Carl Edwards says “what problems” to new car critics

By Charlie Turner, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.

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Forty two Sprint Cup drivers hated NASCAR’s experiment in stock car design after the Samsung 500 Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

Jeff Gordon actually parked his car early - after an inevitable spin and wall wack - and insisted that crew chief Steve Letarte “fix the dang thing”. Gordon later returned to the track to taste the results of Letarte’s efforts. The leftovers weren’t much better and after a few more laps Gordon called it a day. Jeff said that they tried every possible set-up. Nothing works for the team. That is not a good sign.

Gordon’s teammate Jimmy Johnson finished second and led sixty-some laps. All-in-all that is a big improvement from recent results, but Johnson says the new car needs help. You can’t drive it in traffic, it needs more down-force. And this is a team that has tested the new car nearly every non-race day for the last two weeks. Hell, Chad - can I hear a hallelujah - Knauss is the crew chief! If they can’t figure it out ……?

Maybe Joe Gibbs Racing can. Not according to third place finisher Kyle Busch who said;

“Was it fun to drive? No. Was it hard to drive? Yes,” Busch said. “Did it survive the day? Yes. So was it a good day? Sure.”

Kyle was asked to talk further about the car and said:

“I’m not going to answer that question. Ask NASCAR that question.”

Ryan Newman finished fourth, but flunked the post-race rectal and will undoubtedly lose points, cash and crew chief attendance for a while. Presumably because they exceeded legality in the effort to fix the problems with the car. So much for the cheating solution.

The race winner was Carl “flipper” Edwards - for the third time this year. Carl doesn’t see the problem. At all. It isn’t so much that Edwards thinks that his new cars handle any better than his competitor’s rides. He just thinks the way that they are is OK. The same for everybody, a challenge to drive for sure but rewarding to master. He likes it.

NASCAR says they have no intention of making big - or even small - changes to the former CoT. That fact may make Carl Edwards the eventual champion of the first Sprint CoT Cup Series.

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Filed Under: Carl Edwards, Charlie Turner, Guest Authors, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Sprint Cup, Texas

Tagged As: Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, kyle busch, Nascar, Samsung 500, Texas Motor Speedway



Trackback URL for: Carl Edwards says “what problems” to new car critics

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Wednesday March 5, 2008
7:42pm CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

NASCAR handed out, or handed back if you prefer, points a plenty this afternoon.

In an unprecedented move, NASCAR not only swiped the recent standard of 100 driver/owner points, 6 week vacation and $100,000 fine for the crew chief (Bob Osbourne) for the #99 Office Depot team, but they also took back the 10 bonus points Carl Edwards had obtained for the seeding of the Chase.

Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith commented from Vail, Colorado that RFR would be getting their ducks in a row over the next week to decide whether or not to appeal the penalty.

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Filed Under: Carl Edwards, Daytona, Drivers, Las Vegas, Nascar, Robby Gordon, Robby Gordon Motorsports #7, Roush Racing #99, Sprint Cup, Teams, Tracks

Tagged As: Carl Edwards, Cousin Carl, NASCAR Penalties, Robby Gordon



Trackback URL for: Gordon Outweighs Edwards On Penalty Wednesday

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Monday March 3, 2008
12:52am CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Well, it was almost like deja vu as Carl Edwards led the last lap for the second week in a row.

After much impending anticipation, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series made it to Las Vegas. After the fiasco in Fontana last week, it was definitely a welcomed weekend where weather wasn’t an issue, and the racing was anticipated to be really good.

It wasn’t bad, however as a colleague pointed out, I was left with a slight empty feeling. To me it felt like the guys we’re leaving something on the table, for lack of a better term. I reflect back to comments about the tires, a lack of overall grip, and the term cautiously aggressive comes to mind.

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Filed Under: Carl Edwards, Drivers, Hendrick Motorsports #24, Jeff Gordon, Joe Gibbs Racing #20, Las Vegas, Nascar, Roush Racing #99, Sprint Cup, Teams, Tony Stewart, Tracks

Tagged As: Carl Edwards, Cousin Carl, Jeff Gordon, Las Vegas, Post-Race Inspection, Tony Stewart



Trackback URL for: Deja Flippin Vu, Almost

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Monday February 25, 2008
3:11pm CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

About flippin time is right.

About flippin time someone won out in California.

About flippin timethe weather took a back seat to racing.

About time for a lot of things, but I’ll cut it at this. About time the racing was worth watching at this southern California track.

It wasn’t a perfect show, and yeah there is room for improvement. Isn’t there always, though?

However, love or hate this car, we saw again that it’s racy. It’s nice to see these cars around each other for lengths of time without one driver or another losing it. All seeping water aside.

One thing prevalent in this race, of many, is that this is the house of Roush. What looked last night to be the Gordon Show, turned a tick to Johnsonville, but the Roushketeers didn’t flinch. Had the race continued last night the outcome would be anyone’s guess. But it didn’t, so end of that story.

Another lesson here is that Roush has their act together with the car now, and they’re getting better. Further still, is that Hendrick is still as strong as ever. While taking home half the trophies this season seems out of the question, as the competition is much stiffer this season thus far, you can bet they’ll take home a fair share before the season is over.

Now it’s on to the Nationwide race, where a historic moment has a chance to take place. That moment being that for the first time, a driver could leave the weekend behind and sit atop all 3 Series points. Trucks, Nationwide, and Sprint Cup. That driver is Kyle Busch.

2 comments. Add your 2 cents!.

Filed Under: California, Carl Edwards, Drivers, Nascar, Roush Racing #99, Sprint Cup, Teams, Tracks

Tagged As: Carl Edwards, Cousin Carl, Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, kyle busch, Roush Fenway Racing, Roushketeers



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