Edwards: The deal’s done; now let’s win a title

Edwards: The deal’s done; now let’s win a title

 

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

 

(August 5, 2011)

 

LONG POND, Pa.—The one thing Carl Edwards perhaps regrets most about his previous contract with Roush Fenway Racing was revealing that it was a three-year deal.

 

The common knowledge that 2011 was a contract year for Edwards, the marquee free agent in Sprint Cup racing, only fed the frenzy about the negotiation process and fueled speculation Edwards might sign with Joe Gibbs Racing, his most ardent suitor outside of Roush.

 

“First of all, I wish that I would never have confirmed that our term was up, because it would have been a lot quieter,” Edwards told Sporting News on Friday at Pocono Raceway.

 

Quiet it wasn’t. As Edwards’ decision dragged on, his contract status remained the focus of attention in the media and in the garage. Nevertheless, Edwards was able to retain the Cup series points lead.

 

Edwards, whose new contract was announced Thursday, declined to go into detail about the negotiation process, but he did say that the numbers quoted recently in the media, where talk surfaced of a first-year package worth as much as $18 million, were inaccurate.

 

He also said stories of an eleventh-hour cash infusion by Ford Motor Company simply weren’t true. Instead, Edwards, who negotiates his own deals, spoke of a lengthy fact-finding process in which his knowledge of the inner workings of Roush Fenway Racing grew exponentially.

 

Rather than elaborate on the process, Edwards talked about his mindset as he considered his future and thanked owner Jack Roush for his patience.

 

“What I did from the beginning of this is I said, ‘What would I do if money weren’t a factor, and what would I do if I didn’t care what one person thought about my decision?—a decision that’s this important to me and my family, for all the hard work that I’ve put in for the path that I’ve taken.’

 

“For me personally, I act as my own agent, I make my own decisions, I understand my own deals, and the decision was made under those thoughts. So that’s what made this more simple for me and that’s how I came to the conclusion I came to. Whenever I’d start feeling that pressure start creeping in from the outside I’d think, ‘OK, let’s get back to the basics here. Where can I win the most championships? And what would I do if other people’s opinions weren’t a factor?’

 

“So that helped me a ton, and I think my family and Jack’s patience and Jack’s support—all of those—things helped me do that. When I talked to Jack on the phone and he said, ‘Look, Carl, you do whatever you think is best for you.’ He said those words to me and that meant the world. It meant that I didn’t have that pressure to do something for any reason other than what I thought was best. That was huge.”

 

Roush was understandably relieved at Edwards’ decision.

 

“If Carl had made the decision not to come back, I was going to feel really stupid for having shown him all the things—we lined up every manager and every brilliant person we’ve got among the 416 (employees at RFR),” Roush said. “There are a lot of them that are just really superior at what they do.

 

“He had a chance to consider the breadth and the length of every person and every thought that we had on what would be good going forward, and I would feel horribly exposed if he had not come back.”

 

For Edwards, the new contract allows a return to his primary goal—a Sprint Cup title.

 

“I’m just excited to move forward,” Edwards said. “This team is in a position that we’ve never been in before. We feel that we’re fast for the right reasons, and we have the opportunity to go out here and win this championship, so I’m glad it’s behind us. I’m glad to be here racing and going for the championship.”