Carl Edwards defeats Kyle Busch with last-lap move at Richmond
Carl Edwards won his second race NASCAR Sprint Cup race of the season with a final-lap move at Richmond International Raceway
In a tight finish, reigning Cup champion Kyle Busch looked to have won the race after holding off the challenge from Job Gibbs Racing team-mate Edwards at the final restart.
But Edwards came back at Busch, bumped his team-mate and swept past to win his second consecutive race.
The JGR pair had traded places for much of the race and Edwards looked the more dominant of the two, leading 151 laps to Busch's 63 - but it was the final one that counted.
Jimmie Johnson recovered to third after poor handling meant he spent much of the race on the fringes of the top 10. His Hendrick team-mate Kasey Kahne finished fourth.
Qualifying was cancelled due to rain and grid results were determined on practice pace, but erstwhile series points leader Kevin Harvick could not capitalise on his pole position and finished fifth.
Denny Hamlin recovered to sixth after a pitlane violation for an uncontrolled tyre dropped him back.
Fellow JGR driver Matt Kenseth fought back to finish seventh having had to swap batteries at a caution midway through.
Joey Logano finished eighth. Anticipating plenty of cautions, his Penske Ford was set up with short runs in mind but with the first yellow not until lap 157, he went a lap down early on.
Behind ninth-placed Martin Truex Jr, Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10 after a poor pitstop at the final caution meant he could not continue a late battle with his brother for the lead.
A tyre puncture midway through the race left Tony Stewart a lap down on his return from injury, but he recovered to finish 19th.
RESULTS - 400 LAPS:
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3h05m26.s |
2 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0.675s |
3 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2.689s |
4 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3.735s |
5 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 4.903s |
6 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5.329s |
7 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5.929s |
8 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7.738s |
9 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 8.409s |
10 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 8.799s |
11 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 9.116s |
12 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10.670s |
13 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 11.580s |
14 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 11.985s |
15 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 13.477s |
16 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 13.991s |
17 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 14.121s |
18 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 15.702s |
19 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 16.250s |
20 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 17.013s |
21 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 17.774s |
22 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 18.201s |
23 | David Ragan | BK Racing | Toyota | 18.769s |
24 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 18.975s |
25 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 21.036s |
26 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 23.539s |
27 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 1 Lap |
28 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 1 Lap |
29 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 1 Lap |
30 | Matt DiBenedetto | BK Racing | Toyota | 1 Lap |
31 | Michael McDowell | Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 1 Lap |
32 | Regan Smith | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 1 Lap |
33 | Clint Bowyer | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 Laps |
34 | Chris Buescher | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 4 Laps |
35 | Brian Scott | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 5 Laps |
36 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 Laps |
37 | Ryan Ellis | BK Racing | Toyota | 7 Laps |
38 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 8 Laps |
39 | Josh Wise | The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet | 10 Laps |
40 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 Laps |
LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Pos | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Carl Edwards | 331 |
2 | Kevin Harvick | 324 |
3 | Jimmie Johnson | 310 |
4 | Kyle Busch | 302 |
5 | Joey Logano | 299 |
6 | Kurt Busch | 279 |
7 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 278 |
8 | Denny Hamlin | 258 |
9 | Brad Keselowski | 255 |
10 | Martin Truex Jr. | 246 |
11 | Chase Elliott | 234 |
12 | Austin Dillon | 234 |
13 | Jamie McMurray | 224 |
14 | Kasey Kahne | 222 |
15 | Matt Kenseth | 212 |
16 | Ryan Newman | 205 |
17 | A.J. Allmendinger | 204 |
18 | Trevor Bayne | 196 |
19 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 193 |
20 | Ryan Blaney | 187 |
21 | Paul Menard | 186 |
22 | Kyle Larson | 184 |
23 | Greg Biffle | 167 |
24 | Aric Almirola | 165 |
25 | Danica Patrick | 148 |
26 | Casey Mears | 141 |
27 | Landon Cassill | 140 |
28 | Brian Scott | 131 |
29 | Clint Bowyer | 126 |
30 | Matt DiBenedetto | 123 |
31 | Regan Smith | 118 |
32 | David Ragan | 116 |
33 | Michael McDowell | 100 |
34 | Chris Buescher | 97 |
35 | Michael Annett | 87 |
36 | Brian Vickers | 86 |
37 | Cole Whitt | 62 |
38 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | 36 |
39 | Josh Wise | 34 |
40 | Tony Stewart | 22 |
PROVISIONALLY INTO CHASE SO FAR
Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards (2 wins), Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick (1 win)
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