Click here to follow us on Twitter @circletrackplus   Click here to like us on Facebook 
 

Carl Edwards took home the win in Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway with a last lap bump-and-run pass on his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch. Edwards, who won last week’s race at Bristol, grabbed his second victory on the season as well as the second victory at Richmond in his NASCAR Sprint Cup career.

As far as moving a teammate out of the way to win a race, Edwards believes it is just part of racing.

“We're here to win the race,” Edwards said. “You can either finish first or second. It's a tough decision but at this point in the season, we both have wins so really it's about just going out for trophies and having fun.  We still finished first and second.  Nobody got wrecked. I wouldn't expect Kyle (Busch) -- if the roles were reversed, I'd expect him to bump me the same way.  

“That's hard racing.”

Edwards led a race-high 151 laps before falling back in the field in the waning laps. It appeared to be Kurt Busch’s race to lose but after a pit-stop on the race’s final caution, the elder Busch’s car appeared to fall off dramatically and forced him back in the field. Busch’s younger brother Kyle assumed the lead and was driving away until Edwards was able to make contact which moved the driver of the No. 18 Banfield Pet Hospital Toyota out of the racing groove. 

Busch, who led 78 laps and still managed to finish in second place, was brief with reporters on pit road following the race.

Kyle assumed the lead and was driving away until Edwards was able to make contact which moved the driver of the No. 18 Banfield Pet Hospital Toyota out of the racing groove. 

Busch, who led 78 laps and still managed to finish in second place, was brief with reporters on pit road following the race.

“It’s racing, I guess,” Busch said. “We had a really great car. We were fast,  maybe not as good as Carl (Edwards) on the long run. The guys gave me everything we needed today. We lost it there on the second-to-last run, but we had a shot to win and that’s all that matters.”

Jimmie Johnson led 44 laps early in the race and finished in third place with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne taking home a season best fourth place finish at the 0.75-mile Virginia short track. 

Kahne, who scored a victory at Richmond back in 2005, believes the finish could be a sign of things to come.

“It was really encouraging,” Kahne said. “The performance of the team all weekend long, you know, practice, we didn't get all of our practice in, but we got a lot of it in, then qualifying, didn't get that.  But I felt like we would have been great there, too. It was a strong weekend for our team.  Communications side with (crew chief) Keith (Rodden) and the engineers, just kind of what we worked on, the direction we went was really solid all weekend, similar to Bristol.  

“We just finished it off today.”

Pole-sitter Kevin Harvick finished in fifth place with Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Martin Truex, Jr, and Kurt Busch rounding out the race’s top-ten finishers. 

The race-winner, Edwards, who was already securely locked into the Chase is settling into his second season at Joe Gibbs Racing after making the move from Roush-Fenway Racing just a season prior. Following the late contact with his teammate, Edwards believe communication is key.

“We just talk about it.  That's it,” Edwards explained. “We haven't talked yet but we'll talk about it. I can say this. My teammates have been spectacular.  They truly have been. Not just helping with things we need help, but from a motivational standpoint. What Kyle (Busch) was able to do particularly last year I think raised everyone's game.  So I'm very grateful to have my teammates and to be a part of it.

“Yeah, we're going to have times like this when you're running like this.  We're racing each other for wins, which is really, really good.  So hopefully it all works out fine.”

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 9
Unofficial Race Results for the 62Nd Annual Toyota Owners 400 - Sunday, April 24, 2016
Richmond International Raceway - Richmond, VA - .75 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 400 Laps - 300 Miles

Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Status    Tms    Laps
1    4    19    Carl Edwards    XFINITY Toyota    400    45    5    142.2    Running    7    151
2    9    18    Kyle Busch    Banfield Toyota    400    40    1    125.6    Running    5    78
3    3    48    Jimmie Johnson    Lowe's Pro Services Chevrolet    400    39    1    116.5    Running    3    44
4    8    5    Kasey Kahne    Mountain Dew Chevrolet    400    37        107.9    Running        
5    1    4    Kevin Harvick    Busch Light Chevrolet    400    37    1    121.3    Running    3    63
6    5    11    Denny Hamlin    FedEx Ground Toyota    400    36    1    103.3    Running    1    1
7    13    20    Matt Kenseth    Dollar General Toyota    400    35    1    94.7    Running    1    2
8    2    22    Joey Logano    Shell Pennzoil Ford    400    33        84.4    Running        
9    22    78    Martin Truex Jr.    Furniture Row Toyota    400    32        88.6    Running        
10    7    41    Kurt Busch    Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet    400    32    1    105.7    Running    2    55
11    6    2    Brad Keselowski    Thomas Built Buses Ford    400    31    1    93.1    Running    2    6
12    23    24    Chase Elliott #    Mountain Dew Chevrolet    400    29        77.0    Running        
13    16    88    Dale Earnhardt Jr.    Mountain Dew Chevrolet    400    28        93.1    Running        
14    19    16    Greg Biffle    Cheez-It Ford    400    27        81.6    Running        
15    15    42    Kyle Larson    Target Chevrolet    400    26        75.3    Running        
16    27    1    Jamie McMurray    Credit One Bank Chevrolet    400    25        64.5    Running        
17    17    6    Trevor Bayne    AdvoCare Ford    400    24        71.6    Running        
18    14    31    Ryan Newman    Grainger Chevrolet    400    23        76.7    Running        
19    18    14    Tony Stewart    Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy Chevrolet    400    22        67.6    Running        
20    11    3    Austin Dillon    AAA Chevrolet    400    21        75.5    Running        
21    24    43    Aric Almirola    Smithfield Ford    400    20        73.4    Running        
22    26    27    Paul Menard    Duracell/Menards Chevrolet    400    19        56.6    Running        
23    30    23    David Ragan    sweetFrog Toyota    400    18        61.3    Running        
24    21    10    Danica Patrick    Nature's Bakery Chevrolet    400    17        56.8    Running        
25    10    47    AJ Allmendinger    Kroger/Bush's Beans Chevrolet    400    16        61.9    Running        
26    12    17    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.    Fifth Third Bank Ford    400    15        77.7    Running        
27    28    38    Landon Cassill    The Pete Store Ford    399    14        47.0    Running        
28    29    21    * Ryan Blaney #    Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford    399    13        50.8    Running        
29    25    13    Casey Mears    GEICO Chevrolet    399    12        49.1    Running        
30    36    83    Matt DiBenedetto    E.J. Wade Construction Toyota    399    11        41.4    Running        
31    32    95    Michael McDowell    WRL General Contractors Chevrolet    399    10        37.4    Running        
32    34    7    Regan Smith    APC Chevrolet    399    9        40.2    Running        
33    39    15    Clint Bowyer    5-Hour Energy Chevrolet    398    8        39.3    Running        
34    33    34    Chris Buescher #    A&W All American Food Ford    396    7        35.2    Running        
35    20    44    Brian Scott #    Albertsons Co./Shore Lodge Ford    395    6        43.5    Running        
36    40    46    Michael Annett    Pilot Flying J Chevrolet    394    5        29.9    Running        
37    37    93    * Ryan Ellis(i)    Science Logic Toyota    393    4        30.8    Running        
38    38    32    Jeffrey Earnhardt #    corvetteparts.net Ford    392    3        27.1    Running        
39    31    30    * Josh Wise    Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet    390    2        24.0    Running        
40    35    55    * Reed Sorenson    ChampionMachinery.com Chevrolet    390    1        25.3    Running        
 Race Comments:    Carl Edwards won the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway, his 27th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following car dropped to the rear of the field: No. 15 (transmission change).
 Failed to Qualify:    (1) 98.
 Time of Race:    3 Hrs, 05 Mins, 26 Secs.    Average Speed:    97.070 MPH    Margin of Victory:    0.675 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    8 for 49 laps: Laps: 158-164 (Debris on the backstretch [23]); 196-202 (Debris on the backstretch [42]); 252-257 (Debris in Turn 2 [24]); 269-274 (#14 and 22 Accident in Turn 2 [22]); 314-318 (Debris in Turn 2 [1]); 321-325 (#31 and 42 Accident in Turn 4 [27]); 327-334 (#38 and 93 Accident on the frontstretch [14]); 360-364 (#44 Spin in Turn 4 [47]).
 Lead Changes:    23 among 8 drivers: K. Harvick 1-21; J. Johnson 22-63; C. Edwards 64; J. Johnson 65; C. Edwards 66-89; D. Hamlin 90; J. Johnson 91; M. Kenseth 92-93; C. Edwards 94-157; Kyle Busch 158-168; C. Edwards 169-196; Kyle Busch 197; C. Edwards 198-229; K. Harvick 230-270; B. Keselowski 271-273; K. Harvick 274; B. Keselowski 275-277; Kurt Busch 278-286; Kyle Busch 287-314; Kurt Busch 315-360; Kyle Busch 361-363; C. Edwards 364; Kyle Busch 365-399; C. Edwards 400; 
Chase Grid Outlook:     1.C. Edwards 331 (2 wins);2.J. Johnson 310 (2);3.Kyle Busch 302 (2);4.K. Harvick 324 (1);5.D. Hamlin 258 (1);6.B. Keselowski 255 (1);7.J. Logano 299 (0);8.Kurt Busch 279 (0);9.D. Earnhardt Jr. 278 (0);10.M. Truex Jr. 246 (0);11.C. Elliott # 234 (0);12.A. Dillon 234 (0);13.J. Mcmurray 224 (0);14.K. Kahne 222 (0);15.M. Kenseth 212 (0);16.R. Newman 205 (0).
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award    : Kyle Busch, #18     Ingersoll Rand Power Move    : Carl Edwards, #19 15 positions
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Toyota Racing Development (TRD), #19     Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Carl Edwards, #19 
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race    : Kurt Busch, #41 crew chief Tony Gibson, 0.196 seconds    Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap    : Denny Hamlin, #11 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Chase Elliott, #24 
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    May. 1, 2016 - Talladega Superspeedway