Jack Roush is all in. So is Ford Motor Co. And that means Carl Edwards is, too, as the newly re-signed driver looks to give Roush and Ford their first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship since Kurt Busch in 2004.
After weeks of debate about whether Edwards would stay at Roush Fenway Racing or move to Joe Gibbs Racing, the decision has been made: Edwards is staying put. Now, it’s time to stand and deliver.
Make no mistake about it, Edwards opted to re-up at Roush Fenway Racing, his home for his entire NASCAR Sprint Cup career, because he thinks it gives him his best chance to win a championship. But Roush opened his checkbook and Ford ponied up potentially hugely lucrative stock options because they expect Edwards to deliver the goods, too.
In the last 20 years, Ford has had a difficult go of it winning Sprint Cup championships and keeping top drivers in the Blue Oval family. Since 1990, the only Ford drivers to win championships were Alan Kulwicki (1992), Dale Jarrett (1999), Matt Kenseth (2003) and Busch (2004).
And the number of frontline drivers who defected from Ford to one of the other three manufacturers in Sprint Cup reads like an all-star roster: Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, Jeff Burton, Paul Menard, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray and Mark Martin all were Ford racers at one time, but aren’t anymore.
This weekend, Ford, Roush and Edwards are all holding hands, singing kumbaya and saying all the right things — It was never about money. There was no last-minute raising of the ante. We just want to win.
Or as Edwards put it: “At the end of the day, we were in a position right now where our cars are fast, we have chances to win almost every week, and the opportunity to go out and win this championship, to continue my partnership with Jack, to continue it with Ford, with the sponsors that we have, it’s an honor to be in this position.”
Understandable that they would celebrate. That said, the hard work of dethroning Jimmie Johnson and the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports organization lies ahead.
Edwards and Johnson have similar statistics here: In 13 career Pocono starts, Edwards has two victories, five top-five and six top-10 finishes, while Johnson also has two victories, along with seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 19 starts here.
They will both be among the favorites in this afternoon’s Good Sam RV Insurance 500, with Edwards starting from the fourth position and Johnson 18th. And they will be the favorites heading into NASCAR’s playoff round as well.
Will the new deal put Edwards, Roush and Ford where they want to be? Will Hendrick and Johnson continue to dominate? Will another team, perhaps Joe Gibbs Racing or Richard Childress Racing rise to the challenge?
No comments:
Post a Comment