Edwards has two-pronged approach to the Chase

Edwards has two-pronged approach to the Chase

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(October 1, 2011)

DOVER, Del.—Carl Edwards is trying to do two things in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and, on the surface, they might seem to be contradictory objectives.

 First, Edwards wants to drive as fast as he can. Second, he wants to avoid the sorts of mistakes that can kill a Chase effort before it starts.

 Edwards acknowledges the two approaches to the Chase embody different perspectives.

 “There are two ways to do it, but you kind of have to do them simultaneously,” Edwards said Friday at Dover International Speedway. “You have to do two things. You have to not make any mistakes, but also go as fast as you can. If you watched guys in just the first two (Chase) races, guys have put themselves behind through mistakes or miscalculations with fuel, and we can do that just as easily as anyone, but our goal is not to.

 “At the same time, we are coming here to win these races, and if I have a shot to win this (AAA 400) on Sunday, then that’s what I’m going for. ‘We’re not holding back anything’ is the only way to put it. We’re going as fast as we can every week.”

 Ryan Newman on the wrong side of the luck equation

 Ryan Newman’s fortunes in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup provide a marked contrast to the unexpected start of Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Tony Stewart.

 Stewart won the first two Chase races, at Chicagoland and New Hampshire, but Newman, who entered the Chase as a higher seed than his teammate, seemed to inherit the bad luck that had plagued Stewart for most of the regular season.

 Newman finished eighth after running out of fuel on the final lap at Chicagoland, and after starting on the pole at Loudon, he stumbled to a 25th-place finish and fell to 11th in the standings, 34 points behind his first-place teammate.

 “They struggled really hard there four or five races before the Chase started, and I think they regrouped really strong,” Newman said of Stewart’s team. “If we had not run out of fuel at Chicago, and if we had not blown out a tire at Loudon, we would probably be 1-2 in points right now.

 “He’s had the fortunate side of the luck; we’ve had the unfortunate side of the luck, running out of fuel when he had the fuel to get to the end. He didn’t blow a tire. We did. Those types of things—it’s part of what we do.”

Short strokes

 Doug Fritz, former president of Richmond International Raceway, has been named chief executive officer of Iowa Speedway, the track announced Friday. … Tickets for NASCAR After the Lap, scheduled for Dec. 1 during Sprint Cup champion’s week in Las Vegas, go on sale Monday. NASCAR After the Lap includes a fans’ question-and-answer session; the 2010 version produced some lively repartee between drivers. Tickets are available at www.NASCARafterthelap.com, with proceeds benefiting the NASCAR Foundation.