Carl Edwards Would Like to be the Champion But Will Be the Best Loser Instead
Carl Edwards started the 2011 season thinking about what he could have done differently to win the Daytona 500 after finishing second to Trevor Bayne. He ends the season in the same way when it comes to winning the race and the championship.
[media-credit name=”Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″]
[/media-credit]“Well, the effort was all season,” said Edwards. “We finished the last two races of last season very strong and we believed in what we were capable of this year and I think we proved to ourselves that even with adversity and the things that we faced through the Chase, the bad runs that we had and the mistakes we made and recovered from, that we can compete for these championships. I guess the only thing that I’m able to take away from this that’s really positive is something I thinks important, is that we can compete with these people.”
Through the Chase Edwards was able to compete with Stewart, now a three-time champion who won half the races, and score the same amount of points. To Edwards, that’s a big deal and it was another huge test for him in the journey of life.
“The last three or four weeks have been a huge test for me and my team mentally,” he said. “For us to keep our confidence up and keep our cool and go out and do our jobs, I am really proud of that. That is it. That is my maximal effort right there and Tony beat us. He is a champion and deserves to be the champion. He did a good job and now we will go home and work even harder and if we are faced with the same test next year hopefully we will do even better.”
Edwards finished second in Homestead-Miami to Tony Stewart, leaving him a tie for the Sprint Cup Series championship. Stewart won his third championship because the tiebreaker was wins. Stewart had five, Edwards one. The hardest part was that Edwards led the points for majority of the year and through most of the Chase, holding a three point advantage heading into Sunday afternoon.
Both drivers did everything they needed to do to win the title. Edwards started the weekend by winning the pole and then leading the most laps. Stewart though, led the lap that counted most, doing what he needed to in order to beat Edwards. The two put on what might go down as one of the best Chases in history, certainly to date.
For Edwards though, it couldn’t be more heartbreaking. After learning everything he could from Jimmie Johnson the last few season, finishing second to him in 2008 after winning nine races, he thought he was in the perfect position. Heading to his best track, Edwards and the No. 99 Aflac Roush Fenway Racing team had put everything they could to put them in position to win their first championship.
As the last 20 laps wound down though, he was left chasing Stewart as he and the championship drove away. Except, Edwards fought to the very end. It was over until the checkered flag flew, a lesson he says he learned racing teammate and Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in Iowa a few months ago.
“I was fully prepared for Tony to run out fuel or have a tire problem or for anything to happen,” said Edwards. “For a caution to come out and have a restart and that is all I can do. That is my job, to be prepared as I can be. I didn’t really let myself think about the consequences of what was going on, I just had to drive the hardest I could and I did. I drove to edge and beyond and that is all I had.”
Unfortunately it wasn’t enough, even with a 4.9 average in the Chase. With the championship coming down to the most unlikely of scenarios, a tie, Edwards was able to joke that he would do anything to break that tie right now. Instead, he says he’ll walk back to his motorhome and be the best loser that he can, providing a good example for his two small children.
“I wish I could do this every day,” said Edwards about the situation he was in this year. “There are lessons that I learned and things that I learned about myself, about competition, about failure, about success – things that I could not have learned away other way. If there wasn’t any pressure, there wouldn’t be any diamonds. That’s what my trainer says. We dealt with a lot of pressure and I feel very proud of the way our team and myself and everyone has handled everything through this.”
It has made them all better, strong says Edwards. It leaves him with a great feeling heading into 2012, that he will win the title should he be in this position again. It might be hard to find Edwards in a better position than he was in 2011 when he was the man to beat nearly every week. Things were going his way, his team battled hard to minimize their bad days and they ended up being the favorites.
Losing the championship on the final day of the season after running what he says were the best races of his life, is disappointing. Stewart just came with a vengeance and flat out beat him for the championship. Edwards can move on knowing that he didn’t lose it or give it away, they were fairly beat.
And while Edwards had statistics on his side, which would have won him just about any other Chase, he takes it and moves on. The hope is that the team’s disappointment will propel them into the offseason and push them to work harder.
“We performed very well,” said Edwards of 2011. “I feel like over the whole season we performed really well. I don’t know if anyone scored more points in the whole season than we did, I’m not sure about that, but there’s a lot of pride in that. We did that in 2008 and I think we did that now. We just performed the best we can. Every week we put out the best effort we can and we were only one point shy. That’s just the way it is.”
Smoke Rises
Congratulations to the man called Smoke. He set out on a journey 10 weeks ago that he himself said his team was not ready for. He gave himself no chance to win. But through the head games there was a fire burning deep behind those eyes. A fire that betrayed a passion that could not be denied. You may beat me but I will run you balls to the wall keep it from happening. And indeed in the final race he did exactly that passing 118 cars during the final race. But when the checkers waved it was the 14 across the stripe first. The points they ended in a tie. But the tie breaker was wins and that left Smoke sitting on top of the hill as the King of the mountain once again.
[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”224″]
[/media-credit]In all honesty it was a hard fought battle. Carl Edwards fought hard, raced hard and played fair and showed all the attributes of a champion. He in fact did not lose the championship. Points wise he tied with Smoke. But Smoke won more races than Edwards. Consistency brought him to the dance. But victories sent him home alone. Congratulations to Carl on being a great racer, and a great champion. For teaching his children and all of ours that there is more to winning than getting the trophy and there is more to being a champion than finishing first.
Darian Grubb gambled big time today. He rolled the dice and he took the chance. He bet that gas mileage would win the race. He was wrong. But he won the gamble none the less. He won because his risk paid off in spades when the caution waved for rain and Carl Edwards was still behind Tony Stewart on the restart. The rain gave them enough caution laps that both contenders could go the distance. It was now down to grit and guts and who could handle the pressure without a mistake on the track the best.
For 40 laps, two of the best drivers of our time ran just as hard and just as fast as they could possibly drive. Their focus on one another and their own cars. The crowd in the stands held their breath. The people at home held their breath. Could Smoke over come a day of mishaps to hold on to that top spot? Would Carl’s engine hold on when three of his teammates had lost theirs? Even the crew chiefs were feeding information. Bob Osborne radioed to Edwards, I know you are doing everything you can man but we really need that spot. You have to pass the 14. He tried. He ran so hard and so close to the wall that he should have taken paint off of it. But everything he gained Smoke took back the next lap. It became obvious that it was going to take a catastrophic failure of some sort for the 99 to catch and pass the 14.
When the white flag flew neither slowed down. Four corners and a straight away and half later, Anthony Wayne Stewart proved to the world why he is considered one of the top-10 drivers in the world today. Smoke won his 5th race of the chase and tied Edwards in points and won the tie breaker to become the Sprint Cup Series Champion for 2011.
Stewart joins an elite group of three champions to ever win the championship as an owner driver. He joins Richard Petty and Alan Kulwicki in holding the highest position in his sport while also writing the checks to pay the bills. Stewart took the championship in just his 3rd full year as an owner.
Stewart’s trophy cabinet is as diverse as any in the sport today. With wins in World of Outlaw Sprint Cars, Silver crown cars, USAC dirt stock cars, Indy cars, IROC cars and NASCAR Stock Cars. This is Stewart’s third NASCAR Championship with his previous cups coming from 2001 and 2006.
With his first owner/driver championship, Stewart fulfilled a promise to his hero A.J. Foyt by bringing the 14 back to victory lane and into the champions circle.
As the glitter and confetti settle in the steadily falling rain, I think it is important to note that this is the first time since 1975 and the modern day points system that we have ever had to use the tie breaker. I think it is also important to note that Edwards did everything he had to do to win the championship. He lead the most laps. He sat on the pole. He just finished 2nd. But noting that I think it is just as important to make note of the class and grace in which he accepted finishing 2nd. He did nothing to detract from the victory of the 14 team. Instead he said simply “we got beat. But we will use this to build on and come back stronger next year.” The true attitude of a champion showed twice tonight.
The 2011 season has drawn to a close. The only things left are banquets with new and different stuffed chicken somethings and creamed spinach oh and seeing who Smoke’s date will be this time. It’s sad in a way. But we can look at it this way the Daytona 500 is in 98 days.
~~~~~ **** ~~~~~
Congratulations to Austin Dillion our 2011 CWTS champion and his RCR team.
Congratulations to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. our NNS Champion and his Roush Fenway Racing team.
Congratulations to Tony Stewart our 2011 Sprint Cup Series Champion and his Stewart Haas Racing team.
That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.
