Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
Federated Auto Parts 400 (Richmond International Raceway)
Friday September 5, 2014
Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Ford Fusion, was the fastest car in final practice at Richmond International Raceway Friday afternoon after being in the top-five of the morning session. Edwards met with media members Friday to discuss his start to the weekend and more.
CARL EDWARDS, No. 99 Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Ford Fusion – TALK ABOUT YOUR MINDSET COMING BACK HERE TO A RACETRACK WHERE YOU WON A YEAR AGO. “I love this racetrack. We have a good time here. As a group we run really well here. The cars are fun to drive. It is a battle. It is hard just to get your car set up for the race, that is very difficult. Practice is a lot – we tried a lot of things and guessed at a few things but finished practice on top and I feel we have a good shot at the pole. Hopefully that bodes well for tomorrow. There are a lot of things that will happen tomorrow night. It will be very stressful for a lot of folks. Hopefully for us it is just a chance to get another three bonus points because I do believe these first few rounds of the Chase will be difficult for us so we want all the bonus points we can.”
CAN YOU DESCRIBE HOW THE QUALIFYING AND RACING HAS CHANGED THIS YEAR WITH THE NEW CHASE FORMAT? “Qualifying is definitely different. I think it is more dynamic and there are more things that can happen. There is opportunity to make more mistakes and miss adjustments. From a drivers perspective it is just that you have to go through that qualifying lap multiple times. Those qualifying laps, they are one of the tougher parts of the sport and for me personally you go out there and make a perfect lap but then you have to do it again and sometimes a couple more times. It has been fun. Sonoma was a blast getting to claw our way back up there and make the next round. I think it is exciting for us and hopefully the fans are into it.”
WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY KNOWING THERE MIGHT BE GUYS BEING VERY AGGRESSIVE OUT THERE TOMORROW NIGHT? “I don’t know that I could really forecast what will happen tomorrow night. It is pretty wide open. It could go a number of ways. If weather were to become a factor I think you will see insane strategy and really aggressive restarts. You could see people doing a lot of blocking to stay out front. At the end of the day, if a guy that has an opportunity to win the race tomorrow night, that needs to win the race to be in the Chase, if he has an opportunity I can’t imagine him holding back anything. We will just go out and race and have a good time. Hopefully I am in a position to win and at the very least I hope we get to see a good show.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THIS TIRE THIS WEEK? “I didn’t know it was a new tire until halfway through practice. It does have a little more stagger and you can tell on corner entry it is a little more free. I think Goodyear has done a great job with the tires. If you think of the force on these tires and how much we ask of them with low tire pressures and high G loads, it is pretty amazing that Goodyear is able to come to these race tracks and keep bringing good tires. I am fine with the tire. As long as we are all on the same tire, the more difficult it is the better. It puts it in the drivers hands.”
CARL EDWARDS CONTINUED — DO YOU THINK WE ARE LIKELY TO GET A YELLOW THE LAST 10 LAPS? WHAT MAKES THIS TRACK SO CONDUCIVE TO THAT HAPPENING? “I don’t know. I don’t know all of the stats but it doesn’t really matter what has happened in the past it seems we always find a way to make things insane in some new way. I guess at the end of the day here at Richmond I always go into the race, especially the final 50 laps or so assuming that anything can happen. I have seen this race go a number of different ways. It seems a lot of times the fastest car doesn’t win because restarts are insane and things get bunched up. You can restart eighth with fresh tires and pass everybody in a lap. It is a crazy race track. It is not over until it is over.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS RACE TO YOU? IS THERE ANYTHING TO MOMENTUM GOING INTO THE CHASE OR CAN YOU BE RELAXED GOING INTO THIS RACE? “A year ago we won the race and then finished last in the Chase so I am not a big believer in the momentum thing. At the end of the day the opportunity for us to go get three points could make or break our whole season. If we have a shot to win we have to go win the race. I know how tough Chicago, Loudon and Dover will be and if we miss the cut by two points and had an opportunity to win this race it would be hard to sleep on that. I think we’ve got a car that could potentially win. I love this place and if we have a shot at it I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t race as hard as humanly possible to get it.”
THIS IS YOUR LAST CHASE WITH ROUSH FENWAY RACING AND RUMORS ARE IT WILL BE JIMMY FENNIG’S LAST CHASE AS WELL. HAS HE TALKED ABOUT RETIREMENT WITH YOU? “Yeah he mentioned something about it in the window last week before the race started and I asked if he was serious and he says he is serious. He says this is his last year crew chiefing. I don’t know how that is supposed to make me feel that after all the drivers I am the guy that ran him off into retirement. I guess I can be that difficult. I really feel honored to work with Jimmy Fennig. He is amazing. He is 61 years old and works as hard as anyone I have ever seen. Hopefully we can get him some more wins and a championship this year, that would be really cool.”
AN OFF THE TRACK QUESTION FOR YOU, A LOT OF FORMER DRIVERS STRUGGLE WITH FINANCES AND HEALTH CARE. WOULD YOU BE IN FAVOR OF SOME SORT OF FUND TO AID THEM AND IF SO, HOW WOULD YOU FUND THE FUND? “I am not up to speed enough on the different peoples struggles to comment on that. I try to just manage things for myself the best I can and go from there.”
CARL EDWARDS CONTINUED – DO YOU THINK THE NEW CHASE FORMAT HAS HAD ANY IMPACT ON THE EXCITEMENT OF THIS RACE? “I don’t know. For me as a driver Richmond is a blast. It is fun. It is a really good time to drive here. As a fan growing up I know I was always stuck right in front of the TV or we had updates at our dirt track when Richmond was going on. This is one of the races that no race fan wants to miss. As far as the new Chase format, it could have no impact on the outcome of the race or excitement level or it could be extremely interesting. I do applaud NASCAR. They have put a system in place that gives the opportunity for real drama and excitement and there will probably be people real excited and other people real frustrated. I think that is fun to watch.”
DO YOU EXPECT GUYS THAT NEED A WIN TO DO WHATEVER THEY HAVE TO DO TO YOU TO GET BY YOU IF YOU ARE IN THE TOP-FIVE LATE TOMORROW NIGHT? “I do expect that. I expect some pretty ruthless racing if a guy has an opportunity. I think you are going to see that not just tonight but at the third race of the Chase, sixth race and ninth race and definitely in Homestead. NASCAR has done a good job of putting us in a position where a lot can depend on one pass, one lap, one restart. Everything can depend on that and I think for us as drivers sometimes that is frustrating but it will definitely create some excitement.”
HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE CHASE CLOSE ENOUGH TO REALIZE THE WINNER IN HOMESTEAD COULD BE SOMEONE THAT HASN’T WON IN ANY OF THOSE 10 RACES? “Yeah that is the point I brought up when they talked about this format and I was told that could have happened under any of the formats we have had. That is a possibility and in a way consistency and the lack of mistakes should be rewarded somehow. I believe the only real downside to this Chase format that could show up this year, hopefully it won’t show up in the future, is that these cars are so aero sensitive that you could have a guy stuck in traffic and because of his placement on the track and track position that no matter how much he wants to run up there and bump a guy out of the way or drive harder than the guy in front of him he can’t. I know NASCAR is working very hard on making the race more in the drivers hands and crew chiefs hands and I firmly believe less downforce and aero dependence will lead us in that direction. To me that is really the only downside and it sounds like NASCAR is working on that.”
