NASCAR at Darlington 2015 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights and Reaction

Sunday's Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, was a battle of attrition, and Carl Edwards outlasted a strong charge from Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski, as well as a track-record 18 cautions, to take home his second win of the season.

NASCAR gave fans a glimpse of the dramatic last lap and the celebration after nearly five hours of racing:

The grinding pace provided Edwards with enough opportunities to overcome a flat tire and an early two-lap hole, and he made a final charge out of pit road with 12 laps remaining. Harvick was the defending champion, and Keselowski put himself in position to win near the end. But Edwards made the critical charge when it mattered the most in the closing laps.

He celebrated in style, per the Cauldron:

Here is a look at Edwards and the rest of the top 10 from Sunday's race, per NASCAR.com:

Place	Driver	Time Behind Leader (Seconds)	Laps Led
1	Carl Edwards	--	15
2	Brad Keselowski	0.902	196
3	Denny Hamlin	1.266	57
4	Joey Logano	1.667	29
5	Kevin Harvick	2.618	44
6	Kurt Busch	3.244	7
7	Kyle Busch	4.511	3
8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	4.783	0
9	Martin Truex Jr.	5.461	0
10	Kyle Larson	5.916	3

Edwards' victory altered the Sprint Cup Series driver standings as well, which can be seen below, per NASCAR.com:

Place	Driver	Points
1	Kevin Harvick	948
2	Joey Logano	906
3	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	855
4	Brad Keselowski	837
5	Jimmie Johnson	817
6	Martin Truex Jr.	806
7	Matt Kenseth	776
8	Denny Hamlin	754
9	Kurt Busch	752
10	Jamie McMurray	726

The most notable moment in the first 200 laps came when Danica Patrick hit the wall, leading to a caution. The accident took her out of contention and temporarily slowed the race. NASCAR shared the moment, while Jeff Gluck of USA Today passed along Patrick's reaction:

Patrick's incident was far from the only one in the early going. There were double-digit cautions by Lap 210, which prevented most of the drivers from establishing anything resembling a rhythm. Matt Crossman of ESPN.com commented on the pace:

"

This #NASCAR race is taking so long the cars that weren't retro at the beginning will be retro by the end.

— Matt Crossman (@MattCrossman_) September 7, 2015"

Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart battled for the lead around Lap 225, but Harvick made a charge into second place by Lap 230. Harvick's move was notable because he won the Bojangles' Southern 500 last year and was coming off two second-place finishes. He is also the points leader in the Sprint Cup Series standings and a threat to make a late push whenever he takes the track.

Although Harvick, Hamlin and others avoided any major trouble heading into the final 100 laps, this update from Jay W. Pennell of Fox Sports provided a clue as to why there were so many cautions:

Bob Pockrass of ESPN.com pointed out why all the cautions were a bigger problem than usual:

"

NASCAR told the teams earlier in the race to manage their 12 sets. No additional sets. #nascar https://t.co/TFI5RcI7uR

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 7, 2015"

Despite the slow pace, Harvick took the lead by Lap 300 with only 67 remaining. That Harvick was again in position to win came as no surprise, given his outlook, per Holly Cain of NASCAR.com:

"

The way we've run I think we could win the championship with everything we've done so far. I don't think we need to do anything any different because the cars are running great and we know what we're up against when the Chase starts and the grind of what that is. And I think we'll do that better than we did last year.

The best for us is in front of us.

"

Harvick, Keselowski and Edwards battled for the lead heading into the final 50 laps, but they lost a challenger when Martin Truex Jr. hit Kurt Busch. NASCAR passed along the footage:

Following the subsequent caution, Harvick lost momentum after Edwards got under him and took over second place. Edwards then parlayed that move into a charge for first, but he failed to pass Keselowski and once again fell behind Harvick and even Joey Logano for third.

Gluck set the stage for the dramatic finish:

Naturally, there was another caution with 12 laps remaining, and Edwards stormed all the way back to the lead off pit road. It felt appropriate on a day filled with cautions that the most important moment of the entire 367-lap race came out of pit road, but Edwards deserves credit for taking full advantage of his opportunity.

He rode the momentum all the way to the checkered flag and took home his first career victory at Darlington.

This was the perfect performance for Edwards with the Chase for the Sprint Cup looming.

Not only did he win, but he also found a way to fight through plenty of adversity. There were a borderline-ridiculous number of cautions that brought the race to a near halt throughout the evening, and Edwards even had a flat tire in the early going and had to climb back into contention.

He then stared down a red-hot Harvick, among others, and emerged on the other side.

Every driver, including Edwards, will face moments of adversity during the Chase. The No. 19 car proved it could handle them Sunday.