MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 22, 2014) – When talking about the favorites to win the Goody’s® Headache Relief Shot® 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Carl Edwards’ name is not one that immediately jumps out. However, the driver of the No. 99 Ford feels like he has as good of a shot as anyone to win on Oct. 26.
“I know the stats say it’s not a good track for us, but we feel like it’s an opportunity to win for us,” Edwards said during the Eliminator Round Media Day at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
In 20 career Martinsville starts, Edwards’ average finish is 15.7. He does have a third place finish at the historic half-mile track on his resume, but that was six years ago.
Edwards said one of the keys to Martinsville is to not make any enemies during the race. However, that may be easier said than done.
“Somebody asked me ‘isn’t it great to not be involved in all the drama?’, but that can change in one lap at Martinsville,” Edwards said. “That place can get pretty rough. We’ll just go there and do what we do and try to do the best we can.”
Edwards thinks Martinsville may be his best chance at securing a spot in the Championship Round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
“For us, our team strategy is a little bit different maybe from others, because we’ve struggled on the mile-and-a-halfs. For our Fastenal team, we go to Martinsville just to win,” he said.
“We feel like that’s an opportunity for us – short track, beating and banging, Jimmy Fennig’s good on the pit box. He’s a hardcore racer and we feel like we’ve got to go there and win.”
While a win would guarantee a chance to win a championship, there is one other reason Edwards wouldn’t mind crossing the finish line first.
“It would be cool to leave there with one of those clocks,” he said.
When told that the iconic grandfather clock trophy is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend, Edwards smiled.
“Yeah, that’d be sweet,” he said.
The Goody’s® Headache Relief Shot® 500 race weekend kicks off on Friday with the Virginia Lottery Pole Day.
Ticket prices for the Goody’s® Headache Relief Shot® 500 begin at just $45.
Tickets to the Goody’s® Headache Relief Shot® 500 on Oct. 26, the Kroger 200 on Oct. 25 and the Virginia Lottery Pole Day on Oct. 24 can be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com.
