CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How important is change to a driver?
“I believe that change in itself is good because it puts a lot of pressure on you. I feel that right now and I’m actually nervous and I think that’s good. That’s a motivator and for me it’s an opportunity right now. I’m way outside of my comfort zone and that’s good. Hopefully it yields good results.”
How important is ARRIS’s involvement in NASCAR?
“I believe that ARRIS’s entrance into this sport in such a huge way signifies how much excitement there is around the sport. You always hear negatives and then you have a company like ARRIS step up like this and they see the value of NASCAR – they could spend their advertising dollars in any way and they see this as the best way to go out and raise awareness about their products and reach their customers and I’m really proud of that.”
How often do you recall 2011 when you chased Tony Stewart for the championship?
“Darian (Grubb, crew chief) and I had a really spirited conversation about it the other day. That race – and I always come back to this because that race should maybe bother me more than it does – the reason I’m real content with it is that we performed so well. We qualified on the pole, led the most laps and we were leading before the last round of pit stops and I’m proud of that. We had a lot of opportunities to crumble or make mistakes and we didn’t. Tony (Stewart) and Darian just beat us, they got us and they earned it. I’m proud of our performance, but I’d love to have it over again and hopefully we get to do it again this year and win it.”
How important has Matt Kenseth been in your transition?
“Matt (Kenseth) has been huge in my transition. Matt kind of does things under the radar. He put together some meetings early on and some things I needed to be very aware of and really helped me a lot. He’ll be a guy I lean on a lot. He’s a quiet guy, but he’s a very good leader and he has all the experience and success, so hopefully I can keep learning from him.”
What has been the most important aspect of the move to Joe Gibbs Racing?
“To me the thing that is most important is just understanding the people and understanding how I fit in and making sure that I’m giving everybody what they need. It’s like any new job or new situation – everyone is being polite and everyone is being nice, but you really want to get down to it and say, ‘What do you need from me and what do I need to do?’ I’ve been trying to figure that out.”
What has the relationship been like with your Joe Gibbs Racing teammates?
“My teammates and I know each other very well and that’s half the battle. I think we understand each other very well. I’ve watched Kyle Busch and I’ve watched Denny Hamlin. From Denny Hamlin’s entrance into the sport, I paid a lot of attention just because those guys have so much pure speed and to me this is an opportunity to combine forces with them and to share tricks and share ideas and hopefully make us all better. I’m very excited to learn from those guys. I know having Matt (Kenseth) around firsthand. Having Matt as a teammate for a number of years, that made me better so this should be good. Overall, everybody is a good guy and when you’re competing against people everyone is different. The meetings are fun. Just the few meetings I’ve been in, everybody is really light-hearted there and nobody pulls any punches. It’s kind of a brotherly atmosphere and gives each other a hard time. It’s cool.”
What have you been learning about Toyota?
“I’ve been learning a lot about Toyota and I’ll get to learn a bunch when I’m out in California. I’ll get the chance to visit TRD and learn a bunch about all their processes, but overall it’s a true partnership. Much like Ford and the other manufacturer I’m sure, Toyota sees racing as a true partner and Joe Gibbs Racing as a true partner and someone they work together with. That relationship is really neat. We had a presentation from the engine group the other day and it was amazing. The guys at TRD building these engines are unreal. Overall, this has been great and I’m still learning a lot about Toyota.”
Do you feel like the new kid on the block with the team?
“Fortunately for me, Darian Grubb (crew chief) and the team that I have are veteran guys at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and they have a lot of experience there. It’s not going to be as tough for me in that respect. We’re not all learning together. I’m the only new guy really on my team, so that’s good. I do feel like I’m starting over again and it’s interesting. I didn’t expect that and it’s a neat feeling and I think it’s motivating.”
What has impressed you most about Joe Gibbs Racing?
“It’s amazing to me how well-prepared this 19 team is. They are very well-prepared and it’s overwhelming how much they have planned. I’m real excited about that. I don’t know where they find the time to build all the cars, prepare everything and compile all this data and have all these presentations for me – it’s an unbelievable team so I’m really excited about it.”
Can you imagine a time when you would retire from racing?
“I can’t imagine not racing. I was at the shop the other day and I still feel like a little kid in the sense that I can’t believe they’re going to let me drive this race car. It’s so neat to get to do this and I don’t know many racers who can just not race anything. I guess I’ll always be racing something.”
Do you expect a change in Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski once they become fathers?
“It appears to me that the guys that are really good at racing, if you think about it in everybody’s lives there are a lot of things that happen in your life – some of them are public and some of them aren’t – but to be able to show up at the race track and be a different person when you get in that race car and just be a racer, I think that’s a trait that all of us have. I know for me personally, things that have happened in my life or things that have happened with contracts or with personal things, I’ve always been able to get in the race car and kind of forget about all of that. I think the good guys, that’s how they are. I’ve never noticed when people get married, have kids, sign a new contract – it’s almost like the good guys, it’s like it never happened.”
