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Charlotte NASCAR: Carl Edwards claims first win with Joe Gibbs

Carl Edwards stretched his fuel mileage to the finish to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup race since joining Joe Gibbs Racing in the 600-mile Sunday night event at Charlotte

Edwards was foremost among a group of seven drivers who dived in for fuel during a yellow when Ricky Stenhouse Jr hit the wall with 62 of the 400 laps left.

The leaders after the restart all had to subsequently come in under green and try to fight their way back through the fuel-conserving drivers ahead.

Long-time leader Martin Truex Jr headed this pack, but could only make it through to fifth, finishing right on the tail of the battling Dale Earnhardt Jr and Matt Kenseth.

Edwards was comfortably out of reach in the lead, extending his advantage over fellow fuel gambler Greg Biffle to win by 4.8 seconds.

Truex was among several drivers who had enjoyed long stints in the lead earlier in the marathon race then found themselves out of position as the strategies unfolded.

Kurt Busch, like Truex, led over 100 laps but was only 10th at the finish.

Last week's All-Star race winner Denny Hamlin led the field ahead of Truex after the final yellow, before a loose wheel forced him to pit earlier then planned. He ended up eighth, behind Ryan Newman and Brad Keselowski and ahead of Kevin Harvick.

In his first points race back since his leg-breaking Daytona crash, Kyle Busch was a frontrunner all night but lost out in the late strategy choices and finished 11th.

Last year's winner Jimmie Johnson had two spins, the second taking him into the wall and forcing a long pit visit for repairs.

RESULTS - 400 LAPS:

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 4h03m34.s
2 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 4.785s
3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 7.828s
4 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 8.119s
5 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 8.537s
6 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 12.312s
7 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 12.462s
8 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12.718s
9 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 12.998s
10 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 13.683s
11 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.925s
12 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 16.554s
13 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 18.488s
14 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.207s
15 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 24.309s
16 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 25.167s
17 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 1 Lap
18 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1 Lap
19 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1 Lap
20 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 1 Lap
21 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 1 Lap
22 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 2 Laps
23 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 2 Laps
24 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 2 Laps
25 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Laps
26 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 3 Laps
27 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 3 Laps
28 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 4 Laps
29 A.J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 5 Laps
30 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 6 Laps
31 Brett Moffitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 7 Laps
32 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 7 Laps
33 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 8 Laps
34 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 8 Laps
35 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 8 Laps
36 Alex Kennedy Circle Sport Chevrolet 11 Laps
37 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Laps
38 J.J. Yeley BK Racing Toyota Engine
39 Landon Cassill Hillman Smith Motorsports Chevrolet 25 Laps
40 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30 Laps
41 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Engine
42 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford Engine
43 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet Accident

PROVISIONALLY IN THE CHASE: Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Carl Edwards

LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

Pos Driver Points
1 Kevin Harvick 473
2 Martin Truex Jr. 432
3 Joey Logano 407
4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 401
5 Jimmie Johnson 393
6 Brad Keselowski 381
7 Matt Kenseth 372
8 Jamie McMurray 353
9 Jeff Gordon 346
10 Kasey Kahne 345
11 Ryan Newman 343
12 Aric Almirola 339
13 Paul Menard 336
14 Kurt Busch 327
15 Denny Hamlin 321
16 Carl Edwards 312
17 Clint Bowyer 296
18 Danica Patrick 292
19 Greg Biffle 284
20 A.J. Allmendinger 274
21 Casey Mears 263
22 Kyle Larson 256
23 Austin Dillon 253
24 David Ragan 238
25 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 234
26 Sam Hornish Jr. 230
27 David Gilliland 224
28 Justin Allgaier 208
29 Trevor Bayne 207
30 Tony Stewart 202

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