Edwards ends Nationwide Series drought at Milwaukee

Carl Edwards poses with the trophy at The Milwaukee Mile's Victory Lane

Padraic Major for NASCAR

All it took to end Carl Edwards' year-long NASCAR Nationwide Series winless streak was to change crew chiefs.

The defending series champion had gone 36 races without a victory, and team owner Jack Roush decided that was enough. So Roush Fenway Racing swapped crew chiefs earlier this week, with Drew Blickensderfer taking over for Pierre Kuettel on Edwards' No. 60 team.

Edwards responded by winning Saturday's Camping World RV Rental 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the Milwaukee Mile.

Edwards' last victory was at Nashville in June 2007, and though he won the series title last year, Edwards didn’t win the second half of the season.

"It just feels good to win a race … for our team, for everybody at the shop and all the guys who have been working hard and sticking with this program even though we haven't won a race in a long time," Edwards said. "It means a lot to have all that support. This win is a huge relief."

Edwards bumped past Clint Bowyer to take the lead with 38 laps to go and held off rookie Joey Logano to score his 14th career win in the series.

Logano finished second in Joe Gibbs Racing's Toyota, with Bowyer hanging on for third in Richard Childress Racing's Chevrolet. David Ragan (Roush Fenway) was fourth, with David Reutimann (Michael Waltrip Racing) fifth.

Scott Wimmer, Mike Bliss, Brad Keselowski, Jason Keller and Jason Leffler rounded out the top 10.

Keselowski won the pole and had the dominant car for more than half the race. But after leading 145 of the first 171 laps, Keselowski was challenged in Turn 3 by Logano.

Logano slipped in the corner and bounced into Keselowski, sending the No. 88 Chevrolet up the track. Logano took the lead and soon pulled away.

Logano was bidding to become the fourth series driver to win two races in his first four starts — joining Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip and Ron Fellows — but he was beaten off pit road on Lap 206 by three other cars.

Steve Wallace took the lead by changing only two tires, with Edwards and Bowyer following him off pit road.

Edwards quickly dispatched Wallace, but Bowyer ducked inside Edwards for the lead on Lap 212.

After the race's eighth caution on Lap 221, Edwards tried to slip inside Bowyer, and the two made contact on Lap 226, which allowed Edwards to take the lead for good.

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