[h=2]NASCAR Bristol recap: Carl Edwards ignores nervousness, scores first victory of 2016[/h] By Jordan Bianchi
@Jordan_Bianchi on Apr 18, 2016, 3:07p +

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports


In a race where his teammates dealt with repeated tire failures, Carl Edwards delivered a near-perfect performance.






On day filled with nervous tension, it was appropriate Carl Edwards felt a little apprehensive performing his customary backflip in the aftermath of Sunday's win at Bristol Motor Speedway.
As he's done many times previously, Edwards executed the backflip off his car door without any hiccups -- though the landing was worrisome, as a slight stumble almost created a cringe-worthy crash.


"I considered not doing it," Edwards said. "I haven't done one for a while, so I almost landed and tripped and fell backwards. But oh well. Once you stand out there and the crowd is cheering and everything, it's a pretty cool feeling.
"I'm glad it went well ... I was nervous."
Those misgivings weren't limited to just backflips, as throughout the Food City 500 he had reservations about tire durability. An understandable discomfort considering what the Joe Gibbs Racing driver witnessed Sunday.
Edwards saw teammates Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth hit the wall twice apiece due to blown right-front tires. Both Busch and Kenseth, who led 142 laps, had cars capable of keeping pace with Edwards, but the second failures for Busch and Kenseth were destructive, requiring trips to the garage to fix the considerable damage.
A third teammate, Denny Hamlin, also had a right-front go down, giving further credence that this was not a Goodyear issue but something relating to JGR's chassis setup.
Be it tire pressures or the amount of chamber used, whatever the organization was doing to make its Toyotas fast -- all four drivers qualified fifth or better and Edwards and Kenseth combined to lead 418 of 500 laps -- presumably triggered the lack of reliability. (Goodyear is taking the tires in question back to its headquarters for further analysis.)


"I have the best teammates in the business, and if they can have trouble, I can surely have trouble," Edwards said. "I was nervous about it."
But any concerns Edwards had were assuaged by crew chief Dave Rogers, who repeatedly told his driver that the tire problems suffered by Busch, Kenseth and Hamlin were unrelated to how he had setup the No. 19 car.
Whether he was merely being honest or just using crew chief-speak to alleviate Edwards' anxiety, Rogers didn't elaborate. Nonetheless, it underscores the relationship the two have quickly formed after team owner Joe Gibbs reassigned Rogers from Hamlin to Edwards over the offseason in an attempt to spur better performance out of Edwards, who had an underwhelming first year with the organization in 2015.
"I truly have never worked with someone that I think is more like me and communicates the same way as I do," Edwards said. "If we don't win the championship, it will not be because of any problem between Dave and I.
"I'm not just saying this because he won this race, but he's already like a brother. It's unreal. I'm really, really happy with being with Dave. We don't get along with everybody, but we get along with each other really well, so it's great."
In Edwards' final years with Roush Fenway Racing, he shuffled through crew chiefs and Rogers is his second in as many seasons in the JGR camp. This union, however, has the look of one that will last long term as their strong bond is manifesting itself on the track. Edwards has finished in the top 10 in seven of eight races, ranks second in points and has already led more laps in eight races this season (475) than he did all of 2015 (376).
And at Bristol, Edwards was near-perfect. He started on the pole, led 276 laps, had an average running position of second and executed a pair of textbook restarts in the final 10 laps to secure victory.
"There is no more close-knit team in sports probably," Edwards said. "I've had a great time getting to know Dave, and it's really just fun to be a part of something like this. The fact that we're running well, that's just icing on the cake."