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I really wish someone could tell me what really wrong with Jr? I saying look at the past years yes he won two championship in bush but I think there somethin...
Jared Turner: The 2008 Sprint Cup season belonged to Carl Edwards
By Jared Turner - SceneDaily Staff Writer
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, celebrates in victory lane with team owner Jack Roush after winning the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Jerry Markland
Getty Images for NASCAR
COMMENTARY
Carl Edwards won’t go down in the record books as the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.
But when looking at his performance over the entire season, Edwards was more than championship-caliber.
In fact, when examining his entire body of work – from the first green flag at Daytona to the final checkered flag at Homestead – you can even make the case that Edwards was more deserving of the title than the driver who actually won it: Jimmie Johnson.
Let’s begin with race wins.
Edwards notched a series-high nine triumphs in 36 points-paying races. Johnson earned seven, fewer than the 10th-place points finisher, Kyle Busch.
For the mathematically challenged like me, that means Edwards went to victory lane on average once in every four starts and won exactly a fourth of all points-paying events.
Not bad for a driver who prior to the season had recorded a TOTAL of seven victories spread across three full campaigns in NASCAR’s top series.
Edwards’ dominance in 2008 is not only evident in how many races he won. It’s just as apparent in how he won them.
In each of the victories that Edwards claimed, the Roush Fenway Racing driver led no fewer than 53 laps. Among all of his wins, Edwards spent a total of 961 laps out front.
Unlike Johnson, who visited the winner’s circle only once in the season’s first 19 events, Edwards needed only seven races to go to victory lane three times.
One of his wins during that stretch, at Texas Motor Speedway in April, came without crew chief Bob Osborne, who was serving a six-race suspension for a postrace infraction found on Edwards’ car after his win in the season’s third event at Las Vegas.
That Edwards continued to excel without his pit boss – in the six races without Osborne he posted two top-fives and three top-10s and probably would have won another race had it not been for a blown engine at Atlanta – only underscores how strong he ran throughout 2008.
And that leads to another point. The most races Edwards went the entire season without a top-10 was two – on just two different occasions. Sure, Edwards was dominant. He was also just as much a paragon of consistency this season.
Johnson, on the other hand, struggled mightily at times during the first half of the year as his Chad Knaus-led team tried to get a handle on NASCAR’s new car that was being used at intermediate tracks for the first time.
It’s astonishing to look back now and discover that Johnson recorded only one finish better than 13th in the season’s first five races. Edwards, conversely, came out of the box on fire and only got hotter as the year progressed.
Even in the Chase For The Sprint Cup, when Johnson ultimately ran away with the title, Edwards matched the Hendrick Motorsports driver in wins – with three – and had two more top-five finishes than Johnson.
In fact, the only Chase races in which Edwards finished worse than fourth were Talladega (crash) and Charlotte (ignition-box failure).
And, ultimately, those two races proved be his undoing. If Edwards had placed fifth at Talladega – that’s about where was running at the time of his race-ending crash – he would have earned 79 more points. That would have been more than enough to make up for his 69-point deficit to Johnson in the final standings and still win the championship, even with his problems at Charlotte.
Johnson beat Edwards for the title by placing no worse than 15th in any of the 10 playoff races.
Yet the most telling sign of Edwards’ strength might be the juxtaposition NASCAR’s old points system with the current one.
If this had been 2003 – the year before NASCAR implemented the Chase format that resets the top drivers’ points totals after 26 races – Edwards would have claimed the championship by 16 points over Johnson.
Greg Biffle, who finished third and 217 points behind Johnson under the Chase format, would have been fourth and a distant 489 points back under the old system while Busch would have been third.
Whether the Chase structure actually made this year’s points battle more or less compelling is a story for another day. But Edwards doesn’t need another day to prove that the 2008 season belonged to him.
Mentioned Drivers: Carl Edwards
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Comments
40 responses to "Jared Turner: The 2008 Sprint Cup season belonged to Carl Edwards". Post a Comment.
myrna perkins said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 9:28 AMbull!!!
mary patton said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 10:21 AMIf the dog hadn't stopped to s___, he would have caught the rabbit also. If you want to go back to the old rules, Jeff Gordon would have 6 championships under his belt.
jim blazek said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 11:04 AMThe champion doesn,t always win the most races but he always winds up with the most points.
Art Sheeler said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 11:23 AMyou guys are the same people who were spouting off when Matt won the championship.We all know who the real champion is.
Art Sheeler said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 11:23 AMyou guys are the same people who were spouting off when Matt won the championship.We all know who the real champion is.
just me said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 12:48 PMYes, I know who the real champion is...Chad! This is the season, IMO, JJ spent most his time "not" racing. The car was not par and Chad spent the first part of the season fine tuning the car. Making their race season the final 10 races. When points did become a big issue JJ spent time in defense rather than offense. Driving at the back to avoid wrecks, only making his moves to the front toward the end of the races. Whatever, it won him the trophy. He and Chad make a team. Bottom line is they are the champs. I would have rather seen Carl win the title, but he didn't. Maybe there should be a woulda, coulda, shoulda trophy. But I am sure there would be arguments as to who should win that one, too.
just me said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 12:57 PM*He and Chad make a *great team. PS I have to add in the final race I was quite surprised that JJ did in fact "race" throughout the race. Good job.
Coco Suma said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 1:17 PMSorry guys but Edwards didn't beat JJ in every statistical catergory excpet the point standings kinda funny really. Don't get all bent out of shape someone was bound to say this because anyone who looks at the numbers knows. Perhaps you guys should go check it the stats I mean it interesting... something to do until February 15 2009. Check out this article its goes over Edwards stats.
jessica said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 2:45 PMHere's to the best none winner ever. Do they have a trophy and a check for that??? NOT!!!!!
Coco Suma said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 2:58 PMActually Jessica yes CE received a trophy and check for each of his 9 wins.
jessica said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 3:02 PMOkay Coco Suma, I stand corrected. But last time I checked, he still didn't win either championship this year.....
Rosalie Vojtas said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 3:09 PMI'm just waiting (and hoping)for the day the DORK lands on his head! He may someday be THE champion, but the BEST one won this year, and last, and the year before that! The DORK will win only if it's ever his time. There are many racers, in all venues, who have never won a race let alone a champion, but they are still good drivers.
Meg said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 3:11 PMMary Patton – My sentiments exactly.. They never should have changed the rules…. Race for the chase B.S…… Good for Jimmie and Chad.. They did exactly what they needed to do and more power to them…. Those Roushmobile drivers can cry all they want but NASCAR can just give them more cars to run than the other teams, not more championships…. They have to earn those !!
Robert Porter said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 3:11 PMCarl was at least as good as JJ all year and a lot more fun to watch and listen to. Carl will get his chance when GM goes broke and NASCAR has to pick another manufacturer.
William Dunker said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 3:17 PMI don't quite understand what people are complaining about. I'm a big Carl Edwards fan and he had an outstanding year but he didn't win the championship and that's that. JJ did and congratulations to him.
Vicki Williams said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 3:28 PMYou can't say that Carl would have won under the old points system because it would have changed the strategies of all the drivers. For instance, if Carl had been ahead of Jimmie coming into Homestead, who would have been cautious and who would have been going for the win? The two would have been flipped. Carl himself said he could take chances because he was behind. He wouldn't have done the same if he'd been protecting his lead. Jimmie had a fast enough car to win at Homestead if the circumstances had been different. Nice try, though.
Go 29 Harvick said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 3:29 PMMe Too #15 post (William) - Carl had a great season - congrats to the #48 team.
Jim Bayliss said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 3:53 PMBOTH drivers did well this season, that is why they were number 1 and 2. BUT if it had not been for Cousin' Carl, most of the races would have been BORING!!! Carl was the one who kept us on our seats most of the time. Yes, he screwed up at Talledega, but I remember a few years ago when JJ did the same and knocked my man, Mark Martin out. I am sure that Carl has learned. Watch him go next year.
John Henry said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 4:10 PMnobody was complaining about jj winning and carl finishing second. it was just noted carl had a better statistic year. jj is just boring vanilla ice cream. he is a great driver and deservived to win the championship.jj just needs to show some life, its like watching joe friday of dragnet fame, you like him but you want some whip cream and choclate syrup with your vanella ice cream.
jim rodder said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 4:11 PMJimmy isn't a RACE care driver he is a chase the trophy driver, without Carl I don't think I could have watched most of the race's. It will be fun to watch Carl win the race's and trophy next year.
Erin Holbert said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 4:24 PMI say congrats to Jimmie but my heart was with Carl. Carl did have to overall better year just made that egregious error at Dega and then the problems at Charlotte. He is a Busch champion and he is a champion in my heart and not just for his driving but for the person he is on and off the track. The reason I love Carl and Tony Stewart is because they race hard every lap, love their fans and do wonderful things for others less fortunate.
Tom Meier said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 4:33 PMJimmie Johnson scored the most points in 2008 under "The Chase" format and also if the points had been awarded under the old points system. Get over it!!! Jeff Gordon would have had four championships in a row if he had not fallen 37 points short in 1996. He had 10 wins that year and Terry Labonte (the 1996 Champion) had only two wins.
Werner Boehmert said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 5:19 PMTom...under the old points system... 1) #99-Carl Edwards 5236 [9 wins] 2) #48-Jimmie Johnson 5220 -16 [7 wins]
sue larson said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 5:30 PMWhat is wrong with some of you? Congrat's to Jimmy, he raced well, did what he had to do to win, however, Thank you Carl, who made the last few races more exciting for giving it all he had.
steve songer said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 6:18 PMI'm a Jeff Burton fan, so I have no stake in this either way, but I would sum up the year with this statement: Jimmy Johnson was the champion in the season that Carl Edwards proved he could outdrive everybody else.
Jim Teats said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 6:26 PMJust wondering how many times this jj car failed post race inspection and nascar did nothing. The way they at other times. Yes nascar will have to find car make to be favored when GM goes under chapter 11. Congulation to Carl for a great year
amber s said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 7:00 PMDon't listen to all the mean comments, this was a great article :)
Tom Meier said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 7:09 PMThank you, Werner!! I stand corrected. I had looked at the points before Homestead and didn't check it after. For all of you who say "If this hadn't happened" or "If that hadn't happened" things would have been different. If, if, if and we would have had 35 drivers getting the maximum number of points each race and 35 champions.
Crawfish Crider said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 10:06 PMCarl Edwards is the man. Spinning out Kyle Busch in the postrace; the "bonzai" move; winning 3 of the last 4 races to try and catch Jimmie. I can't wait to watch him next season; backflipping 9 times. I agree with people who say the season is too long, but I'm kind of glad it starts back so soon. February can't come soon enough.
Debbie Kelter said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 10:12 PMHendrick Motor has the money. It's not like we don't know that. With their huge staff, they should be winning. That helps a lot to get there team ahead in the second half of the season. Jimmy Johnson won, yah big deal. I am sure like me others are tired of all the glory aimed at that team. Roush racing was and alway will be a strong bunch of guys. Carl is an awesome person on and off the track. He did make the chase exciting, took some times some crazy chances, but always learned something and was not babying his way around the track. He has charisma, brains, a great heart and a huge fan base. Both drivers are good, but I admit the back flip, huge smile and everything about Carl makes him a truly wonderful guy to watch. We will get em next year Carl. Until then keep up the good work and make Nascar worth watching!!!
Gladys Bedwell said:
Nov 20, 2008 at 11:15 PMUntil NASCAR can figure out a way to win a championship without consistency, we are going to see a lot more Jimmie Johnson types racers win championships then we will see real racers win like Edwards, Kyle Busch, or Tony Stewart.
bill thompson said:
Nov 21, 2008 at 10:06 AMgreat article
HELEN FORD said:
Nov 21, 2008 at 10:58 AMYou people are so full of sour grapes that you can't even think or see straight.......maybe Greg Biffle would have been the one to beat if Cousin Carl hadn't ruined his chances along with his own.....always driving over his head and spinning other people out of contention....hello, just because he smiles and apologizes doesn't make him a good guy and almost all the the drivers have foundations that help people but don't use it just to get good press....and spare me that Roush is the underdog......faster cars, better gas mileage, more cars on the track.......how much more advantage do you want including the announcers being in his pocket......his drivers get more press for not winning than Hendrick drivers get for winning and driving with respect for other peoples lives.......you people are crazy....and really, why is Carl down ther driving for a championship that should belong to the real Nationwide drivers......
Art Sheeler said:
Nov 21, 2008 at 11:16 AMI feel sorry for all you poor souls who can not say anything nice about a guy that made the season great, instead of another boring race. Take a lesson from Jimmy's dad when his son had just won the championship he said "and how about that Carl Edwards" I for one know why Jimmy is tee guy he is. I am a strong Carl Edwards fan and would like to dislike Jimmy but can not because he is a good racer. Sure Carl made a big mistake at Taladaga but he at least took the blame for it. In my mind that is what makes a good racer, Someone who can learn from his mistakes. I can non wait for next year and watch Carl and Jimmy go at it. To all you fans that can not say anything nice. Have a great holliday season and I hope you have a better attitude next year.
Art Sheeler said:
Nov 21, 2008 at 11:22 AMOOps that danged key board made two e's and forgot the h
Sarah Oxfurth said:
Nov 21, 2008 at 5:47 PMI actually do not think the best season-long driver won this championship. I believe that honor would go to Kyle Busch (whom I dislike, mind you), or Carl Edwards. HOWEVER, the bottom line is-all the drivers have the same rules, and they've been the same for four years now (four, right?). All the IFs, ANDs, or BUTs, doesn't change that...the one that wins the Championship, UNDER THE CURRENT RULES, is Jimmie Johnson-that is undisputable. Period.
Sarah Oxfurth said:
Nov 21, 2008 at 5:47 PMI actually do not think the best season-long driver won this championship. I believe that honor would go to Kyle Busch (whom I dislike, mind you), or Carl Edwards. HOWEVER, the bottom line is-all the drivers have the same rules, and they've been the same for four years now (four, right?). All the IFs, ANDs, or BUTs, doesn't change that...the one that wins the Championship, UNDER THE CURRENT RULES, is Jimmie Johnson-that is undisputable. Period.
Sarah Oxfurth said:
Nov 21, 2008 at 5:49 PMDang it-I cannot figure out this posting..half the time it won't post my post...then it posts it twice! UGH Sorry for the double-post above.
Nancy Willson said:
Nov 21, 2008 at 10:55 PMCongrats to Chad Knaus - he's the one that put Jimmie there. It'll be very interesting next year with Mark Martin in the mix. Oh yeah, Carl will be the one to beat next year. It ends with the 3peat for JJ.
said:
Nov 24, 2008 at 5:56 PMAccording to you "it may have belonged to Carl" but look who won the Championship -- a real champion not a driver who has to go down to Nationwide series all the time because it is the only place he may ever win a title and I doubt that will happen there either.