Carl Edwards stood victorious in victory lane Saturday night after a seemingly controversial finish at Gateway International Raceway!

photo credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images

Was it just a case of “hard racing” or did Edwards wreck race leader Brad Keselowski for the win?

Keselowski and Edwards lined up 1-2 for the final restart and as the green flag waved, they raced side-by-side, trading the lead back and forth until contact between the two sent Keselowski spinning.

Edwards: “I just couldn’t let him take the win from me. My guys work way too hard for that.”

Keselowski: “He turned left into me and wrecked me on purpose. I gave him the lane, and he still wrecked me.”

Edwards scored a series-leading third win at Gateway International Raceway and first of the season. It’s his 27th series win, tying with Jeff Burton for 5th on the all-time wins list.

Keselowski spun across the finish line as he was hit by oncoming traffic, finishing 14th, after having the dominant car through the race and leading a race-high 136 of 200 laps.

We know it’s not the first time the two have tangled. Edwards served a three race probation in March after wrecking Keselowski at the March Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta.

Reed Sorenson scored a runner-up finish. Polesitter Trevor Bayne finished third after leading 19 laps himself. Paul Menard was fourth followed by Steve Wallace, Brian Scott, Colin Braun, Josh Wise, Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Tony Raines finished in the top-10.

In his series debut, Martin Truex Jr’s younger brother Ryan finished 28th. After running solidly in the top-10 for much of the race, a blown tire sent him into the wall and crashing out with twenty-two laps remaining.

For the (unofficial) race results, click here (nascar.com)

There were 6 cautions for 30 laps and 12 lead changes among 4 drivers: T. Bayne 1-2; Brad Keselowski 3-46; T. Bayne 47-51; Brad Keselowski 52-119; C. Edwards 120-121; K. Harvick 122-127; C. Edwards 128-141; Brad Keselowski 142-147; C. Edwards 148-168; Brad Keselowski 169-180; T. Bayne 181-192; Brad Keselowski 193-198; C. Edwards 199-200