Edwards looks to build off last year’s momentum
By Scott Serrano
PA SportsTicker Auto Racing Editor
No driver finished the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season stronger than Carl Edwards.
In a desperate attempt to derail Jimmie Johnson’s historic quest for a third consecutive championship, Edwards finished no lower than fourth over the second half of the 10-race “Chase for the Championship.”
During that dominant stretch, he piloted the No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford to three victories, including a win in the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Despite that mad dash, Edwards was unable to catch Johnson and settled for a runner-up finish in the standings, a mere 69 points out of the lead.
Fast forward to this year, and Edwards already is being touted as the driver to finally keep Johnson from hoisting the championship trophy.
In a press release sent out by NASCAR, a poll of 198 members of the media tabbed Edwards as the favorite to win the championship this year. He finished with 70 first-place votes to Johnson’s 37.
“It is an unreal compliment for 70 (media members) to think that I will win it all,” Edwards said. “It’s just great. What Jimmie has done is spectacular. For the media to say they think that I might be able to stop that is pretty neat.”
The bad news for Edwards is that in order for him to keep that momentum from last season going, he needs to fare much better at Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500.
Over the past two years, Edwards has a pair of 19th-place finishes in the race.
In eight total starts at the famed 2.5-mile superspeedway, Edwards has just two top-five and two top-10 finishes, and his average finish is 22nd.
“Going into Daytona, I try to think of this season coming up as an extension of last season because we finished so strong,” Edwards said. “You know there’s no more fun place to go than Daytona for the Daytona 500, especially on a clean slate where everyone’s tied for the lead in points.
“It’s a race you want to win as much as any other race, maybe more. It’s gonna be fun. I’m real excited about going to Daytona.”
Ironically, a poor showing at Talladega Superspeedway - the track most similar to Daytona on the circuit - during last year’s Chase most likely cost Edwards a shot at winning the title.
On lap 174, Edwards got into the back of teammate Greg Biffle, spinning the No. 16 Ford around and back into oncoming traffic.
Edwards finished 29th after causing the wreck, dropped 65 points behind Johnson, and never really had a chance to catch Johnson despite his strong finish.
“The biggest challenge at Daytona is not to make that mistake that puts you in a hole,” Edwards said. “You’ve got to balance the enthusiasm to win the Daytona 500 with a little bit of restraint, knowing that coming out of there with a 40th-place finish doesn’t help your season. It is a little bit tough because it is the Daytona 500.”
Even so, Edwards knows a good start to the season would go a long way to reaching his ultimate goal.
“What (Jimmie) did and what he’s done the last three years is really special,” Edwards said. “If it comes down to me and him again, I want to beat him really badly. I want to win that championship. I want to know what it feels like.”
