Brooklyn, Mich. ? Carl Edwards won four races in his first full season, finishing an impressive third in the Nextel Cup standings.

That quick success made Edwards believe wins would be easy to come by. Instead, it took him 19 months to race his way back into Victory Lane.

He finally did it Sunday, overcoming an early speeding penalty and holding off Martin Truex Jr. to win at Michigan International Speedway and snap his 52-race Nextel Cup winless streak.

“It was very difficult to stay composed, especially when Martin was closing in,” Edwards said. “To me, second place would have felt the same as chopping off my arm. I wanted to win. That’s it.”

But Truex, who has not finished lower than third the past three races, brushed the wall in the closing laps and lost his momentum. It cost him a chance to run down Edwards, who handily beat Truex to the line to grab his first win since Nov. 11, 2005, at Texas.

“Is it really over?” Edwards excitedly asked his crew as he closed in on the finish line.

Edwards celebrated his fifth career Nextel Cup win with his trademark backflip off the window ledge of his car. He then shared an emotional hug with crew chief Bob Osborne, who was with him in 2005 but was moved off the crew for most of 2006. The two were reunited at the end of last season.

“It’s been a long time, for both of us,” Osborne said. “I know he’s been dying to get back in the winner’s circle. He’s extremely competitive, awesome race car driver. So, you know, Carl Edwards, I would go to battle for him any day.”

Edwards then gleefully took a pair of scissors to team member Tom Giacchi’s shaggy beard, clipping off a chunk of hair that had been growing since the two vowed in late 2005 that Giacchi wouldn’t shave until Edwards’ next win.

“When they made that silly wager, I had no idea it would be this long,” car owner Jack Roush said. “Carl and Bob won four races the first year. I was even surprised it took this long to get it going this year.”

The victory gave Roush his second win of the season – first since Matt Kenseth won Feb. 25 at California – and temporarily sidetracked Hendrick Motorsports’ season-long domination. Hendrick cars have won 10 of the 15 races this season.

Roush, who has company headquarters in nearby Livonia, makes winning at Michigan a priority for all his drivers and he celebrated twice this weekend – Travis Kvapil also won the Truck Series race Saturday.