Carl Edwards wins the Sharpie 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway, fending off Kasey Kahne to the last, who led almost twice as many laps as Edwards during the race.  Edwards ran a fine tail end of the race.

Behind Kahne, Bowyer maintained his hold on third position, Stewart earned his hard-fought fourth, and Dale Jr. hung on for fifth.

Wow.  There may not have been a neck-and-neck face-off down to the wire, or a photo finish, but suffice it to say that a young man attending his first race—that would be me—was amazed by the skill Carl Edwards exhibited on the track tonight.  I think what struck me was that Kasey Kahne had a boost of confidence going into this one after his win last night in the Food City 250, and he led this race for 305 laps, while Edwards only led for the last 182.

And as for the TriCities.com golden boy, Dave Stremme ... he worked his way one more position down into 14th.  Definitely nothing to sneeze at in a field like this.

The rain held off, by the way, and it’s a balmy cloudy summer night in Bristol.  Now, the silence seems almost deafening on the track.  Where have all the cars gone? I almost ask myself ...

I’ve just realized Carl Edwards back-flipped out of his car.  Talk about excited ... speaking of excited ... I’m quite ready for the after-party at the campsite ... brats on the grill and a relaxing sit as I watch the traffic inch-worm along Volunteer Pkwy.  Might as well make myself comfortable there I suppose ... traffic will be bumper-to-bumper for quite some time!

Thanks for reading along and sharing in the excitement of this year’s Sharpie 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway.

For all of us at TriCities.com, have a great night and a lovely rest of your weekend!

Cheers,
Steves