Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards was made available to the media at Atlanta Motor Speedway:
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How does it feel to be in Atlanta?
“Atlanta is just fun. Actually wasn’t that fast in qualifying trim, so we’ve got to work on that, but I’m having a good time. You really drive the race car here. You dive down in the corner and sliding all over the place. This is really cool, so I’m excited about that. You guys all know how special this place is to me, so it’s just fun to be here and ready to get the race on. It’s so neat how much the tires fall off, how much the cars are moving around, the grooves going to change a lot and this to me is what racing is about.”
Could you feel a difference in the vehicles when you switched manufacturers?
“I don’t know if the manufacturer switch was the biggest factor in the difference in the cars. It’s really the way each race team builds their cars. I’ve been really fortunate to work with two great manufacturers and I’ve learned a lot about their business – both of them – but I’d say for me the change it was just and it still is interesting to learn about Toyota , learn about how they do things, but really it’s the organization that was the biggest change for me I believe.”
What is it like as a drive to make the switch as a spokesperson?
“Like I said, it’s interesting to get to learn how someone else does it. As race drivers, we’re all in with our manufacturers. It’s a true partnership. I feel like our sport is unique and we’re fortunate to have the relationships with the manufacturers we do. I always felt really close to Ford and then with the switch to Toyota, I saw a different way of doing things and I’ve learned so much about their company. I’ve been to their plant where they build the cars. I’ve been to TRD (Toyota Racing Development) where they build our engines. Their involvement is different. I’m sure Chevrolet’s involvement is different than that. I don’t know the details of theirs, but one of the cool things is to see how competitive each manufacturer is. You look at Toyota and them adding Furniture Row, trying to get more cars in the Chase, trying to win more. You look at what the Ford guys did. You look at how hard everybody is working. It’s cool that the manufacturers are that engaged and I know that TRD and Toyota really believe in winning. I’ve never seen guys as excited as they were last week, so overall it’s neat.”
How is the tire working with the new package?
“I know Goodyear works really hard. Goodyear if you think about what they do it’s really pretty amazing. These are heavy cars, really high load, high speeds, the tires are extremely durable – I haven’t had tire trouble for a long time. This tire at this track to me is kind of the – this is the one if you could model the way you’d like a tire to be, you could make the other race tracks any way you’d want, and you want them like this. After a lap, the tire feels different. After five laps, it’s way different. I think that the lower downforce package lets you – gives Goodyear a little more leeway. I know I had a lot of fun at Kentucky last year. Darlington was a lot of fun. This race, I think it’s going to be all over the place. Like Kyle Busch says, ‘It’s going to be nuts,’ and you’re just going to be sliding all over. I think the more downforce we take away, the more corner speed and force that’s taken away if I understand Goodyear’s explanation that means that they’ll be able to bring a tire that falls of more and is more dynamic.”
Do you want the tires to drop off?
“Yeah, you want the tire to give up because it just adds another layer to the race. I mean, do you pit or not? You can just stay out until you run out of fuel and stay in front of the guys regardless of whether they have new tires or now, so I know Goodyear wants that – they want the best tire competitively that they can make, but they are put in a box because we’re doing the exact opposite as teams. We’re going faster and faster and faster through the corner and adding more downforce and adding more load and they keep having to make the tire more durable, so hopefully NASCAR continues down this path. You guys know how I feel about it. I’ve been screaming I want this, more this and if they do that I think it allows Goodyear to make a better tire.”
Was Matt Kenseth damned if he did and damned if he didn’t in Daytona
“I thought Matt (Kenseth) did a great job. It’s so hard guys. If you think about what Matt was doing if you go back and watch it, I mean he’s looking in his mirror, he’s blocking, he can almost see the checkered flag of the Daytona 500, his car is loose hanging out, he knows that he’s going to come down – he probably wasn’t aware of how far away (Martin) Truex (Jr.) was. He just knew Denny (Hamlin) was going between them. I mean, that’s a lot to manage in a split second. I thought he did a really good job. I can tell you this, I would have liked to have had the opportunity right up there.”
What was the final lap of the Daytona 500 like?
“I went back and watched it and we actually watched again this morning. Just that outside just got choked up and all of those guys decided to stay in line and push Denny (Hamlin) and it just worked out. My car was – I was struggling really to keep up, but then when I saw Denny rocket out there I thought, ‘Man, I should have tried that,’ but you just never know. It’s the split second decision of whether or not guys stay in line or if they all try to go around you when you pull out. You just don’t know, but I thought Denny did a really good job. I thought really the guy who did a great job was Matt (Kenseth) in realizing that he was about to wreck the entire field as he got loose and for him to save that was spectacular. Overall though, just a – you guys have probably said it over and over, but just for me it was really cool to be a part of something where we worked together that well as a group – all the TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and Toyota guys. That was pretty cool.”
Were you surprised you were a factor in the race after your early contact?
“Yeah, I hit the wall pretty hard and the car did not feel very good after that, so there was a lot of stuff dragging, the suspension was bent up – it was pretty messed up. We were going to initially go behind the wall. I told Dave (Rogers, crew chief) I thought the tire rod was broke because I really thought it was and he said, ‘Man, you’ve got to take it behind the wall,’ and I thought, ‘Let’s just look at it,’ and so he got real excited and he’s like, ‘Cool, bring it here. We’ll look at it,’ and Eric Phillips and the guys started working on it and my first question to him once we got going, I was like, ‘Is this thing even safe,’ because I hit so hard it felt so messed up. To finish fifth with that I think it’s a real testament to our team. Those guys, they really did a good job. We’ve got pit crew guys that are mechanics also and so they were able to kind of diagnose it and fix it the right way. I don’t think I’ve ever had a car hit that hard and been that damaged and be able to finish well like that before.”
Have you had a team to review the Daytona 500 as a team?
“Not really – not as a group yet because Denny (Hamlin) was gone, but I think overall we all realized that it was just a great team effort and I don’t know if it could have lined up any better really – I mean, literally line up. That last start, all of us being odd numbers, being on the bottom, it just worked out really well. I think if you did it over and over, we probably couldn’t repeat that, but as a group for everyone to work together and for Denny to get to win, for Gibbs – I’m sure you guys talked a lot with Coach (Joe Gibbs), but he was really, really amped up going into that race and really excited about it. He told some stories about 23 years previous winning the race that were pretty cool and so anyway I thought it was just overall really cool. But yeah, we haven’t got together as a group yet and really as the drivers and talked much about it.”
What do you think we’ll see here in Atlanta on Sunday?
“I think you’re going to see some good racing. I mean, this track is just perfect. There are three, four, five different grooves. The tires are falling off. The rubber lays onto this track really nicely so that it changes. If you’re running in a groove and five or 10 laps later, there might not be grip there, so I think you’re going to see that. I think strategy is going to be a big part of it. I think the other thing that this track’s going to bring out – it’s just going to be a tough race. It’s going to be tough to stay focused, to manage your car. You see guys out there really struggling – myself included. You hook the apron, car whips sideways. I mean you’ve got to really stay on top of it. It’s like a big dirt race. I mean, it’s just really fun, so I think it will be a race for the fans that watch it, just know that that whole time in these cars – even in practice now – you are just driving the heck out of them, steering right just as much as left, so I hope everybody can see that – I hope that comes through.”
