Edwards looking to continue success at Bristol

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Photo by Hannah Bader / Carl Edwards bowls a strike during a media event at Holiday Lanes in Johnson City.

By Wes Holtsclaw (wholtsclaw@starhq.com) 

JOHNSON CITY — Last year, Carl Edwards did two back flips at Bristol’s start-finish line.

This weekend, the Roush Fenway driver will be looking to add another at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile.”

One of two drivers to win events in each of NASCAR’s three premier series at the track, Edwards returns to Bristol as its most recent Cup winner with wins in two of this season’s first four Sprint Cup races under his belt.

“Coming to Bristol’s always fun,” said Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion, at a bowling event at Holiday Lanes. “When you settle down for a 100 lap green flag run, it’s like you’re in another dimension. There’s nothing else you can do. It’s really cool.”

Last August, Edwards became the first Cup victor on Bristol’s new concrete surface with a thrilling Sharpie 500 win.

While a second consecutive Cup win would be special, Edwards, the defending Nationwide Series champion, will also be looking to defend his Sharpie Mini 300 title on the new surface.

“Last year, we won the Nationwide race on the old surface in the spring,” Edwards said. “They repaved it and I thought it was one of the most fun races I’d been a part of in the fall. The racing was really good. There were people running side by side. To win that race — to win a Cup race at Bristol, that’s as good as it gets and I’m really excited to be a part of it.”

Before his two wins at BMS last season, Edwards experienced the track’s victory lane with win in the 2004 Craftsman Truck Series race.

This weekend, Edwards will make his eighth Cup start at the track. In his previous seven Cup outings at Bristol, he has two top five and three top ten finishes to go along with his win last August.

Edwards’ success on the half-mile may be one reason he deems the facility the best in NASCAR.

“Places like Bristol, Darlington, Charlotte — they’re unique, they’re historic,” Edwards said. “It’s the unique part of Bristol that makes it fun. There’s no other track you go to like this so it makes it great. That’s what makes it the best because it’s unique.

“The first time I ran at Bristol I was in the Craftsman Truck Series and I was in pretty good shape,” he recalled. “We went out and did a fifteen lap run and I was never more happy to hear my crew chief tell me to come in because I don’t think I could have made it to lap 20.

“If you go down to the end of the straightaway you think, ‘dang, that’s a sharp corner.’ But it’s banked so high, it’s a totally different feeling. It feels like you’re racing around in a bowl. It’s a totally different sensation than any track I’ve raced on before that.”

Edwards also arrives at Bristol one week after dominating the Sprint Cup headlines for the wrong reason.

After winning at California in the second race of the regular season, the Roush Fenway driver returned to victory lane at Las Vegas the following week and became the Sprint Cup points leader.

But there was one small problem.

A bolt which held the oil tank lid cover came loose during the race, thus giving the car extra downforce at the track.

The problem was discovered in the post race inspection at Vegas, and Edwards’ team was hit hard with a $100,000 fine, while Edwards was docked 100 points and crew chief Bob Osborne was suspended for six weeks.

Toyota, in particular, was openly critical of Edwards when teams arrived last weekend at Atlanta. Edwards attributed the attention to his team’s success this season.

“I’m not surprised anymore about anybody making comments,” Edwards said. “All those comments get blown out of proportion like everything. I don’t worry about that. It doesn’t matter what you do. People are going to complain, people are going to comment and point fingers. As long as we keep racing and going fast, there’s going to be more of it.”

Roush Fenway announced Wednesday that they would not appeal the penalty. Edwards said Thursday that he accepts the penalty, noting that if he continues to find success on the track each weekend it won’t make a difference at the end of the season.

“That penalty is what it is,” Edwards said. “There’s nothing we can do about it. If we perform at the rate we’ve been performing at, we’ll be just fine. It won’t effect us. The last thing we need to do is let it get us down. We’ve got the best cars in the garage right now, so we’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing.”

Edwards and his team didn’t let the flap get them down last week. At one point, Edwards appeared to be headed towards a third consecutive win, but the car’s engine expired with 51 laps remaining in the event.

Despite the DNF, Edwards wasn’t as critical of the racing at Atlanta as other drivers, particularly Tony Stewart who has dominated this week’s headlines with his war of words with Goodyear.

“I had a good time in Atlanta,” Edwards said. “The cars were really hard to drive. But, here’s the way it works. I think it all got blown out of proportion. I think you could’ve made that tire a little easier to drive and it would’ve made maybe a little better racing for the fans. I think the same people would’ve been fast. It just would’ve closed the race up a little bit.”

Edwards doesn’t expect a continued tire controversy this weekend. He expects a dynamic race with Goodyear selecting a softer right side tire for Sunday’s Food City 500.

“The way I understand it is that we’re running a little bit softer right side tire. I think that’ll make for a dynamic race,” Edwards said. “I think you’ll see people coming and going more, tires wearing out and (having to use) pit strategy. Last year when we were here, the tires stayed the same.

“I think that’s a good move and will make the race more exciting. To me it really doesn’t matter what tire we race on as long as it’s safe and everybody’s got the same tire.”

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