Carl Edwards survives fuel-mileage gamble to win Coke 600

Carl Edwards successfully stretched his fuel during a late green-flag run to bring the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to victory in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was Edwards' first win with Gibbs since leaving his longtime team Roush Fenway Racing at the end of 2014, and he carried over his signature victory backflip, something last seen in Sonoma, California last June. Edwards' teammate Matt Kenseth had started on the pole in the #20 Toyota, and the other two Gibbs drivers, Denny Hamlin (#11) and Kyle Busch (#18), in his return to points racing, led some laps as well. The leader of the most laps was Martin Truex Jr., whose #78 Chevrolet led 131 circuits.

Edwards beat his former Roush teammate Greg Biffle in the #16 Ford as well as the #88 Hendrick Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who pitted for fuel and four tires during the last caution following the spin of Michael Annett's #46 Chevrolet in an attempt to possibly steal the win, as all of the other leaders would have to make green flag stops before the race was over. Earnhardt's strategy mostly worked, as he gained 11 positions to go from 14th to third between the last restart and the checkered flag. Unlike last week's All-Star Race won by Hamlin, there was more action on Sunday evening during the 400 laps around the 1.5-mile quad-oval, something expected by fans after another thrilling Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day, won by one-time NASCAR driver and race winner Juan Pablo Montoya.

Race Results:

1. (3) 19-Carl Edwards - Toyota - 400 laps, led 25 laps
2. (4) 16-Greg Biffle - Ford - 400 laps
3. (15) 88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Chevrolet - 400 laps
4. (1) 20-Matt Kenseth - Toyota - 400 laps, led 26 laps
5. (10) 78-Martin Truex Jr. - Chevrolet - 400 laps, led 131 laps
6. (19) 31-Ryan Newman - Chevrolet - 400 laps
7. (6) 2-Brad Keselowski - Ford - 400 laps, led 3 laps
8. (5) 11-Denny Hamlin - Toyota - 400 laps, led 53 laps
9. (8) 4-Kevin Harvick - Chevrolet - 400 laps, led 26 laps
10. (14) 41-Kurt Busch - Chevrolet - 400 laps, led 118 laps