Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
AAA Texas 500 (Texas Motor Speedway)
NSCS Friday Cup Qualifying Quotes
Friday, November 1, 2013
CARL EDWARDS POLE WINNER PRESS CONFERENCE
CARL EDWARDS, No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion – TALK ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING LAP. “If I had known we would be that fast I would have shaved. The guys have worked so hard. This is all about the guys. This was one of our tracks to test and the guys came out here and sat for days in the rain trying to get some laps in and finally we got to come out here the week after that and tested for three days and I think we were the last team to load up and go home. My guys put in a lot of hard work. I don’t think the lap was that spectacular from a driving standpoint and I messed up off turn two but turns three and four were great and we got the pole so that was a lot of fun. It is so neat to get a pole and the guys brought us to victory lane and we got to celebrate and that is a lot of fun. It is a big day for us.”
WHEN THE REGULAR SEASON ENDED YOU WERE LEADING THE POINTS, THE CHASE PROBABLY HASN’T GONE EXACTLY HOW YOU WOULD LIKE BUT THIS IS A NICE SPOT AND PROBABLY SOMETHING TO BUILD ON. “You are like a therapist right now. Yeah, I told Marty Smith that we started off real nice and easy in the Chase and we backed it down from there. When the Chase started, truly we sat and thought with the two wins and leading the points that we could go out and lead these last 10 races and win this thing. It has not happened that way obviously. Some guys have really stepped it up. For Jimmie and Matt and those guys and the 29 bunch with Kevin and now Jeff Gordon is back in the mix. As a company, everyone has recognized that at Roush Fenway Racing. I spent an hour or two with Robbie Reiser this week and that man is working as hard as anybody I have seen to make sure that we can beat these guys. Not just this year but next year and beyond. We recognize that we need to be better. I think Greg’s run at Martinsville last week was a turning point for us. The speed he had was huge. I believe this pole and hopefully a solid run by not just me but Ricky and Greg and the whole Ford RFR camp will hopefully give those guys a little bit of something to show for all their hard work because they have been really working hard in the shop. Yeah, we recognize this Chase hasn’t gone well and it spurned a lot of hard work.”
AFTER THE WIGGLE OFF TURN TWO DID YOU THINK YOU HAD ANY SHOT AT THE POLE AND DID THE LATE DRAW HAVE ANY AFFECT? “The late draw saved us there. That wiggle, the car got loose off two and I definitely saw our whole hopes fade right there. I didn’t think it was going to happen but then it went through three and four really, really well. I have to go back and watch but I don’t know that anybody could have gone through much better. The engine ran so well. Doug Yates and the guys did a great job with the engine. Overall I think the car is a lot better than that lap even. I know a lot of guys say they could run a faster lap, all of us can always do that, but I believe our car is even better than that. I am really excited about practice tomorrow and the race. It looks like the weather will be good, a lot like what we tested in and hopefully we can apply all that stuff.”
AFTER TESTING YOU SAID YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF AREAS THE CAR IMPROVED. “Yeah, we have a lot of areas we are working on as a group, some very specific things we are working on to be better. The test here showed us this track is very difficult for a number of reasons and they are all good. The tire falls off very quickly. The track takes rubber, so it changed a lot as we ran on it. I think you will see one of these races on Sunday where there are guys running right on the white line and right on the outside wall trying to make time and I think there will be four or five distinct grooves. That is one of the biggest things we learned in testing. It made it difficult to test. Jimmy’s plan kept us going on the right track though and obviously it paid off. There is nothing tougher than to win a pole at a place like this, especially in the Chase when everyone has their best stuff out there. We are very proud of it.”
YOU MENTIONED ROBBIE WORKING AHEAD TOWARD NEXT SEASON. YOU HAVE THREE TRACKS LEFT. YOU HAVE WON HERE THREE TIMES, ROUSH CARS ARE GOOD AT HOMESTEAD AND YOU WON THE SPRING RACE AT PHOENIX. WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU AT THE END OF THE SEASON AND WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH? “I would like to win the championship but I don’t know if that is in the cards. I can tell you that we will go to these last three races to win all three races. There is nothing we are not bringing to the race track equipment wise, effort wise and we are coming to win. For us it is really about gearing up for next season. I never believed in momentum but you guys have proved me wrong. I guess what I am saying is that we would really like to, no matter what the points situation to finish the season strong because I feel it will help us get started next season. There are a lot of things changing but overall it would help to keep the guys motivated and everyone looking forward. Wins would be great.”
ARE THESE THE PERFECT THREE TRACKS FOR YOU? “I couldn’t pick a better three tracks to go to. I love racing here and we ran really well at Phoenix and Homestead for some reason perfectly suits me and the way our cars work and the engine. We should be really good. At the very least we will have a good time and have some fun which is something that is easy to forget. That is a big part of it.”
YOU WERE A LITTLE APPREHENSIVE WHEN JIMMY TOOK OVER YOUR TEAM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP NOW? “I would say I was apprehensive but I was definitely curious how it would go. You never know how things are going to work. I thought a lot about it as I’ve worked with Jimmy and watched how he works. He is the definition of a racer. He just wants to win and wants to beat all of these guys every week so badly he just wears it right there on his sleeve every week. I don’t think you can choose to go to battle with a better guy. He is awesome.
“What is very interesting about Jimmy is he is a cross between both. He and Bob Osborne are similar in a number of ways. They are very methodical. I think if Jimmy Fennig had come on the scene 30 years later he would have gone to engineering school and been an engineer. He is one of those guys that understands how everything works so well that if there is any weakness that he has he will find some way to fill it and make up for it by using his engineers or asking folks for help. He is a guy that is not a prideful guy, he just gets the job done no matter what it takes. It is pretty spectacular. I don’t know that he is much different than Bob. They are both guys that are problem solvers. They came from a different spot but are both very good problem solvers.”
AT MOST TRACKS QUALIFYING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO DURING THE RACE BUT TEXAS SEEMS KIND OF CLOSE. “I think the different between Texas and other 1.5 mile tracks is the pavement and the way it works with the tires. You saw guys today able to get the car sideways and still keep a ton of speed. I don’t know why it is this way but it feels like tracks that are like that feel a little more old school and your qualifying effort is a better reflection of your race car. I don’t know why. Maybe it is because there is more mechanical grip in play or the drive ability of the car has to be there. Right now I believe it. It really matters how you qualify as to whether or not you will run well at Texas. That is what I am preaching right now.”
WITH YOU AND JIMMY, WHO HAS THE FINAL SAY IN YOU COMING IN TO PIT ON A GREEN FLAG STOP? “It depends how close to the end of the race it is because if it is close I know he will still be really mad at the end but if it is close to the beginning I know he has time to get over it. It is really his call. I will never forget one meeting I had with Chad Norris when he took over the crew chief role when Bob got sick. He called me to pit road and I didn’t come in. He was so mad at me. After the race, he, Jack Roush and Robbie Reiser – and I screwed it all up. We ran out of gas and it was just terrible. We had a meeting and they explained to me why you have to do what the crew chief says. They have a better view of all that is going on. In Jimmy’s case he has so much experience and if he says to do something it is probably for reasons I haven’t even thought of so I generally do what Jimmy says.”
