Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion, comes into this weekend’s final race of the Chase Contender Round at Talladega Superspeedway fifth in the point standings. He was this week’s guest on the NASCAR Teleconference and gave his view on the aftermath of Saturday night’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and what lies ahead this Sunday.
CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Fastenal Fusion – WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY THIS WEEKEND? “I’m not sure yet. We’ll have to see where we qualify and how the starting lineup shapes up. If we’re out front, we definitely want to stay there. If we’re in the middle, I don’t know how aggressive I would want to be early on. We would basically have to watch where our competition is running and try not to get caught up in the race too much and focus on the fact that we have an opportunity to advance to the next round based on our good finishes at Kansas and Charlotte.”
IF YOU FINISH 18TH OR BETTER YOU ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUND. WHAT IS THAT DYNAMIC LIKE KNOWING IT’S TALLADEGA THIS WEEKEND AND NOT ANOTHER TRACK? “Eighteenth or better sounds simple to do, but it is not at Talladega. I think Talladega obviously poses bigger risks than most race tracks and that’s because you are literally in a pack of cars and one mistake or one part failure on any of those cars could affect you. So you’re not just subject to your own mistakes or own problems, but in a pack like that it makes it very easy to finish 40th even if you’re doing everything right. So it’s a tougher race to guarantee a good finish.”
HOW DO YOU BALANCE WHEN TO TAKE A RISK OR NOT? “I don’t know. It’s tough and I rely on my spotter, Jason Hedlesky. I rely on Jimmy Fennig. He has a lot of restrictor plate success, specifically with Matt Kenseth. I’ve spoken with Jimmy and Robbie Reiser. Jason and I will have a lot of discussion leading up to the race and we will have a plan for each scenario. If early on let’s say any one that we were racing for points were to get caught up in something, then it’s a lot more fun just to go race and race for the front and try to go get the win. If it looks like other guys are playing it safe and they’re taking less risk, then we would probably have to follow suit just so we don’t do something foolish. The way the format is we feel like we have a big opportunity, our whole Fastenal team, to make it to this next round, especially with everything going on and the craziness that has happened, we feel like this is perfectly suited to us and we don’t want to give that opportunity up.”
WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON WHY WE SAW SO MUCH EMOTION AND PASSION ON SATURDAY, AND IS THAT A POSITIVE FOR THE SPORT? “I can tell you that people are interested in it. I’m in NASCAR just like most of the people on this call are, and being inside of this sport it’s sometimes hard to get a gauge of how it’s perceived, but I can tell you a lot of people are really excited about all of the drama – and it’s real. That’s what I don’t know if people outside this sport really understand that. All of us drivers and the teams and the sponsors for that matter, we really take this seriously. This is fierce competition. There’s a lot on the line. There’s a lot of risk, not just financially but there’s real risk. When you see people get that wound up, I think it shows how much passion there is inside the sport. I’ve always said that. I know that after an event like that there are always people saying what people should have done or shouldn’t have done, but overall it’s obvious that this format has raised the level of intensity at which all of us have to compete and people definitely care. That’s what I take away from it. I’m glad nobody was hurt and at the end it was just a display of passion, I think.”
DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHERE THE LINE IS AND CAN YOU EXPLAIN IT? “I think we all kind of know where the lines are and what the rules are, I think it just becomes a question of how upset are you and how much is it worth to you and what are you willing to do stand your ground. Things like this happen. When guys get into it they’re so dynamic and there is so much going on and the interesting thing about racing and, I’m sure everyone can relate to driving down the highway and somebody cuts you off or somebody gives you some hand signal or some communication, you can’t really communicate well from car to car or even team to team. It’s a loud environment. You’re wearing helmets. You perceive that someone has offended you or intentionally wrecked you and things escalate quickly. It’s a long way of saying that every situation is different and I think everybody is responsible for their own actions and at the end of the day you just have to decide what you’re willing to put up with or what you’re gonna do about something if somebody does something to you. I don’t know how to describe that for everyone.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT TALLADEGA NOW? “I think that everyone will go to Talladega and be very professional. I hope that you wouldn’t see any on-track retaliation at Talladega. It’s just such a fast place and there’s so much potential for collateral damage with other cars and other teams and I have a feeling, my gut feeling, is that Talladega will go pretty smoothly. I think once we get to Martinsville and some other place, I think if there are any hard feelings over stuff that’s happened during the year or even last week, I think that’s where you’ll see most of that dealt with.”
DO YOU THINK OTHER DRIVERS WILL TALK TO BRAD ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED? “I’m really careful not to get involved in other people’s fights because a good soundbite can sound good but you never really know the whole story. I know I’ve been involved stuff and I’ve seen things personally that have been framed in ways that I did not think were accurate, so I try to stay out of all that. As far as guys in the garage talking to Brad, I would say you won’t see that happening. People might give each other a hard time just joking around, but every guy out there racing is a professional. We’ve been doing this long enough that I’ve learned even when I’m on one side of something and somebody is on the other side, I don’t know how to put it, but if you stop and listen to each side there’s good points on each side usually and guys have legitimate gripes or concerns or there’s just a misunderstanding. So I’m just saying I don’t think guys will be going to Brad and talking to him. I know I won’t because I did not specifically see what happened. I don’t know the whole back story.”
DID YOU EXPECT THIS MUCH INTENSITY WITH THIS CHASE FORMAT AND DID YOU EXPECT TO BE DOING THIS WELL? “I had no clue what to think. This format surprised me. I didn’t think that this was possible, the idea of a format like this caught me off guard. The only thing I knew when they announced this format is that Homestead would be extremely interesting. If you would have said Charlotte would have ended the way Charlotte ended, I could have never guessed that. As I left the race track the other night I said, ‘I guarantee you Brian France is kicked back with his feet up with a smile on his face because right now this is working.’ There’s a lot of interest in the sport and all of the teams are trying their very hardest to do the best they can every week, so from that point of view it’s pretty amazing.”
DO YOU THINK CHASE DRIVERS WILL LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER ON SUNDAY AND POSSIBLY TRY TO PUT THEM IN A BAD POSITION INTENTIONALLY, NOT BY WRECKING BUT BY NOT DOING THEM ANY FAVORS? “Oh yeah, towards the end of the race 100 percent. This is a zero sum game and specifically between certain guys. Everyone is gonna be very aware of who they have to beat and by how many positions, so I think there will be a lot of stuff like that that goes on this race. I think it will be almost impossible for the competitors to keep up with. Hopefully the broadcasters can do a good job of keeping up with it so the fans can see what’s going on, but it’s too hard to guess how it’s gonna go right now, but you’re exactly right.”
WHAT IS THE CRAZIEST GIFT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED? “I did get after winning at Milwaukee in the Nationwide Series one night a guy gave me a stuffed porcupine and it was mounted. I don’t remember the porcupine’s name, but it was something really funny. That’s probably the craziest thing I’ve gotten. It just caught me off guard and he really wanted me to have it.”
WHAT ARE SOME FAVORITE MEMORIES WITH THE 99 TEAM? “All of our Sprint Cup Series successes have been a blast. I think I learned a lot from Jack Roush, not just about racing but other things. I guess for me the most fun stuff we’ve done together would be the 2008 season. That was a blast. We won a ton of races. The championship battle with Tony was a lot of fun. That was probably the neatest racing thing I’ve ever been a part of. The All-Star win was huge and, really, I’m excited about the final races of this season. Even though we haven’t had a ton of speed, we’ve done a really good job strategy-wise and Jimmy has made great calls, and I think we have an opportunity to still have quite a bit of fun here leading up to Homestead.”
DO YOU VIEW TALLADEGA AS A CHANCE TO GO FOR THE WIN BASED ON YOUR SPOT IN THE STANDINGS OR JUST TOP 15. “It just depends on how we qualify. Like I said earlier, a lot is gonna happen in that race. I don’t know. The hardest thing is you go to those races and the hardest part is to not be extremely aggressive because it’s really fun and you’re always staring up there – you can see the lead so it’s fun to go up there and try to do that, but I just have to be careful not to get too excited and definitely think about getting to that Eliminator Round.”
ANY PLANS FOR A NEW CELEBRATION NEXT YEAR? “I plan on doing the back flips as long as I can. I don’t think people realize that winning is the hard part. Back flips are really pretty easy, but I have noticed that I don’t practice them as much and don’t do them as often so when I have to do them I get a little more nervous. As long as I can do them and I’m winning, I’ll keep doing them.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON JOHN HENRY AS AN OWNER AND WHAT ROLE DOES AN OWNER PLAY TOWARD DRIVER DEVELOPMENT? “John Henry is an amazing man. I’d say the most striking thing to me about Mr. Henry is he’s just a normal guy. I sat and had dinner with him early on in the Roush Fenway Racing partnership and we talked about life and little bit of baseball. We talked about his farming and all the things he’s got going on and he’s just a good guy. I think he’s a great leader. From a driver’s standpoint, I don’t have a lot of interaction with him competitively, but I know on the corporate level that all of our business management have leaned a lot on him and the Fenway Group and they’ve been a huge help. It’s been really good and I think a lot of him.”
ARE YOU MOTIVATED ANY DIFFERENTLY TO WIN THE TITLE THIS YEAR BECAUSE YOU’RE LEAVING? “I’ve got a couple things going on this year that really make this year important. Number one, there’s just the fact that I’m very aware of the rare nature of being able to, I mean I have a shot at winning the championship, and I’ve only had this opportunity a few times to be this close to it and with this format I think we have a real good shot. The second this is obviously Jack Roush and the relationship with him and everyone at Roush Fenway Racing, John Henry and everyone at Fenway Sports Group, and then my crew chief Jimmy Fennig, this is his last year’s he’s gonna crew chief and I think he’s been doing this longer than I’ve been alive, so there are a lot of doors closing or chapters finishing and it would be really cool for a number of reasons to win this year.”
IS IT A PREREQUISITE FOR YOU TO HAVE AN OWNER WHO HAS WON A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN ANOTHER SPORT? “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I’ve had the opportunity to be around some really amazing people – from Mike Mittler, my first owner in NASCAR, Jack Roush and John Henry – there are just a lot of people I’ve had the opportunity to be around them and see how they operate, how they deal with people and it’s really amazing. The people who have been around those guys they know what I’m talking about. It’s really cool. That’s one of the neat things about my job is there are really some really great leaders and some amazing people I get to spend time with.”
HAS ANYTHING OPERATIONALLY CHANGES AT ROUSH FENWAY SINCE YOU ANNOUNCED YOU WERE LEAVING AT THE END OF THE YEAR? “I haven’t seen anything changed. I told somebody the other day that if they’re withholding anything from me they’re doing a good job of it because I don’t notice it. Everything has been the same. Jack Roush, Robbie Reiser, Steve Newmark, everybody on my team, everyone is committed to giving 100 percent. Robbie walked in the trailer the other day and we talked about it and he said, ‘I hope you notice that there is no quit in any of us and we’re going 100 percent at this.’ We’ve been doing this a long time together. I’ve been at Roush Fenway for almost 12 years, so I feel like it’s family. Yeah, we’re going different ways at the end of the year, but we all want to win this thing. So far it’s gone great. My hope is that we win it and we’re able to shake hands and move forward as friends.”
DO YOU FIND YOURSELF RACING OR GETTING RACED BY YOUR FUTURE TEAMMATES ANY DIFFERENTLY? “No, I really don’t. That would be nice, but it hasn’t worked that way. I know that once the green flag drops it’s not about who your teammates are or who your future teammates are or who your old teammates were, everybody races one another based on how they race and how they act on the track. It’s pretty professional and buttoned up once the green flag drops, so that hasn’t really been a factor or nothing has changed there.”
HAS THIS FORMAT PLAYED OUT THE SAME OR DIFFERENTLY THAN YOU THOUGHT? “It’s a little bit different. I didn’t really bring any preconceived notions or I didn’t really have an opinion on it because it appeared like it had the opportunity to be pretty chaotic and that’s what it has been, in my opinion. If you look at the guys who could potentially be out of it after this week, historically those guys would be way up in front of the points, so I think it has shaken things up. It has definitely taken the season and taken it from a full season down to a 10-race season. Now it’s a series of three-race seasons. There’s no place to hide if you have a bad race with this format, so to answer your question I didn’t really know what to expect and it’s about as chaotic as I would have guessed it to be.”
IS IT A GOOD OR BAD THING THAT THREE DRIVERS WHO HAVE BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL THIS SEASON COULD BE OUT AFTER TALLADEGA? “I don’t know. I don’t know whether it’s good or bad for the sport. I know it’s definitely a paradigm shift from the way I grew up racing. It’s totally different, but without this format I don’t know that you’d see the intensity level or the excitement that you saw the other night at Charlotte. I don’t know. I will say this, though, whatever format we end up with here I hope this is a time in the sport we look back on and say, ‘Hey, we perfected this. We got it right and we stuck with it.’ Because I think in the long run there is a lot of credibility to be had, and a lot of interest in something that is number one, the right format, and number two, stays the same for a long time. I think that’s important.”
YOU WENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AND STUDIED ENGINEERING. ARE THERE THINGS YOU LEARNED BACK THEN THAT STILL HELP YOU TODAY? “Technology is obviously changing rapidly and the amount of information that goes around is building exponentially not just in racing but all around us, but I think for anyone it’s hard to keep up with everything. Some of the stuff that I learned, and not just from school, but from my father and some other peripheral stuff I read about scientific method and the way you figure things out and the way you problem solve – all of that stuff is the same. If you look at our sport, the guys who are most successful, the crew chiefs and team owners who are the most successful sometimes are not the most educated. They’re the guys who just understand how to simply solve a problem and move forward. My crew chief is a great example. I don’t know how much formal education in any engineering Jimmy Fennig has, but if there is a problem, he can solve it – period. And if he can’t solve it, he’s very good at delegating and finding someone who can. I’d say if I could go back to all that time I spent in school, I don’t know if I would have spent it on some of the things I spent it on. I probably would have worked harder on management, basic sciences and understanding people because this sport is about getting the most out of people. It’s truly a team sport.”
