Carl Edwards holds a three-point advantage over Tony Stewart as the duo head prepare for Sunday’s Ford 400 at Homestead Miami Speedway to decide who will be the 2011 Sprint Cup champion. Edwards took part in NASCAR’s Championship Contenders Press Conference on South Beach in Miami, Florida, Thursday afternoon.
STAGE REMARKS
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion – HOW ARE YOUR NERVES RIGHT NOW? “I don’t really have any nerves. We have been running well and have earned our spot at the top of the standings all year. I am excited about to have this opportunity to go out and win this championship. We couldn’t be at a better race track and we feel really good about the race. It is pretty fun. I am enjoying it. I am looking forward to going out there and racing the car.”
HAVE YOU PRACTICED ANYTHING BESIDES THE BACK FLIP IN CASE YOU DO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP? “That is about all I’ve got. I’ve showed you guys all I’ve got. I don’t know. I can’t imagine that feeling. I have stood there in victory lane two of the last three years and watched Jimmie celebrate and imagines what it would be like to be the champion. That would be spectacular.”
IF IT CAME DOWN TO IT, WOULD YOU RACE EACH OTHER CLEAN COMING DOWN THE FINAL LAP, OR ARE ALL BETS OFF? “Did you say something? He’s got the talking part figured out. The problem is I don’t think you have led the points yet this year have you? … That is the funny thing, I have listened to you a lot and you talk a lot about your past successes. That is very respectable and truly, all joking aside, that will make it more fun if we are able to beat you. It will make me more proud. This is going to be a good competition guys. Don’t think for a second that either one of us are going to let anything slide. We are going to go out here and race hard and we are going for this championship. I don’t think you could find two harder races than us up here and we both know that about each other.”
YOU SAID A FEW WEEKS AGO THAT THE POINTS SYSTEM MADE YOU FOCUS ON NOT HAVING A BAD RACE MORE THAN WINNING. DO YOU STILL FEEL THAT SAME WAY? “Oh yeah. Obviously we are leading the points and haven’t won one. Tony has won four of these in the Chase. There are different approaches you can take to it. To be clear we haven’t gone out and said we aren’t going to try to win the race and just cruise and do our best. That is one of the things I am most proud of. We have performed very well even on the days when things didn’t stack up in our favor. We had some pretty big hills to climb. I feel that whatever points system you have that over time you will have close battles and some that aren’t so close. I think we are all fortunate that it is close this year and that is exciting. It is fun to be a part of something like this.”
WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO BRING THAT TROPHY BACK HOME TO COLUMBIA TO PEOPLE THAT HAVE HELPED YOU OVER THE YEARS? “I am grateful to all of them every day that I get to get in these race cars. So many people took a chance on me. Everybody has a story like that. All of us got here with a lot of help from a lot of different people. It would mean a lot to me. It would be huge. I am wise enough to know that my performance on the race track doesn’t define me as a man. It is how I am as a person and the way I am to my family and my friends. When I put that helmet on I will go do the best I can and the people that are behind me will be proud no matter the outcome. It would really be nice to bring that trophy home to Columbia, Missouri. That would be huge.”
YOU GUYS HAVE PUT ON A REMARKABLE SHOW, ESPECIALLY THE LAST COUPLE RACES, WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT EACH OTHER AND WHAT HAVE YOU GAINED? “I can echo that. It is neat to push each other to raise our level of performance. It has been pretty interesting how it has worked out. We have both been very fast the last few races and being able to race one another and race for the wins. That is as good as it gets. I think Tony said it best after Texas when he said this is how it is supposed to be. It feels like a battle at your Saturday night dirt track. These are the kinds of point’s battles I grew up watching. It is neat to be a part of it.”
TONY HAS SAID THAT HE HAS NOTHING TO LOSE. ARE YOU BUYING THAT? “I am not really buying it. He does have two trophies already at home which is a huge accomplishment. I believe that Tony, as an owner and competitor, I mean if you are asking me to believe that he doesn’t go to bed thinking that he wants to win this thing as bad as anyone then I don’t believe that. I think that for me it would be maybe a bigger accomplishment because I do not have a championship in the Sprint Cup series. I think we both are competitors and have that same desire to win and same amount of pressure that comes with that to go out and perform. The bad thing and good thing for both of us at the same time is that we both seem to be able to perform under that pressure. I truly believe this could come down to who wins this race is going to win this championship.”
HE SAID HE THINKS HAVING WON A CHAMPIONSHIP IS AN ADVANTAGE. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE ADVANTAGE IS? “I don’t know any part of that trophy that makes the car faster this Sunday. To me it is about going and performing this Sunday. We will just see what happens. When this thing is over, it is like Tony said outside when we were talking with Darrell Waltrip, whoever wins the other guy will be the first one to shake his hands and say good job. It doesn’t mean we are happy about it. We will see what happens Sunday. I feel good about it. We have run so well here. Bob is calm and cool and my crew is doing well. I feel like I have good people behind me keeping me focused and we will go race.”
LAST YEAR DENNY HAMLIN CAME IN HERE AND WAS SO NERVOUS THE WHOLE STAGE WAS SHAKING. TONY HAS SEEMINGLY TRIED TO NEEDLE YOU TO A DEGREE FOR A FEW WEEKS AND YOU HAVE TUNED IT OUT. HOW HAVE YOU DONE THAT? “There are a couple of reasons that I am not nervous about this and they are personal reasons and reasons that maybe someday I will talk to you about more in depth. I am truly just excited about this and it is interesting to me. I have learned a lot about Tony and the way he competes and things he does by what he says. I have paid attention to what Tony says and the way he looks when he gets out of the race car and the body language he uses. I have learned a lot and still I don’t think he will be any weaker of a competitor because of the things I have seen. He is as good as they get and I am going to go out there and do the best I can. If that is good enough to beat them then I am not afraid to admit in front of the world and anybody that I am going to be proud because of how good of a race car driver he is and the champion that he is. I will be more proud to be able to beat him if that is what happens.”
EVERYBODY SAYS THERE ARE NO “TEAM ORDERS” OUT THERE BUT YOU GUYS HAVE TEAMMATES OUT THERE AND IF IT COMES DOWN TO IT, ARE THERE ANY DISCUSSIONS THE LAST WEEK OR SO TO LET YOU HAVE POSITIONS OR A WIN OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT AMONG YOUR TEAMS AND DO YOU WANT IT TO COME DOWN TO THAT? “We want to win because we deserve to win this thing and that is that.”
IN 2008 YOU FINISHED SECOND AND THEN HAD THE BAD 2009 SEASON. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT THE INTERIM BETWEEN NOW AND THEN HAS TAUGHT YOU? “I think both of us realize it. We just watched five years go by before anyone else won a championship. I talked to you guys a little bit about that in Phoenix. In 2005 it slipped through my fingers and I thought it was no big deal, we would do it next year, then I realized it is a lot tougher than that. In 2008 I think I held on too tightly and was a little too aggressive but I felt like 2009 was going to be our year again. To be here three years later, I think I have realized that even driving the Ford for Jack Roush and having the best team I can have behind me, it is still something. It is an opportunity that only comes up every once in awhile and you have to make the most of it.”
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU PERSONALLY AND TO NASCAR IF THE GUY THAT WINS THE RACE SUNDAY WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP? “To me it would be the coolest thing in the world if we drove down into turn three side-by-side and battle through the corner and one of us won by a bumper. It would be better if I won, but it would be good if it came down to that. To me, I could not personally be more proud of winning a championship that way. That is something you dream about. Like I said I think it could come down to that and that is neat as can be.”
YOU HAVE A LOT OF OBLIGATIONS THIS WEEK WITH FORD AND NATIONWIDE. HOW DOES THAT PLAY INTO THE JOB AT HAND ON SUNDAY? “I don’t have a lot of obligations this week just because of the situation. Ford has been an unbelievable partner to work with. They understand that what I need to do is go do what I have been doing for the whole Chase. My sponsors Aflac, Fastenal, Mike Beam my crew chief on the Nationwide side, everyone understands that the Cup race is our number one focus. We just go do things like we have been doing them. There is no extra stuff on my plate this week.”
YOU HAVE A FAMILY NOW AND A GOOD BASE BEHIND YOU SINCE YOU LAST RAN FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP. YOU HAVE ALL KINDS OF STABILITY. HOW HAS THAT HELPED YOU? “I feel like we started this season at Phoenix last year. Things started clicking and going well and we knocked off the two wins at the end of last season. I feel that is a result of a lot of what you just talked about. I am very fortunate and things are going real well, not just professionally but personally. I have the most supportive group I have ever had in my life around me. When I go to bed at night I don’t worry about sponsors or women or money. I don’t worry about anything but going as fast as I can go. I just go out there and race and for me, and I have done it the other way too, this works a lot better for me personally. It has been good and it is nice to know next year that Bob and I, we talked about it a little bit, no matter what he is my crew chief next year and we will pick this up where we leave off, win lose or draw. I think we will be tough to beat for a few years to come.”
ONE-ON-ONE QUESTIONING IN REGARD TO TONY, WAS THERE ANY PART OF YOU AT ANY POINT THAT SAID, ‘YOU KNOW, WHY DOES HE HAVE TO START STUFF LIKE THAT’? “No, I do understand Tony pretty well. That is part of what he likes to do and it is fun for him. So I guess what I am saying is that I understand. Look, when you are standing there in victory lane with four wins in the Chase, that is what I would expect him to say. I can’t say that if I had won four races in the Chase that I wouldn’t be pounding on my chest a little bit. What I also understand is that none of that matters. This is one race and it has come down to this race. It comes down to who can go out and do the job. All the talk is simply talk and it is about winning this race and winning this championship.”
YOU SEEMED TO BE ABLE TO GIVE HIM A LITTLE BIT BACK THERE AND HE WAS LAUGHING AND TURNING RED. WAS THAT INTENTIONAL THERE WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT NOT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT SPONSORSHIP AND STUFF? “Truly all of that stuff is in fun. I know and he knows that it doesn’t matter what we say. It doesn’t matter if we are over there fist fighting in the corner before this things starts. We are race car drivers and I think we are both good enough to go out there and do our jobs whether we love each other or hate each other. It is neat to go back and forth and give each other a hard time and know it is for you guys and for fun because that race is going to be tough and we will have to give it all we’ve got.”
WHY DO YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE IN POSITION TO BE THE CHAMPION ON SUNDAY? “I believe that we are prepared. There are a couple reasons why I think we are in a very good position this Sunday. I don’t know enough about Tony and his crew and his car and all those things to compare ourselves to them, other than to say that we have set forth this year and had set forth to do some very specific things; that was to not make mistakes, build on our successes, work well as a team, make our engines and cars better and we have accomplished all of those goals. We go into Homestead winning two of the last three races here and I know what it takes to win here. I have no extra pressure. I am signed up, my contract is done, our sponsors are signed up and Bob is coming back. We have no issues. This is one race for us. It could not be a better race track. For me, if this were Martinsville, I would be a little nervous but its not. This is Homestead and that is why I feel we are in the best possible position we could be in.”
TO BE ABLE TO STAY WITH HIM LAST WEEKEND AND HE COULD NOT SHAKE YOU. DID THAT TELL YOU GUYS A LOT ABOUT YOURSELVES? “I believe that last week you saw a change in momentum. I feel like last week we went into that race and I knew how fast Tony was in practice and qualifying and the testing. I knew how tough those guys were going to be. I believe that that type of race track suits their strong points very well. I believed that that would be a very tough race for us and to finish right in front of them and to hang on and maintain the points lead, I thought that was really a big day. It felt like a victory to us.”
YOU SAID HOMESTEAD COULD COME DOWN TO THE LAST LAP. DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT CONSIDERING YOUR RECENT DOMINANCE HERE? “I do not underestimate Tony and the 14 crew. I don’t underestimate the engines they have and cars they put out. I saw what they were capable and the mile-and-a-half tracks. At Vegas if they wouldn’t have had trouble on pit road we probably don’t win that race. Texas I saw in my windshield how fast they are. I believe they are going to be that tough at Homestead. I am taking kinda for granted that we are going to be up there fighting for the lead but we have been able to do that almost every year at Homestead. I feel that this year those guys are as tough as they have ever been on a mile-and-a-half. I think it could truly come down to one of us has to win this race.”
WHAT COULD YOUR TEAMMATES DO AT THIS POINT TO HELP YOU? “The only thing I want my teammates to do is help us with setting up the car and anything we might overlook. I don’t think Tony or myself, I know I don’t and he says he doesn’t, we don’t want our teammates to have an impact on this Chase. I want to win this fair and square. I would rather lose it fair and square than win it with some crazy stuff involving a teammate.”
IT DOESN’T HURT TO HAVE ALL THOSE FORD DRIVERS OUT THERE HELPING YOU THOUGH DOES IT? “Right, but that is not what I want. I want to go win this race based on our merit as a team, the same we would any other race. This race, the outcome of this race should be based on the same things ever other race is based on. How fast you are, your strategy and luck and all those other things. That is what it should come down to. I don’t know if it will come down to those things but that is what I would like.”
HAVE YOU SEEN EVIDENCE IN THE PAST THAT MIND GAMES DO WORK? “They might. It is hard to look at a situation and say what caused that person to have stress or anxiety. I know for me personally at this point in my life I have learned it doesn’t matter what anyone says or thinks about you. It only matters what you go do. Performance wise it truly doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if the whole world says you are not worth a darn and it works the other way too. It doesn’t matter if everyone builds you up and says you are the man. You have to go perform and that is one of the neatest things about this sport. No matter what, you put on that helmet and get in that car and go race. I know for me there hasn’t been anything that crossed over the line where I have had to think about that or worry about that as far as things being said or done. It has been straight up racing and that is good.”
ONCE A DRIVER GETS IN THE RACE CAR DON’T YOU HAVE BLINDERS ANYWAY PRETTY MUCH? “That is the way it works for me. I have had a lot of circumstances go on around the race track but when it goes to racing time there is never a parallel between our performance and all that stuff. Other guys are more up and down. Other guys are more emotional maybe when they are in the race car. I have not always been this way but it is something I have worked at the last five or six years and have been getting better than it.”
WHAT DID YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAID YOU WERE HOLDING ON TOO TIGHT IN 2008? “You know, Talladega was the big mistake I made in 2008 and that was me thinking it was time to go and win the thing and get all we could. That was the wrong thing. I will tell you this, if we had the performance that we had in 2008 right now I believe we would be leading this championship by about 100 points, maybe not over Tony because he has won for races, but we would be in better position. I feel like we have made more of our off days now than I ever could have been able to do in 2008.”
“I feel like I have been through all of it. I have lost the championship two different times. In 2005 if I could go back again I feel like I would have won. Same with 2008. I have seen how to lose them and now all that is left is go out here and apply those things and hopefully it is enough. I feel like those things are money in the bank. There were lessons learned and there was resolve put inside of me and there were things that I have been able to more forward and apply. This year has been second to none. We have had performance that worked, engines that were fast, Bob and I worked well together and have led the points for this huge amount of the season. It is for those reasons.”
TONY SAID HE WOULD WRECK HIS OWN MOTHER TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. DO YOU BELIEVE HE WOULD PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS? I don’t know if I believe that. I think that you just never know though. You don’t know what will happen in a race or how it will work out. I am not about to tell him what I am going to do or what lengths I am willing to go to. It doesn’t help me to tell him my strategy. He has stated what he is willing to do and that is fine but man, you guys, I don’t think either of us underestimate, we would be foolish to either one of us underestimate the others resolve to win. I think that would be foolish.”
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR CREW CHIEF BOB OSBORNE? “Bob is unbelievable. We have been through really great times and really terrible times and we have stuck together, sometimes when it looked like we shouldn’t be together. I believe that has made us stronger. He will be my crew chief for as long as he wants to be a crew chief and it isn’t because he has a trick of the week. It is because he is smart and works hard. I can’t imagine starting another relationship, and I am not the one that decides, Jack decides at the end of the day, but I am getting to the point where I can kind say to Jack, ‘Hey, this is what I am doing.’ It would take a lot to pry Bob away from me unless Bob wanted to go.”
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO WIN THIS CHAMPIONSHIP? “Its pretty simple. It is three points so unless I am what, two positions behind him, we have to go out and beat him. To me, what I am going to do is go in that race and race as hard as I possibly can and if at the end it is close and I know I can make something happen then I will make something happen. Otherwise I am going to race as hard as I can and it doesn’t do me any good to pay attention to anyone else.”
