Edwards won’t second-guess Talladega strategy

Edwards won’t second-guess Talladega strategy

(October 23, 2011)

TALLADEGA, Ala.—Carl Edwards spent most of Sunday afternoon as the caboose on the Talladega train.

 Hanging back in the field with drafting partner and Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle until the last possible moment in the Good Sam Club 500, Edwards cruised to an incident-free 11th-place finish and expanded his lead in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup to 14 points over second-place Matt Kenseth, another RFR teammate.

 Edwards leaves Talladega Superspeedway thoroughly satisfied with the effort, even though he was never in contention for the victory.

 “I don’t know that I have ever been so excited about 11th place,” Edwards said. “This race was one that was nerve-wracking for everyone, but we came in here with a small points lead and that was a huge day for us.”

 Edwards, who took over the Chase lead (tied with Kevin Harvick) three weeks ago at Dover, entered Sunday’s race with a five-point lead over Harvick. Kenseth was in third, seven points back. Harvick was caught up in a wreck and finished 32nd.

 Biffle, who missed the Chase for the first time in four years, was a difference-maker for Edwards.

 “I cannot believe how much Greg helped us today,” Edwards said. “I owe him a lot. Greg stuck with me all day. On the last lap he was driving my car from back there. We got separated, and he was screaming, ‘Go, go, go.’ Somehow I found him, and he pushed us back up there a little bit. It was a very good day.”

 Asked whether he and Biffle could have improved their positions by making a move before the final two-lap run to the finish, Edwards demurred.

 “If you look at the things that could have happened or should have happened, we probably should have had a couple of green-white-checkered (finishes), the way people were bouncing off each other and the way things were going,” Edwards said.

 “If I had to do it over again, I would do the exact same thing, and I bet you the outcome would be wildly different, better or worse. At the end of the day, we had a shot at it. Our car was intact, and we could drive up there, and that was our mission. It went well for us.”

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service