CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 20, 2011) – With the first half of the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup in the books, Roush Fenway Racing is exactly where it hoped to be at the end; first place. After five events, Carl Edwards leads the Chase standings by five points, with teammate Matt Kenseth hot on his tail in third; seven markers back. Edwards points out that the goal is to lead after 10 races – not five and that the competition is closer than ever.
“Our goal is to win this championship,” said Edwards. “We’re leading the points now – which really doesn’t amount to much with five races left, but we’re on track and we’re doing well. (Still) There are some tough races coming up for us.”
“It’s a really simple strategy,” said Kenseth. “You go every week and finish as high as you can and get as many points as you can. You would win every time if you could, but you basically get the best finish possible, race hard every week and you hope for good results.”
“I’m racing as hard as I can trying to get every point I can,” added Edwards. “That’s how we’ve raced all season. It hasn’t worked out for some wins, but that’s mostly been strategy and stuff like that. I’ve found a balance where I’ve wrecked enough and made enough stupid decisions early on that I’m trying to be better at not giving them away. We’ll just keep doing what we’ve been doing and if it works out, it works out. But the season isn’t like others. I think it’s going to literally come down to the last few laps at Homestead.”
Through five Chase races, the two Roush Fenway eligible entries have accumulated seven top- five and nine top-10 finishes, while winning once, earning one pole and combining to lead 277 laps. Edwards has averaged a 4.6-average finish in the five events, while Kenseth has averaged a 7.4 finish. However, it is a 21st-place finish at Chicagoland (after leading 46 laps but running short on fuel) that has dropped Kenseth’s average. Throw that race out of the equation and the 2003 Sprint Cup Champion would be averaging a Chase-high fourth.
“He’s the only one of the (top) three of us with a championship,” said Edwards of his teammate Kenseth. “He’s doing really well and (at Charlotte) that car was really fast and he drove it really well. I spent a little time behind him and he was wheeling it, so I don’t think you can count him out at all.”
As for Kenseth, he chooses to remain calm and calculated; a formula that has served the champion well throughout his storied career.
“We have five more weeks of racing to do,” said Kenseth. “The way the system works you really can’t have a bad week. You have to race them hard this week and move on to the next one.”
Roush Fenway will look for its fourth Sprint Cup win at Talladega.
Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating in both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series with drivers Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, David Ragan, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Trevor Bayne. Celebrating 25 winning years in 2012, Roush Fenway is the leader in NASCAR marketing solutions with its exclusive RoushFenwayOnTrack sponsorship measurement services, motorsport’s only team-focused TV show, and its social marketing channel RickyvsTrevor.com bringing unmatched brand opportunities to sponsors. Visit file:///C:UserskdwoodAppDataLocalTempXPgrpwisewww.RoushFenway.com> www.RoushFenway.com, become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/roushfenway www.facebook.com/roushfenway and follow on Twitter at @roushfenway. For sponsorship inquiries call John Younger at 704.720.4620.
