You lose a NASCAR race you thought you had won and it's understandable to be aggravated.
But that wasn't the case Sunday for Carl Edwards, who was leading on the white flag lap at Talladega Superspeedway, until almost out of nowhere he was passed by the tandem of David Ragan and David Gilliland.
Edwards finished the Aaron's 499 third, and while he would have liked to have won he was more than accepting of the outcome.
"These guys got by and we had a one-two-three finish for Ford, which is huge, and I know it's huge for these guys and Front Row Motorsports," Edwards said. "As frustrated as I am about the loss I'm really happy for these guys, and it couldn't happen to two better guys and a hard-working team."
The contentment expressed by Edwards stems from an offseason meeting where Ford brought all its teams together and stressed the importance of working together as a singular unit. And that teamwork was on full display throughout Sunday's race.
Earlier, Edwards had led a procession of four Ford drivers into the lead just before rain halted the race for nearly four hours. And he also credited teamwork for putting him in position where he was challenging for the win in the closing stages.
"We want to work together," he said. "We want the rest of the field to know that Fords are going to be strong because of their ability to work together and share information and help one another on the racetrack, and I think you saw a lot of that today."
Edwards' optimistic outlook is part of a new approach he's undertaken this season.
No longer does he ride a rollercoaster of emotions, instead content to find the positive in each situation. This mindset has paid off well so far, as Edwards has seamlessly overcome a disappointing 2012 season that saw him go from championship runner-up the year before to missing the Chase completely.
But through 10 races this season, Edwards already has one victory (Phoenix) and his third-place finish at Talladega has him ranked second overall in points.
"I'm getting to do what I love to do, working with people that I'm very fortunate to work with," Edwards said. "And at the end of the day, I had a pretty good time and we had a shot to win this thing a couple of times.
"Right now I'm still a little frustrated about not winning, but it's nice to be frustrated about third at Talladega for me."
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