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Edwards Keeps Chasing Fun
10/13/2008Dale Earnhardt Jr. is NASCAR's most popular driver.
Tony Stewart is the most controversial.
Jimmie Johnson is the most consistent.
Kyle Busch is the most exciting.
Carl Edwards is the most fun.
In fact, I'm beginning to wonder what we'd do without Carl -- where the smiles would come from? -- in a Chase so topsy-turvy that it sets your head spinning as if riding shotgun during victory donuts.
When things don't go well, Edwards doesn't nastily flip out. When they do, he joyously flips backwards.
Now, more than any time since Sept. 11, 2001, we need a sweet distraction. The sheer pleasure of watching Edwards' passion to perform - and obvious happiness to be doing what he's doing - makes a few hours spent with NASCAR on fall Sunday afternoons time well invested in enjoying life.
This is what I'm talkin' about: Edwards tried to win Kansas by carrying a ton of speed under Johnson and then bouncing his Roush Fenway Ford off the wall as if the eight ball into the corner pocket. It didn't work, and he finished second to Johnson, but that's OK. The point is, Carl tried to make something happen.
People said it was the sort of thing Cale Yarborough might have attempted. Personally, it reminded me of "The Pass" -- Alex Zanardi's last lap drive by Bryan Herta in the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca in 1996.
Typical of our times, though, it got some to griping. Memo to those who don't know if they're on foot or horseback: The folks loved it!
"I don't care who feels that way and I don't care what anybody says," Edwards said of the complainers. "I did what I thought was best and I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
Actually, Edwards admitted, he wished he would have driven harder into turn four. "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."
The Jeffs - Gordon and Burton - get it and got it.
"That was an impressive move and I give him a lot of credit," said four-time champion Gordon. "He brings a lot of excitement to this sport, and it's things like that between two of the top guys in the Chase that to me, that's what this sport's all about. I applaud Carl for making the move and I applaud Jimmie for counter-acting the move and winning the race."
"I thought it was cool," added Burton, the garage area's voice of reason. "I thought it was a great move because he put himself in position momentarily to be leading the race . . . he did it in a way that did not impede Jimmie's chance of winning. He didn't put Jimmie in a position of wrecking or anything else. He put himself in a position. He hung it out there and tried to make something happen and I think he did the right thing."
One week later, at Talladega, Edwards did make a mistake. He tagged Greg Biffle going for the front and they, along with teammate Matt Kenseth and several others, were eliminated in the Big One. Edwards didn't delay in admitting fault and that was yet another refreshing moment.
This column named Edwards 2005's Man of the Year. The reason was he made racing fun again. What I see, three seasons later, is a guy who appreciates where he's at and what he's got and still remembers what it was like hauling with his father to a Midwest short track four hours each way on a Saturday night just to compete for 12 laps.
Someone who dreamed such Big Dreams of the Big Time he threw a "Hail Mary" pass and bought a classified ad in National Speed Sport News to ask car owners for an opportunity. That was such a long shot, it made his Kansas move look like a sure thing.
"I remember the day I sat in my Dad's Volkswagen shop and came up with the idea for that ad," he recalled. "I thought, 'Why not?' A lot of people laughed about it. It's a laughable thing.
"Everybody knows how tough racing is. I didn't have anything to lose. After a couple of years, people knew I was serious. That was cool . . . now I get paid to do what I love.
"I've had people accuse me of acting happier than I am. I think that's funny because if they're not enjoying this, I feel sorry for them."
Me, too. Carl Edwards is having fun. I'm one of many having fun watching him. May it continue to be so.
[ Next column: October 27 ]
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(I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.)
BackAbout I.N. Sider
I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.