Carl Edwards flips again after winning the 56th Annual COCA-COLA 600 due to smart fuel strategy

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600Credit: 309161Jerry Markland/Getty Images. Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Subway Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Starting from 3rd place Car 19 Carl Edwards Subway Toyota won the 56th Annual COCA-COLA 600, his 24th win in 385 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. This is Edwards’ first win & 2nd Top 10 finish in 2015. Edwards breaks a 31-race winless drought with the win. This is his 1st win & 14th Top 10 finish in 21 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Edwards’ previous best Charlotte finish was 3rd, 3 times. 2nd Place Car 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford started in 4th place posted his 9th Top 10 finish in 25 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is his 2nd Top 10 finish in 2015. 3rd Place Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet started in 15th place posted his 12th Top 10 finish in 31 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600Credit: 309160Matt Sullivan/NASCAR via Getty Images. Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Subway Toyota, wins the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

4th Place Car 20 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Toyota started in pole followed by 5th place Car 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet started in 10th place. 6th Place Car 31 Ryan Newman Quicken Loans Chevrolet started in 19th place followed by 7th place Car 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford started in 6th place. 8th Place Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota started in 5th place followed by 9th place Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet started in 8th place. Lastly in the Top 10 Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet, in 10th place, started in 14th place. Kevin Harvick leads the point standings by 41 points over Martin Truex Jr.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600Credit: 309154Streeter Lecka/Getty Images. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet, is involved in an on-track incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The race had 8 Cautions for 39 Laps: 1st Caution on lap 27 for Competition. 2nd Caution on lap 91 for Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet spin in turn 4. 3rd Caution on lap 137 for Car 51 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet crash in turn 3. 4th Caution on lap 231 for Car 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford crash in turn 4. 5th Caution on lap 275 for Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet spin in turn 4. 6th Caution on lap 283 for Oil on the track from Car 21 Ryan Blaney Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford. 7th Caution on lap 329 Car 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet spin on the backstretch. 8th Caution on lap 338 for Debris turn 4.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600Credit: 309159Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images. Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota, lead the field into turn one during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The race had 22 Lead Changes among 9 drivers: Lap Leaders: M. Kenseth 0; C. Edwards 1-2; M. Kenseth 3-27; D. Gilliland 28; M. Kenseth 29; J. Logano 30-43; D. Hamlin 44-63; K. Harvick 64-78; Kurt Busch 79; B. Keselowski 80; K. Harvick 81-90; M. Truex Jr. 91; B. Keselowski 92-93; J. Logano 94-96; Kurt Busch 97-189; C. Edwards 190-191; M. Truex Jr. 192-236; Kurt Busch 237-260; M. Truex Jr. 261-329; D. Hamlin 330-362; M. Truex Jr. 363-378; K. Harvick 379; C. Edwards 380-400. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): M. Truex Jr. 4 times for 131 laps; Kurt Busch 3 times for 118 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 53 laps; M. Kenseth 2 times for 26 laps; K. Harvick 3 times for 26 laps; C. Edwards 3 times for 25 laps; J. Logano 2 times for 17 laps; B. Keselowski 2 times for 3 laps; D.
Gilliland 1 time for 1 lap.

2015 May 24 CMS_NSCS_Edwards_Night_052415Credit: 309158Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images. Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Subway Toyota, leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Top 16 in Points: K. Harvick – 473; M. Truex Jr. – 432; J. Logano – 407; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 401; J. Johnson – 393; B. Keselowski 381; M. Kenseth – 372; J. Mcmurray – 353; J. Gordon – 346; K. Kahne – 345; R. Newman – 343; A. Almirola – 339; P. Menard – 336; Kurt Busch – 327; D. Hamlin – 321; C. Edwards – 312.

Chase Grid Outlook: 1.J. Johnson 393 (3 wins);2.K. Harvick 473 (2);3.J. Logano 407 (1);4.D. Earnhardt Jr. 401 (1);5.B. Keselowski 381 (1);6.M. Kenseth 372 (1);7.D. Hamlin 321 (1);8.C. Edwards 312 (1);9.M. Truex Jr. 432 (0);10.J. Mcmurray 353 (0);11.J. Gordon 346 (0);12.K. Kahne 345 (0);13.R. Newman 343 (0);14.A. Almirola 339 (0);15.P. Menard 336 (0);16.C. Bowyer 296 (0).

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images. Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 DeWalt Toyota, leads the field through the green flag to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Crew Chief Darian Grubb’s fuel strategy helped Carl Edwards, get his 1st win at Charlotte in the 56th Annual COCA-COLA 600. “It’s so cool to get this win, we’ve had such bad luck,” said Edwards, who joined Joe Gibbs Racing as the organization’s fourth Sprint Cup driver after the 2014 season. “And we were the slowest of the (JGR cars) tonight, but we had (crew chief) Darian (Grubb) on the box. He made the right call, he put us in a position to win, and it worked. “This is truly a gift. I took advantage of it to win, and we’ll get better.”

Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch & Denny Hamlin coming up strong with fresher tires & faster times, it just was not enough to catch Edwards.

2015 May 15 cms_may_15

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 12
Unofficial Race Results for the 56Th Annual Coca-Cola 600 – Sunday, May 24, 2015
Charlotte Motor Speedway – Concord, NC – 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 400 Laps – 600 Miles – Purse: $6,660,588

KO600_logo

Finishing Position Starting Position Car # Driver Team Laps Status
1. 3. Car 19 Carl Edwards Subway Toyota 400 Running
2. 4. Car 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford 400 Running
3. 15. Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet 400 Running
4. 1. Car 20 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Toyota 400 Running
5. 10. Car 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 400 Running
6. 19. Car 31 Ryan Newman Quicken Loans Chevrolet 400 Running
7. 6. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 400 Running
8. 5. Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 400 Running
9. 8. Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet 400 Running
10. 14. Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 400 Running
11. 17. Car 18 Kyle Busch Skittles Toyota 400 Running
12. 33. Car 5 Kasey Kahne LiftMaster Chevrolet 400 Running
13. 2. Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 400 Running
14. 23. Car 27 Paul Menard Serta/Menards Chevrolet 400 Running
15. 18. Car 24 Jeff Gordon Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet 400 Running
16. 11. Car 3 Austin Dillon Cheerios Chevrolet 400 Running
17. 21. Car 43 Aric Almirola United States Air Force Ford 399 Running
18. 28. Car 25 Chase Elliott(i) NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 399 Running
19. 22. Car 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna/McDonald’s Chevrolet 399 Running
20. 24. Car 15 Clint Bowyer Cherry 5-hour Energy/Special Operations Warrior 399 Running
21. 12. Car 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 399 Running
22. 20. Car 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 398 Running
23. 34. Car 13 Casey Mears GEICO Military Chevrolet 398 Running
24. 26. Car 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Twisted Tea Ford 398 Running
25. 9. Car 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet 398 Running
26. 31. Car 7 Alex Bowman Culer Chevrolet 397 Running
27. 27. Car 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 397 Running
28. 37. Car 35 Cole Whitt Speed Stick Ford 396 Running
29. 30. Car 47 AJ Allmendinger Scott Products Chevrolet 395 Running
30. 25. Car 95 Michael McDowell Thrivent Financial Ford 394 Running
31. 40. Car 34 Brett Moffitt # CSX/Play It Safe Ford 393 Running
32. 36. Car 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 393 Running
33. 39. Car 38 David Gilliland Love’s Travel Stops Ford 392 Running
34. 42. Car 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Dustless Blasting Toyota 392 Running
35. 38. Car 98 Josh Wise RoyalTeakCollection.com Ford 392 Running
36. 43. Car 33 Alex Kennedy # HonorandRemember.org Chevrolet 389 Running
37. 29. Car 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 382 Running
38. 41. Car 23 JJ Yeley(i) Hope for the Warriors Toyota 377 Engine
39. 32. Car 40 Landon Cassill(i) Snap Fitness Chevrolet 375 Running
40. 13. Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet 370 Running
41. 7. Car 55 David Ragan Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 353 Engine
42. 16. Car 21 Ryan Blaney(i) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 281 Engine
43. 35. Car 51 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet 135 Accident

Race Comments: Failed to Qualify: #26 Jeb Burton; #32 Mike Bliss(i); #39 Travis Kvapil(i); #30 Jeff Green(i); #62 Brendan Gaughan(i)

Average Speed of Race Winner: 147.803 mph.

Time of Race: 04 Hrs, 03 Mins, 34 Secs. Margin of Victory: 4.785 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 8 for 39 laps.

Lead Changes: 22 among 9 drivers.

3M Lap Leader: Kurt Busch, #41 118 Laps American Ethanol Green Flag Restart: Martin Truex Jr, #78. Coors Light Pole Award: Matt Kenseth, #20 194.252 mph Duralast Brakes “Brake in the Race”: Matt Kenseth, #20. Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Dale Earnhardt Jr, #88 11 positions Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Toyota Racing Development (TRD), #20 Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Carl Edwards, #19 Moog Steering & Suspension Problem Solver of the Race: Dale Earnhardt Jr, #88 G. Ives, .160 sec. Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Denny Hamlin, #11 Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Brett Moffitt, #34

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: May. 31, 2015 – Dover International Speedway

http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series.html

Graphics & Photos Courtesy of NASCAR

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