Edwards' win not dominant, just needed

— -- CONCORD, N.C. -- It wasn't supposed to happen this way for Carl Edwards. He was supposed to move to Joe Gibbs Racing and dominate races.

Just like Matt Kenseth did when he moved to Gibbs for the 2013 season.

Just like Kevin Harvick did when he moved to Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2014 season.

The Edwards move hasn't brought such dominance. The Toyotas have steadily improved but still don't seem to have the consistent speed of the teams that have led the most laps this year, the ones with cars driven by Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Joey Logano. And maybe it has just taken more time for Edwards to jell with crew chief Darian Grubb and the JGR way.

But as Edwards found out Sunday night, it's just as sweet to win when the stars align and shine in his favor.

Edwards stretched it on fuel when he pitted with 61 laps remaining and cruised to his 24th career Cup win -- his first for JGR -- in the Coca-Cola 600. Edwards wasn't alone in the quest as Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kenseth played the strategy and fuel game. Following him across the stripe was a driver who led 131 laps -- Truex -- having to settle for fifth.

"It doesn't feel like one of 24 wins," Edwards said. "This one feels pretty big to me. ... Hopefully all that bad luck we've had -- I guess it got negated or equaled out by the good luck today."

This wasn't as much of a steal as Nico Rosberg's win at Monaco that opened the greatest day of racing of the year. This wasn't as much of a thrilling finish nor spectacle as Juan Pablo Montoya's triumph in the Indianapolis 500, the greatest race on the greatest day of racing of the year.

But it suited Edwards just fine. He needed a win to make sure that he would make the Chase for the Sprint Cup. After starting the day in 18th and two spots from the cutoff, he's virtually guaranteed a spot in the NASCAR postseason with the win. 

"We have not delivered the results that we all planned on," Edwards said. "To get this win and to put ourselves in position to be in the Chase and to be able to now take a deep breath and work on all the little things that we know we need to work on to be a championship team, this is a huge opportunity."

When the caution flag came out with 63 laps remaining, Edwards was going to pit for tires no matter what as he ran outside the top 10, with only 17 drivers on the lead lap. When crew chief Grubb saw how few drivers pitted, he realized it could become a fuel mileage race. He had planned to take two tires and instead called for four tires, knowing that could lend the extra grip Edwards would need to stay out front while potentially nursing the car to the finish.

Grubb saw an opportunity and put Edwards in position for this great opportunity he now has, one in which he won't have to sweat whether to stretch it on fuel, risking points in search of a win. Questions may still remain for most of the garage hoping to catch those few cars that have seemed to be the class of the field week in and week out, but Edwards now has a win combined with JGR momentum from Denny Hamlin capturing the All-Star Race a week earlier at Charlotte.

"In so many ways, it's a big deal for us," team owner Joe Gibbs said. "We've been way off on the intermediate stuff. It's really been a disappointment for us for quite a while. We've worked extremely hard.

"It shows you how hard our sport is. We have had a tough time catching up. I'm not saying we caught up, but for the last two races here, it's a big deal for us."

It's a big deal for JGR to have three of its drivers having won a race this year. No other organization has three winners, and it leaves just Kyle Busch as the only driver who needs to earn a spot in the Chase. Busch, who broke his right leg and left foot Feb. 21, finished 11th in his first points race this year, saying he had only a sore foot following the 400 laps.

"This week I feel like they found a little bit of speed with our cars," Busch said. "The 20 [of Kenseth] was really fast in practice, obviously the 19 [of Edwards] won tonight, the 11 [of Hamlin] won [the All-Star Race].

"But all in all, it's good to be back in a race car for myself, and hopefully we can get some strong runs and get ourselves in position to win and put all four JGR cars in the Chase."

It will take a monumental effort for Busch to get in, to reach the top 30 and a win with 14 races left in the regular season.

He either will need to dominate some races, rattle off a slew of top-10 finishes and win, or he will need to consistently finish in the top 5, not have any mechanical trouble, avoid wrecks and then have a race just like Edwards had Sunday.

It was one that Edwards admitted probably ended with more relief than excitement. Yes, he celebrated in the stands with the fans while also looking at the track during a reflective moment on how he earned that trophy.

Through the smoke, through the cheers and through the beer being spilled on him, he had a sense that this was just part of setting the foundation for 2015. It wasn't going to be all smooth and sunny as it had appeared for Kenseth and Harvick.

His road would be different. It even started different in the race Sunday as he had soda syrup -- that pit crews had sprayed prerace in the stalls -- on his shoes from walking in the pits prior to the race. He needed a rag and baby powder during a pit stop just to keep his feet from slipping off the pedal.

If he emerges with a seven-win season as Kenseth had in 2013 or a championship season as Harvick had in 2014, he will have triumphed the way he did Sunday night. Through the stickiness. With a little bit of luck.

"I've been doing this a long time," Edwards said. "I just have this feeling that we are gearing up for some really great stuff. Everything that has been going on at the shop, all of TRD's involvement [with] the engine program, and how much everyone is working on that. ... Now we can just focus on building that championship run."