Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
NSCS MyAFibStory.com 400
Friday Sept. 12, 2014
Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion, was third fastest in opening Sprint Cup series practice at Chicagoland Speedway Friday afternoon. Edwards spoke with media members after practice to discuss the upcoming weekend, his Chase chances and more.
CARL EDWARDS, No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion – THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS ON THE LINE THIS WEEKEND RIGHT OFF THE BAT. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT? “Well, we hope this car works better than this microphone. Our Fastenal Ford was really fast there that last run so hopefully we have a shot at the pole and that would be a good starting spot and a great way to start the Chase. We want to win this race and lock ourselves into the next round. That is our mission here this weekend. The guys have been working really hard. We came and tested here and as a group have been working really well together through this first practice even right from the beginning. It has been good and hopefully it pays off.”
IS WHAT WE SEE IN THE PRACTICE SPEEDS A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME OR ARE HENDRICK AND PENSKE STILL THE TEAMS TO BEAT THIS WEEKEND? “I hope it is a sign of what is to come. This is the Chase and it is time to step it up. I think you are going to see the best out of everyone. The best they can put together using the things everyone has learned throughout the year. We talked a lot about it yesterday and the day before with all the media but nobody really knows how this will play out. Somehow, someway people find a way to get a little extra speed once the pressure is on.”
HOW MUCH CAN YOU TAKE AWAY FROM LOOKING AT THE SPEED CHART OF THIS PRACTICE? “I hope it stands for the way we are going to run this weekend. I hope we are as strong as we appear to be but everyone has a different strategy. Our strategy was to spend a lot of time in qualifying trim this practice and if it were to rain we would have a good starting spot. If it doesn’t we feel we will be better prepared for qualifying. You never know what program everyone is on but at the end of the race we will see what the chart looks like but for right now it is okay.”
HOW STILL INVOLVED ARE YOU IN THE PROCESS OF THESE LAST 10 RACES WITH ROUSH FENWAY CONSIDERING YOU ARE LEAVING AT THE END OF THE YEAR? “Nothing has changed for me. I am actually shocked by how everything has just stayed the same. It has been amazing. Jack Roush, Steve Newmark, Robbie Reiser, my crew and everyone – the meetings are the same, the information – I guess I wouldn’t know if they are keeping something from me but I don’t think they are at all. We haven’t even talked about it other than to say we want to finish this strong and win the championship. That is all anyone has said. It has been really good.”
YOU SAW THIS TRANSITION WITH MATT AS WELL, DO YOU THINK THINGS HAVE CHANGED WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION REGARDING YOUR CHANGE OR WAS IT THE SAME WITH MATT? “To be honest I didn’t really pay much attention to all the details of that. I haven’t even talked really to Matt about that specifically to compare but I can say that Jack has been 100% stand-up guy. I feel like we are as close as we have ever been and it has been really good. I have got nothing but motivation to give those guys the best that I can. That is what it appears they are giving me, the same as it has always been.”
