Carl Edwards rebounded from a rough day last week at Daytona with a fantastic day in Phoenix on Sunday, snapping a long winless streak to the take the top spot in the second Sprint Cup event of the year.
According to ESPN.com, Edwards snapped a 70-race winless streak Sunday at Phoenix, finishing ahead of Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin to win for the first time since 2011 at Last Vegas, where things pick up next week.
Edwards was adamant about driving well in Phoenix after wrecking five cars at Daytona and he only needed on car on Sunday as he led the race for the final 78 laps. The race at Phoenix marked the first non-restrictor- plate event with the newly designed Gen-6 cars and that showed on Sunday as Edwards was able to dominate.
At the end of the race, Edwards received a helpful push from defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski with two laps to go after a restart and took the checkered flag for the first time in over a year.
"I'm sure it's a relief for someone like Carl," said Denny Hamlin, who finished third and had a long winless streak end at Phoenix last year. "He's now relevant again, he really is and it's a good sign for their race team for things to come."
The finish behind Edwards had some drama in itself, as Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson raced to the checkered flag head-to-head, with Johnson edging ahead for second place. Keselowski was on the outside track as Hamlin pulled with Johnson and finished fourth ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"As far down as I was, I was committed, there was nothing that I was going to do where I would back out," Hamlin said. "I just hoped I would have just slid in front of the 48, then you risk getting punted and spun, and your whole day you've worked everything for is taken away in a corner. I held my line and thought I really did the right thing and gave those guys room to pass me back -- and one of them did."
The race on Sunday at Phoenix was a bit less dramatic than the last Sprint Cup event at the track, which featured a crash between Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon that led to fist fight in the garage. The two downplayed the issue at this year's event and Gordon finished in the top 10 in ninth place.
Mark Martin won the pole for the event as the second oldest driver to ever do so, but he did not get the chance to become the oldest Sprint Cup winner in history. Martin had a good start and led the first 49 laps but ended up finishing 21st.
"Obviously, it's a disappointing result for a great effort on the weekend," Martin said. "The car was pretty fast, but we had multiple problems today."
Danica Patrick had a historic week at Daytona while becoming the first woman to win the pole and to lead laps at the event, but her day at Phoenix was much rougher, as she blew a tire in the middle of the race and crashed into the wall before being swiped by David Ragan's car.
The crash knocked debris all over the track and flipped Patrick's hood onto her windshield. Patrick finished 39th in the race after the crash and had a very different race than last Sunday when she led laps at the Daytona 500.
