere .220 seconds behind Logano. Polesitter Denny Hamlin ran third, and Clint Bowyer got a much-needed fourth place…

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Kurt Busch Wins Rain Halted Race at Michigan

June 14, 2015 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Starting 24th in a backup car, Kurt Busch fought his way to the front of the field through intermittent rain showers and won Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway when a deluge halted the race after 138 of a scheduled 200 laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second when NASCAR red-flagged the event for the fourth time. Martin Truex Jr. was credited with third, followed by Matt Kenseth and Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. The victory was Busch’s second of the season. He won for the third…

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Martin Truex Jr. wins at Pocono Raceway

June 7, 2015 By Seth Livingstone NASCAR Wire Service LONG POND, Pa. – Martin Truex Jr. knew that his third career victory would come – eventually. Enjoying easily the finest season of his NASCAR career, Truex raced to a convincing win in Sunday’s Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400, leading 97 of 160 laps, including the final 27 at Pocono Raceway. His victory marked the third consecutive Sprint Cup race in which Truex led the most laps. He’d led 131 laps at both Charlotte and Dover, only to come home fifth and sixth in the last two weeks. “We finally got it,” said…

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Jimmie Johnson wins 10th Sprint Cup Series race at Dover

May 31, 2015 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del.—Jimmie Johnson, welcome to the club. With his overtime victory in Sunday’s FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway, Johnson became the fifth driver to win 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at a single track, joining Richard Petty, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Sr. in sharing that distinction. Johnson’s triumph was his series-best fourth of the season and the 74th of his career, eighth most all-time and two behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Earnhardt in seventh place. Unlike many of the six-time champion’s past victories at the…

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Fuel strategy gives Carl Edwards first win at Charlotte

May 24, 2015 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – Will the mystery winner of Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 enter and sign in please? Hint: It’s the guy who does back flips every time he takes the checkered flag. But for the first 370 of 400 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway, no one would have picked Carl Edwards or his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as the likely winner of the season’s 12th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin had spent the lion’s share of time at the head of the field,…

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