Carl Edwards dominated at The Last Great Colosseum Sunday afternoon during the Food City 500. Edwards won the event by leading 276 of 500 laps and holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr after a late race restart.

Edwards started from the pole at Bristol Motor Speedway and avoided issues that hindered his teammates and the field for much of the day.

“We didn’t have any trouble, and really it’s just a testament to everybody at the shop and our whole team. Really awesome to have a win so now we can really have some fun and focus on this championship.”

An eventful day at Bristol, which began at the start when the 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr showed no signs of power before the drop of the green flag, was a light one for the driver of the 19, even if he remained on the edge.

“I at no point felt comfortable. Even the last lap I felt pretty good, but it’s just so easy to mess up here.” Edwards said.

Edwards win qualifies him for the Chase alongside two of his teammates, defending Sprint Cup Champion, Kyle Busch and this year’s Daytona 500 winner, Denny Hamlin.