BRISTOL, Tenn. - When Carl Edwards was paying his bills as a substitute teacher, hoping and praying he’d someday make it into NASCAR, he pictured himself racing at Bristol Motor Speedway.

So after scoring his first career victory Saturday night at the Bristol bullring, Edwards felt like he was living a dream.

“It’s such a huge win because it’s Bristol. It’s a short track. It’s really tough. It’s 500 laps. It’s grueling,” he said. “This is what I always thought of as a Nextel Cup race. This is what it’s about.

“A Saturday night at a really tough track that’s historic. I guess to me, if you win at a track like this, it feels really good as a driver.”

This one certainly did for Edwards, who clinched a spot in the Chase for the championship while picking up another 10 bonus points to use in his pursuit of the Nextel Cup title.

Edwards passed Kasey Kahne for the lead with 166 laps to go and wasn’t challenged the rest of the way as he drove to his second victory of the season. He beat Kahne to the line by 1.405 seconds, then did his trademark backflip on the finish line to celebrate.

“This is the biggest win of my career,” said Edwards, who has six career victories. “It means the world to win this race.”

The top 12 drivers in the standings will run for the Nextel Cup title, and Edwards clinched his spot with the win.

“We’re back,” declared Edwards, who made the Chase and finished third in the standings in 2005 but failed to make the field last season.

The Chase field will be seeded based on the bonus points earned through “regular season” victories. Edwards now has 20 points, which would tie him with Kurt Busch for third place when the Chase for the championship begins Sept. 16 in New Hampshire.

Only Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson (four wins each) and Tony Stewart (three) have more.

Clint Bowyer finished third to move closer to his first berth in the Chase.

“I am not going to count on that quite yet, not ’til it’s over,” Bowyer said.

Stewart was fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth. Busch, Ryan Newman, Bobby Labonte, Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle rounded out the top 10.

The race to make the Chase didn’t change, as Kurt Busch is still holding down the 12th and final position with two races to go.

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“We’re running more consistent, and that’s what it takes if you want to be a championship contender,” said Busch, who won Tuesday’s rain-postponed race in Michigan. “But for us, we still have to get into the Chase.

“We’re not locked in, so we’re not losing focus with two more races.”

Earnhardt, despite a strong run, gained only five points and is 158 points back.

“I want to win. If I can’t make the Chase, I want to win a race,” Earnhardt said. “When we don’t make (the Chase) everybody makes a big deal over it — they talk about it pre-race and talk about it postrace. It’s a bummer when you see that and watch that. You’re just trying to let it go under the radar when you can’t get it done.”

Newman is 14th in the standings, but hasn’t given up making the Chase just yet.

“We still have a shot at it,” he said. “Mathematically, we still have a chance. We’re just trying to give it our best shot, each and every lap. That’s good enough in my eyes — whether it’s good enough to make the top 12, we’ll see.”

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Kahne started from the pole and was looking for his second win in as many nights — he won Friday night’s Busch Series event — and it looked early as if he’d get it as he led 305 of the 500 laps.

But after losing his battle for the lead with Edwards, he never challenged again. Regardless, the runner-up finish was outstanding for Kahne, who is winless this season and stuck in a horrendous slump.

“To go into a season and think you are going to run well, and then you don’t ... this feels good,” he said. “We haven’t had a top-five since last year.”