Contested over 367 laps on the 1.366 mile (2.198 km) egg-shaped speedway, it was the 25th race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

This was the 25th career victory for Carl Edwards, second of the season, first at Darlington Raceway and fifth at the track for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Thankfully, the sanctioning body shuffled a handful of races on this year's schedule to put the Bojangles' Southern 500 back where it began in 1950.

"source=Motor Racing Network lead writer and co-host of The Morning Drive on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Pete Pistone giving his thoughts on the return of the Bojangles' Southern 500 to Labor Day weekend[13] From 1950 to 2003, the Bojangles' Southern 500 was run on Labor Day weekend in late-August or early-September.

In August of that year, NASCAR announced Darlington's date, which still is the race that traces its lineage to the 1957 Rebel 300, would be held on Labor Day.

"[13] In ESPN.com's weekly Turn 4 series, NASCAR analysts and writers Ricky Craven, Ryan McGhee, John Oreovicz, and Bob Pockrass answered the week's question "Why did it take so long for NASCAR to move the Labor Day race back to Darlington[.

"[15] Pockrass said that "[s]tubbornness and refusal to admit failure" was his guess and that it was "one of NASCAR's most head-scratching moves in trying to build the sport.

"[16] He also added that by returning "Darlington to Labor Day weekend, NASCAR has righted a wrong; even if it was a tradition that should have never been abandoned in the first place.

"[16] Mike Hembree of USA Today called the initial decision of moving the race from Labor Day weekend "[s]ports blasphemy of the highest order" and its return to Labor Day weekend as being "back where, as people in this farming section of South Carolina will tell you, God meant it to be.

"[17] Since its most recent Sprint Cup Series race in April 2014, Darlington Raceway added 4,600 ft (1,400 m) of additional SAFER barrier to both the front and backstretch walls.

[18] This made Darlington the second track on the Sprint Cup schedule, after Bristol, to line the entire circumference of the outside retaining wall with the energy-absorbing barrier.

Each run out you lose so much grip in the tires, it’s a challenge to try to find the right balance and it turns into fun," Kurt Busch said.

The fifth caution flew on lap 122 when Mike Bliss cut down his right-front tire on the backstretch and slammed the wall in turn 3.

The sixth caution flew on that same lap when J. J. Yeley apparently made contact with Annett in turn 3 and destroyed the protective foam on the driver's side of his car.

The seventh caution of the race flew on lap 134 when Jimmie Johnson drifted down into the path of Joey Logano and spun out exiting turn 4.

[35] The eighth caution of the race flew on lap 165 when Trevor Bayne made heavy contact with Danica Patrick.

The 10th caution of the race flew on lap 198 when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got loose, slid down the track, and slammed the inside wall in turn 4.

The 11th caution of the race flew on lap 208 when Kyle Busch apparently made contact with Greg Biffle sending both spinning.

The 13th caution of the race flew on lap 246 when Trevor Bayne cut down his right-rear tire and spun in turn 4.

The 14th caution of the race flew on lap 265 when David Ragan got loose, slid down the track, and hit the inside wall on the frontstretch.

The 17th caution of the race flew with 60 laps to go when Martin Truex Jr. tapped the rear of Kurt Busch and sent him spinning.

The 18th caution of the race, a new track record, came out with 13 laps to go when Jeb Burton made contact with Johnson and spun out.

Certainly a huge part of the reason is the unique layout of Darlington, which is nowhere near as wide as Kentucky or has a racing surface as worn out.

Goodyear’s tire seemed to perfectly fit the package and drivers needed to manage their rubber all race long to combat fall off.

"[43] Jeff Gluck of USA Today said that while "the Southern 500 was a grueling marathon and a caution fest that lasted more than four and a half hours..., it also was a very entertaining race that featured tight battles for the lead and the kind of tire falloff that helped NASCAR rise to popularity in the first place.

"[48] Nate Ryan of NBC Sports said that it would "be better if NASCAR bravely calls an audible for the Chase and institutes the low-downforce package that met with smashingly positive reviews at Kentucky Speedway and Darlington Raceway.

Whether installing double-file restarts or making three attempts at a green-white-checkered finish, there often has been little fair to competitors about the recent initiatives aimed at increasing the entertainment value.

Rick Allen, two–time Darlington winner Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte had the call in the booth for the race.

Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast handled pit road on the television side.

Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley and Steve Post worked pit road on the radio side.