Edwards Claims Atlanta Busch Win

Edwards, who is running in both the Busch and Nextel series for the first time this year, was overjoyed with the tight win over Tony Stewart, stopping his car on the finish line after the race and performing a backflip off the window sill in front of a delighted crowd.

"This is the biggest win of my career," he said in victory lane. "I was just happy to win. That was a good way to show it."

Edwards has proven Roush Racing's faith in the former truck series driver was well placed, holding off an experienced field of racers to the chequered flag. Nextel Cup regulars filled the top nine positions at the finish, after a race that was slowed by eight yellow flag periods.

The rookie had a strong restart at the final yellow, surging into the lead and storming away from the pack. Stewart led the challengers but finished over a second behind. "We just ran out of time," he later noted. "We probably needed 10 or 15 more laps."

Jimmie Johnson led for 90 of the 203 laps, but it wasn't enough and he finished third, just ahead of Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne.

Results of the Aaron's 312 - Atlanta Motor Speedway:

Pos  Driver               Team       Laps
 1.  Carl Edwards         Ford       203
 2.  Tony Stewart         Chevrolet  203
 3.  Jimmie Johnson       Chevrolet  203
 4.  Matt Kenseth         Ford       203
 5.  Kasey Kahne          Dodge      203
 6.  Greg Biffle          Ford       203
 7.  Michael Waltrip      Chevrolet  203
 8.  Elliott Sadler       Ford       203
 9.  Jamie McMurray       Dodge      203
10.  Michel Jourdain Jr.  Ford       203
11.  Martin Truex Jr.     Chevrolet  203
12.  Kenny Wallace        Ford       203
13.  David Stremme        Dodge      203
14.  Ashton Lewis         Ford       203
15.  Randy LaJoie         Chevrolet  203
16.  Denny Hamlin         Chevrolet  203
17.  Jason Keller         Ford       203
18.  Bobby Hamilton       Dodge      203
19.  Reed Sorenson        Dodge      203
20.  Johnny Sauter        Dodge      203
21.  Clint Bowyer         Chevrolet  203
22.  Jeremy Mayfield      Dodge      203
23.  Blake Feese          Chevrolet  203
24.  Paul Menard          Chevrolet  203
25.  Jon Wood             Ford       200
26.  Stanton Barrett      Chevrolet  199
27.  Jimmy Spencer        Chevrolet  199
28.  Kertus Davis         Chevrolet  199
29.  Derrike Cope         Ford       197
30.  Ryan Hemphill        Dodge      195
31.  Brent Sherman        Dodge      185
32.  Brandon Miller       Chevrolet  182
33.  David Green          Ford       181
34.  J.J. Yeley           Chevrolet  171
35.  Kim Crosby           Chevrolet  164
36.  Shawna Robinson      Chevrolet  160
37.  Geoffrey Bodine      Chevrolet  150
38.  Tim Fedewa           Dodge      139
39.  Shane Hmiel          Chevrolet  137
40.  Steve Grissom        Ford       114
41.  Stacy Compton        Ford        90
42.  Justin Labonte       Chevrolet    5
43.  Ron Hornaday         Chevrolet    2