HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) – Carl Edwards is trying to speed up his learning curve by racing in two grueling series at the same time.

So far, his busy schedule is working out just fine.

Edwards raced to his first NASCAR Busch Series victory Saturday, holding off several Nextel Cup stars in the Aaron’s 312 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Afterward, he came to a stop in front of the main grandstand, climbed out of his Ford and did one of his patented backflips onto the asphalt, delighting the crowd.

“This is the biggest win of my career,” Edwards said. “I was just happy to win. That’s a good way to show it.” Edwards, who spent most of 2004 in the truck series, moved up to Roush Racing’s Nextel Cup team late in the season. He showed plenty of promise with five top-five finishes in 13 races.

This year, the 25-year-old Missouri driver is running a full schedule in both Busch and Nextel Cup, accelerating his experience level in stock cars.

Clearly, he’s not bothered by the hectic pace. Edwards is fifth in the Nextel Cup standings, and Saturday’s victory pushed him to the lead in the Busch Series.

“Every year, there’s a rookie who stands out and shows he has a lot of talent and skill,” said Tony Stewart, who finished more than second behind the winner. “This is a guy who kind of skipped the Busch level. Now he’s got the opportunity to run both series. He’s learning a lot.”

Jimmie Johnson finished third as Nextel Cup regulars – the “Buschwhackers” – claimed the top nine positions. Michel Jourdain Jr. was 10th, making him the top finisher among drivers who compete exclusively in the second-tier series.

In a race that featured 20 lead changes among seven drivers, Edwards surged to the lead with a bold move 12 laps from the finish. After taking new tires on his last pit stop, he surged from fourth to first coming out of turn two.

“I figured that was my chance to get a few cars at once,” Edwards said. “I felt really good about my tires and really good about my setup. Sometimes if you wait too long, you can’t make those moves.”

Stewart appeared to be closing the gap, but he fell back at the end to finish 1.192 seconds behind. A final-lap brush as he tried to get around the lapped car of Busch rookie Ryan Hemphill ended Stewart’s hopes, but he wouldn’t have caught Edwards anyway.

“We just ran out of time,” Stewart said. “We probably needed 10 or 15 more laps.”

Still, he wasn’t happy to get squeezed by Hemphill.

“It reminds you that you’re in the Busch Series,” Stewart said. “Some guys don’t let the leaders race for the win. They just go where they’re going to go. I needed every bit of the racetrack. I was going for the win. I wasn’t just riding around out there.”

The race was marred by eight yellow flags, starting with the very first lap when Ron Hornaday Jr. – who won the truck race Friday night – got tangled up with Justin Labonte on the backstretch. Both cars were knocked out.

Johnson led 90 of the 203 laps, more than any other driver, but it was only good enough for third. Matt Kenseth was fourth, followed by Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Michael Waltrip, Elliott Sadler and Jamie McMurray.

“We were close,” Johnson said. “I think we had the best car at the end.”

Reed Sorenson, a native of nearby Peachtree City who honed his skills on Atlanta’s quarter-mile track, locked up his transmission in qualifying and had to use teammate Sterling Marlin’s car just to get in the field.

After starting from the back, Sorenson finished 19th to hang on to fourth place in the Busch standings.

AP-ES-03-19-05 1920EST

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