A lengthy race marred with cautions came to an end right before midnight, with Carl Edwards winning the Southern 500 in a Loy Allen Jr. tribute paint scheme.
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| Seven championships between these two |
“It was great to do this for the whole Arris team, everybody at JGR, but especially for Loy”, an exhausted Edwards said from victory lane. “When I took this ride with Joe Gibbs Racing, I knew I wanted to honor ol’ Loy, and that’s what we do most of the races, with this orange-and-white 19 car.”
Edwards said that while a number of teams ran special throwback paint schemes this weekend, he wasn’t tempted to waiver from his “perma-tribute” to the former Daytona 500 pole winner.
“We could’ve run a Jeremy Mayfield tribute, but I already pay tribute to drug use by doing Tyler Walker’s backflip”, Edwards continued. “Sure there’s plenty of drivers we could honor, famous cars we could emulate, but why mess with perfection? Loy Allen Jr. is perfection.”
Allen Jr. was unable to be reached for comment, but Edwards wanted it to be known how much admiration he has for the former Hooters-sponsored driver.
“Wherever you are, Loy, this is for you”, Edwards said directly into the camera. “And we’ll see if they’ll let us put Hoosier tires on the car next time.”