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NASCAR Darlington: Carl Edwards wins Southern 500 for Joe Gibbs

Carl Edwards battled back from two laps down to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup's Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

Edwards lost two laps early in the race after a pit miscommunication meant he stayed out on old tyres, but he fought his way back into the top three, before taking the lead at the final round of stops.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver controlled the last restart, leading the final eight laps to claim his second win of the year after victory at Charlotte, in what was a stop-start race interrupted by 18 cautions.

Polesitter Brad Keselowski led 196 of the 367 laps for Penske, but he ultimately had to settle for second, 0.902 seconds behind Edwards at the chequered flag.

Edwards' Joe Gibbs team-mate Denny Hamlin featured at the front throughout the race, but was dropped by the leading pair off the final restart, coming home third, ahead of Joey Logano.

Kevin Harvick, the 2014 winner at Darlington, went into the last 20 laps running in second, but dropped to fifth on the final pass through pit road.

Kurt Busch survived a late spin after a tap from Martin Truex Jr to take sixth, ahead of brother Kyle.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. battled his way from a starting spot of 22nd to finish in eighth, while Truex and Kyle Larson rounded out the top 10.

Aric Almirola strengthened his chances of progressing into the Chase with a run to 11th, with rival Clint Bowyer five spots back in 16th.

Six-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson ended a disappointing race down in 19th.

The Hendrick Motorsports racer was fortunate to avoid a penalty for cutting the entrance to the pitlane, while he also suffered a big spin after contact with Logano.

Michigan winner Matt Kenseth battled back to finish 21st after losing time early on following a brush with the wall.

RESULTS:

Pos Driver Team Car Laps
1 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 367
2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 367
3 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 367
4 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 367
5 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 367
6 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 367
7 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 367
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 367
9 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 367
10 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 367
11 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 367
12 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 367
13 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 367
14 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 367
15 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 367
16 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 367
17 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 367
18 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 367
19 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 367
20 Landon Cassill Hillman Smith Motorsports Chevrolet 367
21 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 367
22 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 367
23 A.J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 367
24 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 367
25 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 367
26 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 367
27 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 367
28 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 367
29 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 366
30 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 366
31 Jeb Burton BK Racing Toyota 364
32 Mike Bliss Circle Sport Chevrolet 363
33 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 354
34 J.J. Yeley BK Racing Toyota 348
35 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 342
36 Brett Moffitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 332
37 T.J. Bell Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 325
38 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 313
39 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 300
40 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 275
41 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 227
42 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 190
43 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 5

LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

Pos Driver Points
1 Kevin Harvick 948
2 Joey Logano 906
3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 855
4 Brad Keselowski 837
5 Jimmie Johnson 817
6 Martin Truex Jr. 806
7 Matt Kenseth 776
8 Denny Hamlin 754
9 Kurt Busch 752
10 Jamie McMurray 726
11 Ryan Newman 714
12 Carl Edwards 713
13 Jeff Gordon 700
14 Paul Menard 692
15 Clint Bowyer 682
16 Aric Almirola 653
17 Kasey Kahne 651
18 Greg Biffle 598
19 Kyle Larson 586
20 Austin Dillon 586
21 A.J. Allmendinger 536
22 Casey Mears 531
23 Danica Patrick 527
24 Tony Stewart 496
25 David Ragan 495
26 Sam Hornish Jr. 492
27 Kyle Busch 471
28 Trevor Bayne 452
29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 440
30 Justin Allgaier 420

PROVISIONAL CHASE LINE-UP (ONE ROUND BEFORE CUT-OFF)

Jimmie Johnson (4 wins), Kyle Busch (4 wins), Joey Logano (3 wins), Matt Kenseth (3 wins), Kevin Harvick (2 wins), Dale Earnhardt Jr (2 wins), Kurt Busch (2 wins), Carl Edwards (2 wins), Brad Keselowski (1 win), Martin Truex Jr (1 win), Denny Hamlin (1 win), Jamie McMurray (726 points), Ryan Newman (714 points), Jeff Gordon (700 points), Paul Menard (692 points), Clint Bowyer (682 points)

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