Edwards unapologetic for two-timing
Carl Edwards makes no apologies for doubling up on NASCAR series. The 30-year-old doesn’t see a reason why he shouldn’t be allowed to compete for the coveted NASCAR Sprint Cup as well as the sport’s second-tier Nationwide title simultaniously.
NASCAR has recently considered changing its rules regarding the participation of Cup drivers who are routinely ducking down into the Nationwide Series competition to take victories from smaller teams and less experienced drivers.
The problem with Cup drivers participating in the Nationwide series means younger drivers don't get the opportunity to win as frequently. The only Nationwide series driver to win a race this season has been Justin Allgaier, while the rest have been Cup drivers.
Edwards is in 10th place in the Sprint Cup standings but is second in the Nationwide points race just behind Brad Keselowski. Edwards and Keselowski were both punished for nudging each other and causing a crash at the Gateway track last weekend. Edwards won the race but lost 60 points and was fined $25,000 in addition to being put on suspension.
"I hope NASCAR recognizes that all of us are racers, and no matter where you come from this is its own series," Edwards said of Nationwide.
He began racing in Nationwide when he was driving in the truck series and considers himself a Nationwide driver contending for Cup series sponsorship deals.
"Hopefully I can still race for a championship," he continued, "because that's what I want to do next year."
Edwards is not the only Sprint Cup driver dipping into the Nationwide races. Kevin Havrick, leader of the Sprint Cup, ran in both of last weekend’s races. He effortlessly won the 250 mile truck race on Friday night and lead all but 17 of the 160 laps. He ended up scraping the wall late into the race, taking himself out of contention on Saturday.
Keselowski also drove a doubleheader this weekend. He finished second in the truck race but couldn’t get better than 14th on Saturday after Edward’s nudged left him spinning out, a move that initiated a 10 car wreck. Edwards didn’t let the crash bother him,
"I hate to see stuff torn up,” said the Columbia, Mo. native, “but we came here to win."
With 16 remaining Nationwide races before the series wraps up it is looking more and more likely that a Sprint Cup driver will take the title. Edwards is defending champion on four of the tracks, including this weekend’s Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis; Keselowski, who has three wins so far this series, is defending champ on four of the next stops while Kyle Busch is defending champion of three races.
Not all of the Nationwide younger drivers mind the big guns taking part in the races. Rookie Brian Scott finished sixth in the Nationwide race last week and actually appreciated getting schooled by Havrick, Keselowski, and Edwards:
"I'm glad the Cup guys come down and race with us, because they've sure taught me a lot," Scott said. "I think it's starting to pay off a lot now."
Edwards doesn’t think Cup drivers should be excluded from participating in the Nationwide series. He told reporters that if officials are in the works of making changes because they believe Sprint Cup drivers have an advantage, steps should be taken to equalize the field not eradicate them from it:
“I would say, ‘If you’re a full-time Cup driver or in the top 25 in points in the Cup Series and you want to race in the Nationwide Series, you get only 20 or 30 minutes of practice. Go out and make a couple runs and get your car as good as it is and then go park it”
And if the officials don’t think that is enough of a handicap, Edwards took it a bit farther.
“Then I would also say that no matter where you qualify, you start in the back. So Kyle Busch and Keselowski and me, we all start dead last. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a 300-mile race or whatever, and if we can’t make it to the front, we don’t belong there.”
Tags: