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Crazy last lap
Will Edwards pull a repeat today at Talladega?
AP Photo
Race fans are still buzzing about Carl Edwards’ last-lap theatrics at Kansas City.
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Published: October 5, 2008
TALLADEGA, Ala. - Can't wait to see what Carl Edwards has cooked up for the last lap of today's Amp Energy 500, after that wild-and-crazy finishing charge at Kansas City.
"I've tried it before and knew it didn't work," Kyle Busch said. "He could have asked me, but he had to try it for himself. It was cool to see. So more power to him.
"I did it at Homestead in the Truck race last year. I drove it into turn three and four, behind Johnny Benson trying to win, and just drove it up to the fence and tried to ride the wall through the corner. It slows you down."
Jeff Gordon called Edwards' slide job on Jimmie Johnson "impressive.
"But that opens up a whole new can of worms in some of these races on the final lap: if Carl had to do it over again he might have chosen to do eight tires instead of four, instead of the wall."
Kevin Harvick agreed with Gordon that Edwards' move made that Kansas finish memorable: "I give him a lot of credit. He brings a lot of excitement to this sport.
"It's things like that, between two of the top guys in the sport, in the chase, that's what this sport's all about.
"I applaud Carl for making the move; and I applaud Jimmie for countering the move and winning the race."
Which brings us to today's race at Talladega Superspeedway. How do you play this game?
"Every time we hang out in the back, we wind up getting ourselves in trouble," Harvick said. "So we're going to race hard.
"It's just hard to position yourself in these particular cars. It takes a little longer to get to where you need to be."
So?
"Drive like your hair's on fire," Harvick said.
Greg Biffle, who has two wins and a third in three playoff races so far, said racing at Talladega "is like riding that snowmobile along the bottom of the avalanche to see how courageous you're going to be before it comes down on you."
While conventional wisdom says that it's now a three-man title chase, Harvick said today's race could change things.
"We're not hiding from anything," Harvick said. "You just go after it and see where it all falls.
"Our guys are doing a great job and being very consistent; and Jimmie Johnson is winning races and those guys are finishing in the top three. So we'll see how that momentum turns.
"Obviously they're going to be hard to beat. But we're trying to control the things that we can control. And this is a great race for the chase because you really don't know what's going to happen. At any given moment it could turn upside down and you can trigger a pile-up.
"There are a lot of things that can happen in this particular race. Talladega is its own beast
"And this is not a three-week chase here. This is a 10-week chase. And I've been on both sides of it -- I've seen Tony Stewart win it with no wins, and I've seen Jimmie Johnson be 200 or 300 points behind.
"You just don't know how it's going to play out."
Kyle Busch, the best driver who won't win the chase, said he's not even worried about trying to get back atop the Cup standings, after his three bad weeks: "I'm not worried about what's at the top. I'm worried about trying to get off the bottom.
"About the only thing we can do is win every race from here on out, and have the other guys wreck every week to help us out."
Late-race tactics here, Busch said, are still debatable: "Toward the end of the race, sometimes you can make it to the front in five laps, sometimes you can make it in three.
"But with this new car I think it's a little different. You are probably going to have to take 15 laps to get ready to go, and then there could be a wreck with 12 to go."
Jeff Gordon said one thing is certain here: "You know there's going to be a wreck, you just don't know who's going to be in it. And you can't even plan a strategy to not be in it.
"So you've just got to go out there and race."
And Gordon knows another thing too: "I would not want the championship to come down to the end of the season with Greg Biffle leading at Homestead.
That guy is so strong there, and with the confidence he has right now, and the performance those Roush cars have, I wouldn't want to have to battle any of them -- but certainly not Biffle at Homestead."
Gordon just needs a win. He, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth -- all three NASCAR champions -- are, remarkably, still winless this season.
"Here and Martinsville definitely are two really good shots," Gordon said of breaking that streak. "But at the same time I'm optimistic with how we performed at Kansas. That's a 1½-mile track, and we were a top-five car all day."
Edwards: Should have gone harder
Edwards? Well, he certainly made the point at Kansas that he's a wild-card driver.
"If this weren't a points race, it would look a lot different, especially for the 12 guys in the chase," Edwards said. "But it is a points race, so you have to race it smart.
"At times I've thought, ‘Man, that takes something away from the racing.' But really it's just another part of the strategy.
"This chase, we've gotten off to a great start. But you never know what's going to happen. We can go out and win this thing, and that would be great. But just as easily we could have trouble.
"There are more chances involved in this race than probably any other on the schedule."
And Edwards said he's not second-guessing Kansas: "I wish I would have driven it in harder.
"I knew I felt good about my chances of making it back to the finish line. The wall is a pretty simple thing. It wasn't like I was going in there and bouncing off Jimmie and hoping for the best...."
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