Waid's World
A NASCAR BLOG BY Steve Waid
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Is this a title season for Edwards?
Aug
9
After Carl Edwards won the race at Pocono, his team owner, Jack Roush, declared his driver was ready to win a Sprint Cup championship.
Seems to me Roush was stating the obvious. I’ll bet Edwards thought so.
Roush explained that he thought Edwards, who has driven for Roush Fenway Racing since 2004, had matured to the point where he could better deal with adversity, which will be needed in a championship quest.
In 2005, Edwards was one of the 10 drivers who made the Chase. When it began at New Hampshire, he was eighth in points.
When it was over, he wound up in a tie for second place with teammate Greg Biffle, both just 35 points behind champion Tony Stewart.
Edwards finished among the top 10 in eight of the 2005 season’s final 10 races, with consecutive victories at Atlanta and Texas. The only adversities – if you care to call them that – he endured were a 19th-place finish at New Hampshire and a 26th-place run at Martinsville.
Currently, Edwards is third in points behind leader Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Edwards’ situation would be better had he not lost 100 drivers points for a missing oil tank cover at Las Vegas in March.
Edwards won four races in 2005 and he’s already matched that this season. With five races remaining before the start of the Chase and its 10 events, he has the opportunity to win several more.
Which, of course, is what he wants to do, starting this weekend at Watkins Glen.
When the points are restructured for the Chase, drivers will get 10 bonus points for each victory. Edwards has said it will be his team’s strategy to push for victories, because it feels bonus points are key.
With seven wins this year, Busch presently has the lion’s share of those bonus points. If Edwards wins the next five races, he’ll pick up 40 more points when the Chase begins. He got nicked 10 bonus points for the Las Vegas infraction.
Of course, the odds are long that Edwards – or any driver - can win five consecutive races.
However, overall, Edwards is in a much better position to contend for a championship than he was in 2005 – when he was barely hanging on to 10th place in points after Watkins Glen.
And in the Chase, if he achieves what he did in 2005, well, this time it just might be enough.
Seems to me Roush was stating the obvious. I’ll bet Edwards thought so.
Roush explained that he thought Edwards, who has driven for Roush Fenway Racing since 2004, had matured to the point where he could better deal with adversity, which will be needed in a championship quest.
In 2005, Edwards was one of the 10 drivers who made the Chase. When it began at New Hampshire, he was eighth in points.
When it was over, he wound up in a tie for second place with teammate Greg Biffle, both just 35 points behind champion Tony Stewart.
Edwards finished among the top 10 in eight of the 2005 season’s final 10 races, with consecutive victories at Atlanta and Texas. The only adversities – if you care to call them that – he endured were a 19th-place finish at New Hampshire and a 26th-place run at Martinsville.
Currently, Edwards is third in points behind leader Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Edwards’ situation would be better had he not lost 100 drivers points for a missing oil tank cover at Las Vegas in March.
Edwards won four races in 2005 and he’s already matched that this season. With five races remaining before the start of the Chase and its 10 events, he has the opportunity to win several more.
Which, of course, is what he wants to do, starting this weekend at Watkins Glen.
When the points are restructured for the Chase, drivers will get 10 bonus points for each victory. Edwards has said it will be his team’s strategy to push for victories, because it feels bonus points are key.
With seven wins this year, Busch presently has the lion’s share of those bonus points. If Edwards wins the next five races, he’ll pick up 40 more points when the Chase begins. He got nicked 10 bonus points for the Las Vegas infraction.
Of course, the odds are long that Edwards – or any driver - can win five consecutive races.
However, overall, Edwards is in a much better position to contend for a championship than he was in 2005 – when he was barely hanging on to 10th place in points after Watkins Glen.
And in the Chase, if he achieves what he did in 2005, well, this time it just might be enough.
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Comments
3 responses to "Is this a title season for Edwards?"
anonymous said:
Aug 10, 2008 at 6:32 AMCarls date for the Championship banquet is Nancy Sterling.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportRex Lee said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 4:36 PMI really can't believe DinkJr.[Earnhart] fans want to talk that kind of smack. Since Karry & Kelly seems to be the only one interested in carrying on the family name. Thats filty talk and it would take a bunch of Jr.fans to have that kind thinking go thru thier minds.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportanonymous said:
Aug 15, 2008 at 5:36 AMI AM NOT A "DINK JR" FAN. Don't assume every remark made is coming from Jr. Nation. Who else would he have as his date at the head table. No girlfriend in sight. If you think the remark is filthy, I pity you.
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This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
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