Edwards Scores Thrilling Win at Toyota Owners 400

Any questions about whether the racing is better this year with low downforce cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series were emphatically answered at Richmond International Raceway Sunday as Carl Edwards scored a thrilling win in the Toyota Owners 400.

Edwards bumped his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch out of the lead in the final corner of the final lap to earn his second consecutive Cup Series race victory. It was the first last-lap pass for a win in the 63-year history of RIR.

It was also another tremendous day for the Gibbs team, which placed all four of its Toyotas in the top seven, with the satellite team car of Martin Truex Jr. taking ninth.

Edwards led 149 of the first 229 laps, but the handling of his car deteriorated and he struggled to remain in the top five. A series of late race cautions allowed crew chief Dave Rogers to make adjustments to the car, and Edwards caught up to leader Busch as the laps wound down.

Busch still looked like he had things under control as the two Toyotas took the white flag, but Edwards drove his car deeply into Turn 1 and he was almost alongside Busch at the exit of Turn 2. After shadowing his teammate down the back straight, Edwards stayed right on Busch's bumper entering Turn 3 before the two cars made nose-to-tail contact entering Turn 4.

Busch's car then drifted up the track as Edwards darted past in a classic "bump and run" to take the checkered flag.

"I couldn't catch him up to that point and I thought it was over with about five [laps] to go," Edwards told reporters. "It's really difficult. I didn't want to touch him at all. I just decided I was going to run the bottom and I went down there and I was like, 'Either I've got to lay on the brake and slow down or I can just kind of keep my momentum going and touch him.'

"We were so much faster there at the bottom," Edwards added. "If he'd have gone high I don't know, I might have just got by him but it just looked like -- I'd have to talk to him, but it looks like his car just gave up like he'd just used up his tires."

Needless to say, Busch wasn't especially happy about the way the race ended. But he was stoic making the best of the situation.

Busch was aiming for his third win in the past four Cup Series races, but he had to settle for 78 laps led and second place on Sunday.