Top-30 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers: Carl Edwards, second
Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards enjoyed a stellar NASCAR Sprint Cup season, hitting series-high marks in wins, top-10s and top-fives, while settling for second overall in the series standings.
Edwards and crew chief Bob Osborne raced well from the start of the season until its end, grabbing nine victories but falling 69 points shy of the title. Edwards, 29, also finished as the runnerup in the Nationwide Series.
The Columbia, Mo.-native also had an active offseason, competing in the Race of Champions in England and getting married. That followed a year in which he won almost $11.4 million in purses.
During the offseason, SceneDaily is taking a look at the top 30 in 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup driver points. Here’s how Edward’s season unfolded:
By the numbers: Statistically speaking, Edwards topped the Sprint Cup Series. His nine wins, 27 top-10 and 19 top-five finishes were tops in each of those categories. Yet he managed to lead the standings only twice. However, Edwards sat second or better for 13 of the final 15 weeks of the season and entered the season finale as the only driver with a mathematical chance of challenging Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson for the title.
Season highlights: Edwards showcased his versatility. He won on the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in California and Michigan International Speedway, the 1.5-mile Las Vegas, Atlanta, Texas (twice) and Homestead tracks, the 2.5-mile Pocono triangle and the .533-mile Bristol short track. He won two of the first three races and three of the last four. His team was capable of striking and overcoming setbacks at any time.
Key setbacks: Edwards’ championship hopes went awry in a pair of setbacks in the 10-race Chase For The Sprint Cup. Edwards was in the heart of the race before he finished 29th after a crash at Talladega and 33rd after a parts failure the following week at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Those created a points gap he could not overcome.
Newsworthy moment: Edwards was docked 100 points and Osborne was suspended for six races after the car's oil-tank cover came off following Edwards' victory at Las Vegas. General manager Robbie Reiser stepped in with the team during Osborne's absence. Edwards won at Texas during Osborne's absence.
In his words: “Yeah, it was a great year – a really good year. I believe we scored as many or more points than anyone. The Chase format has its plus sides and down sides for everybody involved. I think it’s a good thing, and the race with Jimmie was really exciting for me. I wish we would have been a little bit closer at the end, but still, we put the pressure on him at the end. It was extremely satisfying to win that last race and know that we won more races than anyone else. There’s a lot of pride in that, I think, and overall I think our team just got really strong, and that’s a good feeling.”
