Tag Archives: Carl Edwards

Daniel Suarez’s Mentors have Something Else on their Minds

Posted on by
Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 Arris Toyota, talks to the media during media day for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at the Loews Hotel on November 17, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida.Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 Arris Toyota, talks to the media during media day for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at the Loews Hotel on November 17, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo - Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 Arris Toyota, talks to the media during media day for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at the Loews Hotel on November 17, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida.Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 Arris Toyota, talks to the media during media day for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at the Loews Hotel on November 17, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Throughout the 2016 season, Daniel Suarez has leaned heavily on the wisdom of fellow Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards.

Frequent phone conversations have been the norm as Suarez tries to learn the nuances of the various race tracks on the circuit—but not this week.

While Suarez has been preparing to race for a NASCAR XFINITY Series title on Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch and Edwards have been readying to compete for a bigger prize—the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. Continue reading →

Falling Short in 2011 Gives Carl Edwards Motivation for Title Run

Posted on by
MIAMI BEACH, FL - NOVEMBER 17: Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Arris Surfboard Toyota, talks to the media during media day for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship at the Loews Hotel on November 17, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

MIAMI BEACH, FL – NOVEMBER 17: Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Arris Surfboard Toyota, talks to the media during media day for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship at the Loews Hotel on November 17, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Five years have passed since Carl Edwards got his last shot at a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

And earlier this week, he got a painful-if-instructive reminder.

In 2011, Edwards came to Homestead-Miami Speedway with a three-point lead over Tony Stewart in what had evolved into a two-man battle for the series title.

Stewart won the race, and Edwards ran second, leaving the drivers tied for the points lead at the end of the Chase. But Stewart claimed the championship via tiebreaker, having won an unprecedented five of the Chase races. Continue reading →

Johnson, Knaus Can Cement Names atop NASCAR Record Books

Posted on by
Photo - Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Jimmie Johnson has been there before – more than any other driver in the past two decades.

But this trip to Homestead-Miami Speedway for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at 2:30 pm ET is different. In the first place, Johnson has his first opportunity to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship under the 16-driver elimination format introduced by the sanctioning body in 2014.

Beyond that, in what is the transcendent story of this year’s Chase, Johnson has a chance to win a seventh series title, one that would tie him for the all-time lead with NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Continue reading →

In Championship 4, Joe Gibbs Racing Must Deal with Unprecedented Success

Posted on by
Photo - Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images

The crowning achievement of Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2016 season may also be its biggest problem.

But it’s a problem the organization is happy to have.

When defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch earned a return trip to the Championship 4 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a second-place finish at Phoenix, JGR became the first organization in the three-year history of the Chase’s elimination format to put more than one driver in the final race with a chance to win the title. Continue reading →

The Bottom Line in the Championship 4? There’s No Clear Favorite

Posted on by
Photos - Getty Images

Photos – Getty Images

A week before they were to race for the NASCAR Sprint Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch sat side-by-side at the daïs in the Phoenix International Raceway media center and began the bickering that invariably accompanies the battle for the series title.

“I think my stats at Homestead show that I’m the favorite, right?” Johnson said facetiously.

“I think my results from last year show that I’m the favorite, right?” Busch retorted.

Busch goes to Homestead as the defending champion, having overcome a broken leg and foot that caused him to miss the first 11 races of the 2015 season. With the elimination of Kevin Harvick in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at Phoenix, Busch is the only Championship 4 contender who has won a title under the 16-driver Chase format introduced by NASCAR in 2014. Continue reading →