Atlanta Motor Speedway a welcome sight for Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards
By Jared Turner - SceneDaily Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards is currently ninth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings heading into Atlanta Motor Speedway.
David Griffin
NASCAR Scene
Carl Edwards isn’t off to the kind of start this season that he or many others were expecting, but it’d be misguided not to count him among those who’ll likely contend for the win in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Just ask three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson.
“I look at Atlanta and the 99 car [of Edwards] and how strong they’ve been there at that track and would probably put him as the top seed going into the race,” said Johnson, who swept both 2007 races at the track in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “I’d kind of look at Carl. It’d be fun to put the pressure on him this weekend and let him be the favorite for that. Those guys have been really, really strong there.”
Edwards went to victory lane at the 1.54-mile suburban Atlanta trioval last fall and appeared headed for there last spring until a blown engine ended his day 51 laps from the finish. In total, he has three wins, five top-fives and seven top-10 finishes in nine starts at the facility.
“Regardless of the challenges at Atlanta, for some reason we’ve had a lot of success there,” the driver of Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 99 Ford said. “I don’t know why exactly. I just really like the race track. It drives like a half-mile dirt track. The way you drive around it feels a lot like the tracks I grew up racing on. Even though it’s completely different, it still gives me that same sense of the momentum, so I really like that.
“Between the surface, tires and car moving around, you have to really drive the car, and I enjoy that. That’s probably why I run well there. All those things, plus I love going there; it’s a fun place to race.”
Atlanta is also the site of the driver’s first career Cup triumph, in the spring of 2005. In that race, he edged Johnson by .028 second in a drag race to the finish line.
“The moment they threw the checkered flag and I realized I had just won a NASCAR Sprint Cup race it sort of changed my whole outlook on my career,” said Edwards, who has since hoisted the winner’s trophy 15 more times in NASCAR’s top series. “I couldn’t believe that it happened. It was just a really, really satisfying moment. It really felt good. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get another win there on Sunday.”
Despite being ninth in the standings, Edwards has been notably unspectacular in the season’s first three events, including those at Auto Club Speedway in California and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he was defending race champion.
He finished seventh at the 2-mile Fontana, Calif., track after leading just one lap and saw his Vegas run ruined by a blown engine.
Edwards and his team had rallied to fifth after an unscheduled pit stop for a loose lugnut when the engine let to go at the white flag. He limped home 17th at the 1.5-mile trioval.
That seven of Edwards series' high nine victories in 2008 came at 1.5- and 2-mile tracks makes his mediocre performances the past two weeks more surprising.
“Last weekend we struggled some in Vegas,” crew chief Bob Osborne said. “We had a good car, but mistakes on pit road kept setting us back. Then, just when had overcome all the miscues and looked to be on our way to a solid finish, our engine broke. We’ve gone back to the shop and worked through all the kinks with our RPM and tire issues, so I’m not expecting to have that problem this weekend.”
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10 responses to "Atlanta Motor Speedway a welcome sight for Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards". Post a Comment.
Pat Draper said:
Mar 3, 2009 at 3:29 PMI'll put my money on Carl this weekend. He's due for a win and this is the track he got his first win on. From the way some people talk or write you would think the season was half over instead of just getting started. I have a feeling this year we will see a few first time winners. That would be great. Good Luck Carl
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» Confirm Abuse ReportJim Bayliss said:
Mar 3, 2009 at 3:48 PMYou are correct Pat, in that they sure aren't looking at the whole picture when they write. - - - Carl did just fine. But he had to conserve his engine because of what happened to Matt and David. When he did start hitting it on the last couple laps, he was really moving. He was up to 5th and heading for fourth when his engine blew coming to the white flag. THAT is not HIS fault, though he would have been better to keep cruising in 5th as it turned out. And yes, it is early yet. Better to get yuor problems behind you now than in the chase.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMax Finkelberg said:
Mar 3, 2009 at 6:45 PMCarl is definitely going to be one of my picks for Atlanta this weekend. He wants to get back to where he needs to be. Atlanta is a strong track for him. He has 3 wins, heck, he even got his first win here! Cue the duck for Aflac, Carl! Their headquarters are in Columbus, Georgia, just so you'll know! GO, CARL!!!!!!!!!! :)
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» Confirm Abuse ReportCathy Rooks said:
Mar 3, 2009 at 7:08 PMI am so sick of Carl, Kyle and sorry to say (I still love) Jimmie! Dang it I was so sick of those 3 dominating the tracks, the races and all the articles and here we go again!!! There have been other drivers that have more wins there like Jeff Gordon and more! Please STOP with the 3!!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportCathy Rooks said:
Mar 3, 2009 at 7:08 PMI am so sick of Carl, Kyle and sorry to say (I still love) Jimmie! Dang it I was so sick of those 3 dominating the tracks, the races and all the articles and here we go again!!! There have been other drivers that have more wins there like Jeff Gordon and more! Please STOP with the 3!!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportalan west said:
Mar 3, 2009 at 8:48 PMCarl has a good shot but I am picking Bobby Labonte. He used to own Atlanta. A couple of years ago when Todd Parrot did his short stint with Bobby at Petty's, they had the car to beat but blew up. They are back together again and the Vegas top five was a momentum run!!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportArt Sheeler said:
Mar 3, 2009 at 9:42 PMI think all the testing is done now and it's time to get to racing. They have found the bugs so it's time to get at er. Have at er Carl and Bob, it's your turn. This is the problem with the no testing rule over the off season.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportWerner Boehmert said:
Mar 3, 2009 at 9:55 PMactually the no testing rule has made the outcomes more interesting...and what is there to test..the engines are tested in little room...car set-ups?...well heck...setups change during the course of a race...put in enuff adjustabilty into the car and deal with what you have...if you hit right...you're a hero...if not...you're the goat...
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» Confirm Abuse ReportBernadette Motherway said:
Mar 3, 2009 at 11:13 PMYea, go Carl:-)
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» Confirm Abuse ReportBill V said:
Mar 4, 2009 at 9:18 AMhey alan Id love to see Bobby get back to victory lane.It would be great to see Yates back and HOF in there too.They could all use the win.
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