DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) – Joe Gibbs couldn’t help but beam about this team victory: Carl Edwards drove superbly, crew chief Darian Grubb made stellar calls with his car two laps down and the No. 19 crew got the car out of the pits in first when it counted most.
The result was Edwards’ first win in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
“If you drew this one up tonight, I don’t think you could draw a bigger victory for us,” Gibbs said after Sunday night’s race.
Edwards rallied after falling two laps down because of a flat tire, then beat Brad Keselowski off pit road for the lead 12 laps from the end and held on for his first Southern 500 victory Sunday night.
Edwards won the Coca Cola 600 in May and had six top-10s in the past seven races. Still, he was looking for a boost that would propel his first-year Joe Gibbs Racing program into the playoffs.