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Carl Edwards celebrates with a backflip out of his car after winning the Sharpie 500.

It was the first Nextel Cup race on Bristol’s repaved race track, and the new concrete contributed to thrilling races for the Truck Series and Busch Series earlier in the week. Everyone expected the same results for the Cup event, but it was slow in developing as the race began with 126 uneventful parade laps.

Then Johnny Sauter spun into the wall to bring out the first caution, and Kahne had to use a spectacular move to avoid plowing into him as he passed by the accident scene.

Racing soon resumed until Denny Hamlin’s motor exploded in a puff of white smoke to bring out the second caution. Hamlin, a threat to win here in March, thought he could have contended had his engine not failed. Regardless, he was confident of his championship hopes.

“It was a rocketship all day,” he said. “The other 11 Chase guys are going to have to deal with us when it’s all said and done.”

The racing finally heated up from there, as a frustrated Jimmie Johnson nudged the lapped car of Aric Almirola as he tried to pass. It sent Almirola into A.J. Allmendinger and brought out the third caution of the race.

A sense of urgency seemed to soon take over, as drivers turned it up a notch and began racing side-by-side for position. It set up a fabulous chase between Edwards, Earnhardt and Kahne with 166 laps to go, as the three jockeyed for the lead.

They went inside and out in a three-wide battle for the lead that was hampered by Michael Waltrip’s lapped car. Edwards finally prevailed, taking Earnhardt with him as they sliced past Kahne.

Edwards then pulled far away and wasn’t challenged over five restarts in the final 125 laps.

“Those restarts took about 10 years off my life,” Edwards joked. “Winning here at Bristol is everybody’s dream. This is the night race at Bristol, 500 laps, and we won it.

“I am living a dream. I think every short-track racer out there dreams about this.”