It is Edwards’ 26th career victory, but his first of 2016.

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There were 15 cautions in the race, the most in a Bristol race since there were 15 in the 2007 spring race. Edwards’ Joe Gibbs Racing teammates were responsible for several of those cautions. Series leader Kyle Busch, who had won the past two Sprint Cup races and had six top-fives in the first seven races, struggled with tire problems the entire race. He completed only 258 laps and finished 38th.

“I’m not sure what started it, but we were a little snug early on in the first run of the race,” Busch told reporters after going out of the race. “As the car would run more and more laps it would get tighter and tighter, that’s the weirdest thing that I’ve felt all day and all weekend we haven’t had that problem. … I don’t know why it kept getting tighter and why we were blowing right fronts.”

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Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Matt Kenseth, also had tire issues. Although he led 142 laps, he blew two right-front tires and finished 36th. And like Busch, Kenseth smacked the wall hard enough to send him behind the pit wall. Kenseth returned; Busch didn’t.

Edwards said he was well aware his teammates were having tire issues.

“There was some concern, but for some reason, our car, we didn’t have any of those issues,” Edwards told Fox Sports after the race. “There were so many different things happening out there. … It’s a real testament to my team, who have all been working hard.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr., fell two laps down when his car lost power because of a balky electronic control unit at the start of the race. But he fought back to finish second.

Kurt Busch finished third, while Chase Elliott and Trevor Bayne rounded out the top five. It was Bayne’s first top-five finish since he won the 2011 Daytona 500.

Edwards’ win earns him a spot in the Chase, something every driver wants to get out of the way early in the season.

“Now we’re in the Chase,” he said. “We can go have some fun.”

Next week, NASCAR runs at Richmond. That April 24 Sprint Cup race will begin about 1 p.m. ET.

Here are the results from the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.