Carl Edwards, fastest in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, was second-fastest in qualifying at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (photo: Getty Images)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Carl Edwards too has a reason to race, just one not so compelling.
Edwards is out of the Chase in terms of the championship but has fourth place, 47 points ahead of Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth. And, of course, it’s Ford Championship Weekend, and Edwards drives one.
What Edwards talked about was “locking down fourth place.”
“That would be a big accomplishment for us, and we’ll just keep trucking,” he said. “I don’t feel like we have implemented all the things we’ve figured out yet. I think we have a lot of really positive things that they’re working on at the shop, so I think we could even be better yet come Daytona, Phoenix, Vegas (in 20100).
“I think we’re poised to be extremely good at the beginning of next season, maybe in a better situation than we were at the end of 2008, where I felt like we had been ahead and people were catching us.”
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PITS CAN BE THE PITS–Pit choices could play a vital role in the outcome of both the race and the championship. Space is chosen on the basis of qualifying, which means Jimmie Johnson, who qualified sixth, has a much better location on pit road than Denny Hamlin, mainly because the point lead qualified 37th.
Johnson will pit at the midpoint, with an open spot in front of him. Kevin Harvick has a decent spot, behind the pole-winning car of Kasey Kahne and ahead of the No. 66 of Mike Bliss. Hamlin will pit near the pit entrance, behind Matt Kenseth and ahead of Aric Almirola.
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NEW TASK AT HAND--Even though Johnson has won four straight championships, he’s never had to come from behind in the final race or, for that matter, the final two.
“In professional sports, things aren't always going to work out as you hope,” he said. “I wish we were leading the points and had the pressure of defending a championship down here, but I'm making the most of where we are.
“It's not far (15 points) from where we are to where Denny (Hamlin) is. We're going to have to go out and have a great day on Sunday afternoon, take it from there, see what happens.”
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MOVE IT AROUND-- The third contender, Harvick, doesn’t want to see the Chase format change. He wants to see the Sprint Cup schedule change.
“I'd like to see a little bit more diversity in the race tracks,” he said. “I don't think the last 10 weeks should be the same tracks over and over and over again. I think it should rotate around. I think that would help particular race markets get better.
“You have it end at different places, have it start at different places. Maybe you go to some of the same tracks, but I think a different 10 weeks, even a road course at the end of the year, would put that full diversity, I guess you could say, on your champion to getting to all the different styles of tracks.”
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