Carl Edwards Overcomes Two Lap Deficit to Win Bojangles' Southern 500

Carl Edwards' Arris-sponsored Toyota wins at Darlington
Credit: Charlotte Bray for Skirts and Scuffs  

The odds of a throwback paint scheme ending the night in victory lane were good. Nearly all the cars on the track soprted old colors and sponsors brought back to life. After all the pageantry, one of them would win the Bojangles’ Southern 500, right?

Wrong!

Carl Edwards' sponsor Arris is a newcomer to the NASCAR scene but it was their orange Toyota Camry that stole the win from Brad Keselowski on the final pit stop. Edwards was a non-factor for the majority of the 367 lap event, having gone two laps down early. Fortunately, the No. 19 was able to make up positions during a series of cautions. All told, the race was slowed a record number 18 times and took nearly four and a half hours to complete.

Brad Keselowski’s throwback scheme featuring the styling of Bobby Allison’s 1983 Miller High Life design was dominant, leading 196 laps. After the race, Keselowski praised the downforce package used at Darlington and Kentucky.

“I loved it. It separates the racecar drivers from the pretends. That’s the way it should be.”

Edwards' victory is his second of the season and marks his 25^th series win and the 75^th win for Toyota. The driver credited his team, led by crew chief Darian Grubb, for getting the car to the front. Edwards also spoke about the importance of training with conditioning routines for these types of races. He said it was “fun to dig down and try to catch those guys” in regards to chasing down past champions Keselowski and Harvick. 

Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch mathematically secured a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

The final results: 

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
11. Aric Almirola
12. Kasey Kahne
13. Ryan Newman
14. Jamie McMurray
15. Tony Stewart
16. Jeff Gordon
17. Clint Bowyer
18. Greg Biffle
19. Jimmie Johnson
20. Landon Cassill
21. Matt Kenseth
22. Austin Dillon
23. AJ Allmendinger
24. Alex Bowman
25. Matt DiBenedetto
26. Paul Menard
27. David Gilliland
28. Sam Hornish Jr.
29. Casey Mears
30. Ryan Blaney
31. Jeb Burton
32. Mike Bliss
33. Justin Allgaier
34. JJ Yeley
35. Trevor Bayne
36. Brett Moffitt
37. TJ Bell
38. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
39. Michael Annett
40. David Ragan
41. Chase Elliott
42. Danica Patrick 
43. Cole Whitt