Carl Edwards wins 2016 Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway

Carl Edwards muscled teammate Kyle Busch out of the lead coming to the checkered flag to win the Toyota Owners 400 Sunday at Richmond International Raceway.

The Joe Gibbs Racing drivers were first and second with Busch ahead when Edwards ran up on the rear of Busch’s car in Turn 4 and executed a bump-and-run that pushed the No. 18 up the track, allowing Edwards to go by and take the victory. Busch finished second.

The win was Edwards’ second in a row, having won the previous week at Bristol Motor Speedway, and JGR’s fourth consecutive and fifth in nine races this season. Busch, the defending Sprint Cup champion, has two victories on the season.

“I was just so much faster I had to give him a little tap, and we got by him,” Edwards said. “I didn’t think I was going to get him hard enough. I thought it would just be a bump-and-go, but we got the win.”

Edwards, who led a race-high 151 laps, admitted there was some hesitation whether to get physical with Busch, but with each owning victories and with Busch appearing to slow in final corner, Edwards felt he should do whatever necessary in an attempt to win.

The last-lap pass by Edwards was the first for a victory in 120 races at Richmond, a three-quarter-mile oval.

“He went to get down to the bottom and park it in (Turns) 3 and 4, and I had already decided to go down there,” Edwards said. “So I thought, ‘Man, I’m going to give him a little nudge,’ and we both have got wins and we’re racing for fun getting these trophies.”

Busch commented little regarding what transpired with Edwards in the final corner.

“It’s racing, I guess,” Busch said.

Team owner Joe Gibbs was diplomatic saying the organization will work through any lingering hard feelings in its weekly competition meeting Tuesday.

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne finished third and fourth, respectively, with pole-sitter Kevin Harvick fifth.

Tony Stewart experienced an eventful day in his return to competition after an eight-race absence brought about by an injured back. The three-time Cup series champion, who suffered a burst fracture of the L1 vertebra in a January ATV crash, fell a lap down and spun out because of a cut tire, yet still recovered to complete all 400 laps and finish 19th.

“It was fun,” Stewart. “I had a good time, and I’m looking forward to running the rest of this year with these guys.”

Sunday was the first scheduled daytime start at Richmond since 1997. The sunny conditions created a slick track that challenged competitors and produced one of the more entertaining events of the season with drivers running multiple grooves and passing throughout the field.

“The cars were slipping and sliding; there was a ton of [tire] fall off,” Johnson said. “I enjoyed the long (green-flag) runs. I really like sizing up guys that I’m racing with and seeing how that works out.”