TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Carl Edwards – Notes & Quotes
Richmond International Raceway – September 11, 2015
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards was made available to the media at Richmond International Raceway:
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What is your outlook this weekend at Richmond after winning at Darlington on Sunday?
“Last week was a blast and it took a couple of days for that to sink in that we actually won the Southern 500. It was a huge win for us. So, for us coming here this is really just a fun race for us. I’ve come here with so much pressure before trying to make the Chase and it definitely is nice to come here with two wins locked into the Chase. We can just go out and have a little bit of fun. Our ARRIS Toyota Camry was really pretty good in practice although with everything that happens here it’s tough to gauge how we’ll be in the race but it is one of my favorite race tracks. It’s a blast to race here at Richmond and then hopefully just have a little bit more fun before the Chase starts and all of the seriousness begins.”
What has Jeff Gordon meant to you as a driver and what do you think he’s meant to the sport overall?
“He’s (Jeff Gordon) obviously a great competitor. Really, he’s a guy that in my opinion opened the doors for a lot of young guys racing at short tracks across the United States by coming into the sport without a ton of stock car experience and doing well. I think it’s been neat to watch his career and it’s been fun to race with him. I know he’s got a lot of pressure right now to perform this weekend, but if anybody can do it he can do it.”
How does your mindset change going into Saturday’s race already being locked into the Chase?
“Really, this race is so different for everyone in the field it depends on your position. A lot of guys – everyone is racing for something different. In our particular case, like I said, we’ve got the two wins and we’re locked into the Chase and we don’t come back here until next year so this is really just a fun race for us. We get to go out and lay it all out on the line, take chances, try things with strategy or driving styles that maybe would be a little more risky and we wouldn’t do if we were in a championship battle. So, it really is a Saturday night short track race for us and that’s fun. It’s neat to be able to be in that position because in this sport as competitive as it is you don’t get those chances a lot just to go have a good time.”
Is there anything you can take out of this weekend for the Chase?
“Maybe a little bit for Phoenix, but now that the surfaces are so different it’s hard to say. I mean, really we’ve just been trying overall to prepare ourselves for this Chase and like you say this track doesn’t really apply to many of the Chase tracks so it’s really just an opportunity to get a win, it’s an opportunity to get a few points and there really isn’t a lot of carryover. This is a pretty unique race track.”
Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to going into this year’s Chase?
“I think I get the opportunity to go and do some television stuff that will be fun and interesting. I just talked to the Toyota folks and they’re putting on a Chase Fest at Lincoln Park next Thursday. That’s supposed to be really neat. Toyota has been – it’s been interesting to get to know them. It’s been a lot of fun and everything they’ve put into the team has been amazing. Being able to be a part of that with them will be neat. But, yeah, last year was a lot of fun. I got to fly down to Mexico City and Cessna helped me out. That was an adventure piloting down there. I don’t have anything that off the wall planned yet, but who knows. NASCAR sends us all over the place and I think in the next few weeks a lot of us will be going to different markets. I think I’m going to Los Angeles which will be fun. That is kind of a neat part of it when you step away from the car and go out and promote our sport and talk about all of the neat things that are going on all over the country.”
Do you think the intensity will build among drivers as the Chase begins?
“I think really you can expect the unexpected. I mean, who knows what’s going to happen. This sport right now is so competitive and the restarts are so important, track position is important, putting yourself maybe two, three or four-wide at some of these tracks sometimes you have to do it to get position and I think that everyone – if you really look at it there aren’t a lot of guys on the bubble right now. There’s not a lot of people who are lunging for life but as we get into these Chase races and we have the cutoffs every three races there’s no telling what can happen. I don’t think there’s any reason to think that it would be more tame. If anything it will probably be more intense than it was last year.”
Is there a specific track in the first round of the Chase that you are more confident heading into?
“I’d say New Hampshire. We have a lot of confidence there. Being the pole sitter there, JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Toyota winning the race with Kyle I feel really good about that race. I know that with everything that can happen at Dover I don’t want to go into Dover in a bad position having to battle it out. We talked a little bit about that at the shop. Denny (Hamlin) was in that position last year and it was really tough, so we want to come out of the box just really fast. We want to win Chicago or win New Hampshire.”
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing (continued)
Did you learn anything from last year’s Chase format that can carry over to this year?
“From the outside, I’m sure different people have different perspectives in the garage but it appeared that the Chase last year kind of went like you could have predicted. The fast guys ended up making it to the next rounds and there wasn’t I think a large surprise. I know (Ryan) Newman made it to the last round and they did a great job of making due with what they had, but I don’t think there were many surprises. But, I think this format provides the framework – we could have some crazy stuff happen and I don’t know that you can plan for all of it. If you have a situation where two or three guys get into it or have problems and then they’re fighting for that one final spot to transfer and they’re all fast enough to win, you could have some stuff happen. So, I don’t think that there’s a real strategy. I think you have to treat it like basically three little mini seasons in a championship race and under that format who knows. I guess what I’m saying is I don’t think you can make a plan because it’s so dynamic.”
Can you talk about the difference in mindset now compared to earlier in the year?
“I know for me personally I feel a lot more calm and confident right now than I did at the beginning of the season. I’d say confidence was at 11 before the season started and after about eight or nine races I was kind of coming back to reality and we had to really dig in and work. Now, just as an organization it’s unbelievable to be driving these Toyota’s right now. Everybody at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) has done a great job. They build cars now – we come to the track and we’re fast and that’s what you’ve got to have. I think to be competitive against this field in this Chase, you have to be getting faster and faster every week. Even as fast as we are I know this is going to be tough. These guys, all of them, are going to step up their game so to speak for the final 10 races so I feel like we can compete now.”
Have you ever raced with any injuries like Denny Hamlin is doing and what challenges can that present?
“Yeah, I think all of us have had little problems and things that can happen. It appears – Denny (Hamlin) has raced if I understand it correctly with basically the same in the other leg and it didn’t seem to slow him down a bit. Getting in and out of the car is probably going to be the toughest thing. I had a broken foot for a while and really it was just getting around the garage that was tough. Once you get in the car the teams are able to tune the pedals and tune the car and make it comfortable. I really don’t think it will slow Denny down much. If anything it might motivate him. He’s a pretty tough guy.”
What have you seen from Joe Gibbs Racing as an organization as to how things have played out during this season?
“I’ve learned that this organization has a ton of depth and they have just an amazing resolve to keep working. It’s so neat to hear the way the guys talk about – we were talking about the different packages and which package we might race in the Chase and one of the technical guys said it doesn’t matter because whatever package it is we’re going to beat him with it. That’s how they think and they just keep working and it’s been amazing to see Coach’s leadership through all of this. The start of the year I can only imagine how tough for him all of this was and if you look at the performance it’s just steadily gone up and it just seems to be getting better and better and I think that comes from just people working hard and working together not losing sight of the goal and it’s neat to be a part of something like that and to see it all come together. With Kyle (Busch) coming back and him going on a streak and just everything it seems like they keep things moving in a positive direction. It’s definitely been eye-opening to me and been a lot of fun.”
Do you think Coach Gibbs has played a big role in where the organization is right now?
“Well, I mean, Coach (Gibbs) — he is JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). He is the guy that keeps everything going. He’s our leader.”
What is the craziest thing that you saw from last year because it was so unpredictable?
“I guess if I had to describe the most notable thing it would just be opportunity. The opportunity is there throughout this Chase for anyone in this Chase to go out and grab that win or grab that spot and move on to the next round. If I’m not mistaken — I was in the car and trying to keep track of everything – Ryan (Newman) and those guys they about won the championship and they took an opportunity to say hey we haven’t been the fastest car all year but they came on strong when it mattered and they almost grabbed that thing. That’s what’s so interesting about this and I think everyone – I can’t speak for everybody in the field but I know for myself I sat back and thought about this Chase format and I thought man, it doesn’t matter what’s happened to this point in the year, it doesn’t matter really what happens all the way up to Phoenix and Homestead. You can stay in there and take the opportunities and you can be the champion and I think for that reason there will be a lot of guys really, really going for it. Just my sense is that the intensity level will be up this year.”
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing (continued)
Why has the passing tapered off at this race track and how do you think the racing will be on Saturday with the new tire?
“It’s 100 percent a function of the teams becoming more and more competitive and then the package that we run being more aero dependent. This track is fast enough that it makes it tough to pass. So, if we can keep working towards the package like we raced last week I think that will just get better and better. But, this place is unfortunately fast enough that you get some of that disadvantage when you get close to people because we rely so much on aerodynamics.”
Are you surprised that this could potentially be the first Chase that doesn’t have a Roush Fenway Racing car in it?
“Yes, I am surprised at that just because I know how good those guys are and how hard they work. It’s like I said before, I would expect at any moment those guys are going to turn the corner. They really do work hard, they’re racers and I see Jimmy Fennig here every week and everybody working hard and I’m sure they’ll get stronger.”
Are there any things that you would do but you don’t because you’re worried that you could potentially be injured?
“I guess, yeah. You have to think about that. It is tough because you want to go and live your life and you can get hurt doing anything. I mean, really, you can. I’d say in general I don’t think about it too much. I go out and do the things that I want to do but you do have to be conscious of it and I think everybody is. I don’t look at Denny (Hamlin), he’s not like a giant risk taker. I mean, he’s working out, he’s doing things he loves and every once in a while something is going to happen. And, really, he could go win this race tomorrow night and it might have no effect. I think everybody probably balances it a little bit differently.”
As far as the rules package is concerned what has the new rules package done to separate the drivers from the cars?
“I really believe, just as you follow things to their logical ends, I mean if the cars are stuck like glue and you never have to lift off of the throttle anyone could drive a car and it just becomes a battle of whose car is the best. The more time you spend off of the throttle, the more you have to manage the tires, the softer they are and by the way they can be softer when there’s less downforce, you get to see the driver’s management of the car and their talent more. You get to see the crew chiefs talent in calling a race and setting up the car. I really love that style of racing. As a fan growing up I specifically watched stock car racing because that’s the style of racing it was. There are guys sliding around the cars. I had no interest in Indy Car racing or anything like that just because it seemed pretty obvious the difference. So, I really applaud NASCAR for going that direction at Darlington and for going that direction in Kentucky, and, like I’ve said, just some downforce taken away. If some is good more should be way better and with the guys that are in this field right now and the talent that’s here and the parity amongst the teams if we had the rules packages like back in the ‘80s, ‘90s with hardly any downforce it really could be spectacular and I think NASCAR is aware of that possibility and they’re working that direction and I think that makes me excited.”
