NASCAR Barometer: Edwards Dominates for 4th Bristol Win

Carl Edwards started Sunday's Food City 500 from pole position and outlasted his teammates to command the race for his first win of the 2016 season. The win puts Edwards into the Chase for the Sprint Cup, where teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin already have booked entries.

The Food City 500 was a race of mistakes and attrition. While Joe Gibbs Racing dominated the practice and qualifying sessions, all but Edwards suffered some measure of trouble in the race. The issues suffered by his teammates allowed Edwards to breathe a bit easier until other contenders simply took up the fight. Arguably, most impressive in the race was the number of drivers who suffered some kind of trouble only to work their way back into contention. Speeding in the pits, loose equipment penalties, failed tires and other stumbling blocks meant that just by running a clean race a driver could have a chance for a big finish. In the end, Edwards had plenty of competition, but he didn't put a foot wrong all afternoon and took home the trophy as a result.

UPGRADE

Carl Edwards – Not only did Edwards start from pole position, he also successfully avoided the trouble that dumped his teammates out of the race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has run very well at Bristol in recent seasons and put it all together on Sunday to score his first victory of the season and book a spot in the Chase for the Championship. Edwards might have had more contenders to deal with in the final miles had so many drivers not endured trouble, but he'll be riding high with momentum this week in Richmond, where he has one win, four top-fives, and 11 top-10s from 23 career starts.

Kevin Harvick – Problems have kept Harvick from truly planting his stamp on Bristol Motor Speedway, but that wasn't the case on Sunday. The former champion raced hard throughout the distance, and didn't fall afoul of loose wheels, blown tires or contact with other cars. That made the difference for him as he battled for the lead in the final portions of the race. He ultimately slipped back to finish seventh after multiple late restarts, but this is his fourth top-10 from the last five races. His performance on Sunday is a good omen for Richmond, where his career is much better. He won three times at the track and hasn't finished outside of the top 15 since the spring race of 2012.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Earnhardt's race was nearly over as soon as it started on Sunday. The No. 88 failed to get power to the wheels just as the green flag waved, and, in the flash of an eye, Earnhardt found himself two laps down to the leaders before his race truly got underway. It was an up and down afternoon for the No. 88, but after battling through adversity all afternoon Earnhardt worked his way into a tremendous second-place finish to complete a stunning recovery. While Richmond hasn't been the best of the short tracks for Earnhardt, he does have three wins at the track. Unfortunately, he has only led seven laps in the last six races there, however.

Chase Elliott – Elliott moved from the "Biggest Surprise" two weeks ago in Texas to being firmly in the "Upgrade" column this week. The young rookie scored an impressive fourth-place finish Sunday after not falling afoul of the mistakes and troubles that took out many other drivers with more experience. Elliott has now picked up four top-10 finishes from his last five races, and is looking more and more like a star of the future. Unlike other races, Elliott does have one Sprint Cup start at Richmond. He started and finished the spring race last season in 16th position. That was an impressive performance in and of itself, but fantasy players can probably expect more from him this time around.

DOWNGRADE

Jimmie Johnson – Johnson was one of many drivers forced to overcome pit penalties on Sunday. The No. 48 steadily worked his way back to the front of the field without making any significant chassis changes, which meant he had one of the best cars in the field. A loose wheel just after the halfway point meant he had to pursue the whole endeavor again, though. By the time the distance was almost complete Johnson was back within striking distance only to falter through the final restarts. For all of the effort, he was only able to finish 23rd. To work so hard and come up so short is a big disappointment for the first driver to win multiple races this season.

Kyle Busch – Busch was the first of the top cars to encounter trouble Sunday afternoon when he lost a right-front tire, which put him in the wall. The No. 18 pitted to repair that damage but lost his top-five position as a result. Another spin and pit penalties held Busch down the running order throughout the afternoon, but he was able to remain on the lead lap until one final blown tire knocked him completely out of the race. Luckily, things will likely get better for him next week. Richmond is another good opportunity for Busch; he has four track wins with 15 top-10s from 21 career tries.

Matt Kenseth – Kenseth was one of the fastest cars early in Sunday's Food City 500. However, like his teammate, he had to overcome two right-front tire failures. The first incident caused damage but didn't take him out of the race. The second was much more impactful. That incident put him behind the wall and out of the car, while the team scurried to make repairs as the race went on without him. He returned to action but only worked his way back to 36th before laps ran out. This team continues to be plagued by bad luck but still races well enough to be contenders. A little confidence and positive momentum could change everything for the squad. It could come in Richmond, where he won last fall.

Kyle Larson – Larson's strength at Bristol was overshadowed by a broken trackbar on Sunday. The failure happened in the first half of the race and dropped Larson 36 laps behind the leaders before he returned to the circuit. Some of Larson's short-track ability should be back on display next week in Richmond, though. He has never scored a top-10 at the track but his worst finish is 16th. Before last week's trouble, Larson did turn in a third-place finish at the short track of Martinsville, which would indicate that if he can have a mistake-free run in Virginia he could be capable of scoring a top-five. That is a large ask at a circuit as intense as Richmond, however.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Matt DiBenedetto – While there were many options from which to choose for Sunday's surprise of the race, DiBenedetto gets the nod. The BK Racing driver capitalized on the mistakes of others for his best-ever finish in NASCAR Sprint Cup. He came home an impressive sixth-place after working his way into the top 10 for the final laps of the race. It was an impressive performance from one of the smaller teams in the series and will serve as a boost to everyone in the organization as they look to build upon this success and grab more top finishes. Fantasy players shouldn't expect last week's result to be duplicated in Richmond where DiBenedetto's best finish is 36th, but last week's top-10 is definitely one to savor.