CARL EDWARDS PRESS CONFERENCE HOW DID YOU SEE IT OUT THERE TODAY? “We were focused on the wrong car I guess. I thought we were racing the 33 and my crew chief said that the 18 was the leader and I thought he hadn’t pitted yet but he had and took two tires. That was the call that won the race. He was in the best position being back there watching what we were going to do and then doing the opposite. It didn’t work out the way we wanted to. I had a lot of fun racing with Kevin and Kyle and Stenhouse. It was pretty fun racing out there today.”
DID YOU CONSIDER TWO TIRES AT ALL AND IS IT SHAME THAT A RACE LIKE THAT WITH SUCH GOOD RACING ENDED WITH A PIT STRATEGY CALL? “I did not think of two tires until we were jacking up the left side of the car. I wondered being so close to the end if someone would take two but I didn’t think about it more than that. I guess it is a little bit of a shame it didn’t come down to a battle at the end. It could have though. A little slower stop on Kyle’s car or a caution would have made it an insane finish.”
HOW DOES RACING HERE SATURDAY HELP ON SUNDAY? “I think getting on pit road and stuff like that it helps you a little bit. It really is just fun. What are we going to do, sit around? I can’t think of something better to do on Saturday than to race out here. It is really a blast.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE NEW FORMAT AND WITH RICKY BEING THE LEADER NOW IN POINTS? “I don’t know about the format, it remains to be seen how the season will end up but man Ricky was driving the wheels off that car. If I wanted to run into his back bumper going around the corner I couldn’t have. He beat me by 20 car lengths in the center of the corner, or at least that is what it felt like. I think that showed not only how good Ricky is but how good of a team we are compared to a year ago. Our Nationwide program is way better and it is fun to be able to race up there with my teammate.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. POINTS LEADER PRESS CONFERENCE YOU HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT YOU OUT HERE TODAY, TALK ABOUT HOW THINGS WENT FOR YOU. “That is good because I think last time I was here they were talking about me for a different reason. It is good to be up front and leading. These guys work hard every week. Our Mustangs have been fast. We finally got the finish we deserved this week. We feel like we have had top five’s the first four races here and let it slip away with mistakes we made or just the way it worked out with fuel or cautions. It was a good day for us and we will carry this momentum into Texas. I wasn’t looking forward to California because I hadn’t been good here the last two races. We are definitely looking forward to going to Texas.”
WHAT WAS IT THAT MADE YOU SO FAST ON THE SHORT RUN AND IS THIS THE KIND OF PERFORMANCE YOU NEED TO GET A SPONSOR ON THE HOOD? “We need a sponsor on the hood that is for sure. We have Black Angus Beef and they have been a great sponsor and we’ve got EZ Feed which I think will do a couple more here with us. Hopefully we can muster up some money for our car. On the short run we were really fast. I might have ran it too hard getting to the lead and trying to run away from Carl instead of backing up and being cautious. I was probably running to hard. I don’t get the lead too often so it was cool to get up there and lead. I probably wore the tires out too quick. I still don’t think we would have had anything for him even if I had slowed down. They were really good at the end of the run.”
DID YOU THINK ABOUT TAKING TWO TIRES? “I was getting ready to go over the radio and say something. We never said anything. I guess the crew chief and engineer were talking about it but we didn’t want to get stuck out there on caution on two tires. We had fourth locked down taking four and that was our goal there.”
DO YOU FIND YOURSELF LOOKING AROUND AT THE POINTS GUYS AS OPPOSED TO RACING THE RACE OR THE CUP GUYS? “I definitely look around. All of this is not as critical now as it is 30 races from now. I do look around but I definitely worry about our car and try to get our car as fast as it can. I feel like if we get our car as fast as we can get it then we will be in front of those guys. I feel our program is really strong right now. I pay attention to where they are but don’t let it get to me.”
TALK ABOUT THIS NEW CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS FORMAT AND HOW IT AFFECTS YOU. “The Championship format I like it. I think Nationwide Insurance has done an awesome job of making our own identity. I feel like looking at the races, I don’t know if it is the new points system getting in our minds that a Nationwide regular is going to win the championship, but it seems like the regulars have been in the top five and running strong. I think it has upped the competition and everyone is trying a little harder.”
HOW DOES GOING AGAINST THE CUP GUYS UP YOUR GAME? “It definitely ups it. I like running with them. I think it really helps me to learn as a race car driver things to do and not to do. They are good. You have to be on your game to win one of these races. I think it just ups the competition level of everybody out there and makes me drive harder to beat them because if they aren’t out there I wouldn’t have to drive as hard to win the race. I think overall everybody drives harder because they are there and they set the bar a lot higher than what the bar would probably be set at. I like racing with them. I feel like if we can run with them every week, if I do give the opportunity to race on Sunday, I will be a little more ready for it.”
HOW DO YOU GO FROM WHERE YOU WERE LAST YEAR ON THIS TRACK TO THIS YEAR? “It is a new car and it fit my driving style. I feel like the four races we ran last year with our Mustang were some of my best races. We had a couple top five’s with it and we were fast on the 1.5 miles but didn’t get the finishes we needed in the four Mustang races. It is a combination of everything. The new FR9 motors and Roush Yates has done an awesome job with those. We have new cars and engineering with the Cup cars which are running good also. We have the same team as last year which helps and I think I am just more focused than I was last year.”
HOW NICE IS IT TO BE THE POINTS LEADER GOING INTO A WEEK OFF? “I get it for two weeks at least. That is cool. I have always wanted to lead the points. Since we started this deal this year at Daytona I felt like we had the car and team to do it. I feel like I have the capability of putting it up front and taking the points lead. It is a little slower than I wanted getting there but I am glad we have it now and hope we keep it and open it up a little bit.”
