Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Office Depot Taurus, is 54
points out of the lead in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Edwards spoke
about his hopes for this weekend after Friday's practice session.
CARL EDWARDS - No. 99 Office Depot Taurus
HOW ARE YOU APPROACHING
SUNDAY, ESPECIALLY WITH THE WEATHER. "Our Office Depot Ford is really
good, but that's one of the things I was asking Bob Osborne. I said,
'What's the weather supposed to be like on Sunday?' Because we kept
freeing the car up and freeing it up, and if it's gonna be sunny and hot,
you don't want to be too loose here and lose that forward grip, so we're
hoping the weather will be just like this on Sunday and we'll be
alright."
YOU'RE STILL IN THIS TITLE HUNT. "We feel like we're
definitely in the chase for the championship. I mean, I think everyone
is in it right now, to be honest with you. This has really worked out
perfectly - this chase format with 10 guys having an opportunity. I
guarantee it's gonna come down to the last lap at Homestead and it's
stressful. Just knowing that it's gonna be impossible to go out there
and get a lead. It has been for Tony and even Jimmie Johnson. It's
stressful for us, but I know for everyone other than those top 10 guys
it's fun to watch."
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO WIN THE TITLE IN YOUR FIRST
FULL YEAR? "It would mean the world to me to win this championship this
year. That's all there is to it. It would mean the world. We have to
do everything perfectly. We can't be thinking too much about that.
Right now, we're here at Martinsville. We've had an awesome practice so
far, so it's little steps, one foot in front of the other and maybe we'll
end up there. It would be unbelievable."
HOW DO YOU COMPENSATE FOR SO
LITTLE EXPERIENCE HERE? "The races I have had here have been
disastrous. We've had wrecks and steering problems and I've definitely
screwed up my fair share of stuff here. We had an awesome test here and
hopefully this is that breakthrough race where we run well here at
Martinsville. I think this is really the bottleneck of our championship
run here. This is the one we have to run well at to make it. After this
it will be all blue sky, so it would mean a lot to win here or even run
well here."
HOW DO YOU COMPENSATE FOR THE LACK OF EXPERIENCE? "The way
I compensate for my lack of experience here is to use my teammates, lean
on my teammates' setups and talk to them. This morning I was watching
the video of last year's race, just trying to analyze guys like Jeff
Gordon and Tony Stewart and watch what they do. Other than that you just
really focus and concentrate. I try to realize that I don't have it
figured out and I try to go ask other people for help."
JACK ROUSH
CONSIDERS YOU A WILD CARD WITH A LEGITIMATE CHANCE. YOUR THOUGHTS.
"It's strange because we're in an odd situation. We did not expect,
really, to be fighting for this championship. We hoped for it and we've
gained ground all year. At the beginning of the year, if we would have
been basing the championship off of the first 10 races, we would have
been in deep trouble because we didn't know what we were doing. Now
we're learning and I'm learning as a driver. The team is coming together
and I think that's what he means. If we can catch up and keep a hold of
this thing, and not slip and make a mistake, like we should - and show a
little bit of maturity beyond our experience, we'll be alright."
IS IT A
MINDSET HERE AT THIS TRACK? "Generally, for me, this race track has been
a little bit frustrating. It doesn't seem productive to me to let a
track frustrate you, so I try to come to come to these places with a real
fresh outlook. The bottom line is you have to get your car right and you
have to be fast just like any other race track. We haven't been that
great here, whether it's me or the car or whatever, we just haven't
gotten it down. Today we ran really well. We had a good test. What I
try to do is I'm trying to just come in here and be excited about this
race and go out there and have as much fun as I can and focus on every
corner."
DO YOU OVERDRIVE OR UNDERDRIVE THIS TRACK? "My
tendency is to definitely overdrive Martinsville. I'm learning to just
lift a little earlier, wait a little bit and get to the throttle later
and not abuse the car. It's a fun challenge. If we weren't in the midst
of the championship hunt and there weren't all these people watching and
all this on the line, I'd be just having a blast. But what happens here
is it seems like the frustrations compound. You go in a little too hard
and wiggle, then some guy gets by you and then they start to freight
train you. Then you're trying too hard and you keep going backwards. I
have trouble just staying calm and doing everything I can, but I'm
getting better and I'm learning and I think this is gonna be a race that
we really show that."
-ford racing-
