It is the night before the last race and I am feeling like a kid on Christmas eve! I am sure most of the fans out there are feeling the same way. For a change of pace I am going to keep this short because I want to hear from the NASCAR fans.
In the comments section I want you to fill out who will win Tony or Carl and why you think they will be the champion. I think that Tony will be the winner as he seems to be hungrier for the title and he is a past champion that can handle the pressure. My opinion isn’t important though, I want to hear from you.
Who Will Win the Nascar Championship Tony Stewart or Carl Edwards is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
Awesome Race Fans
TheNASCARInsiders.com Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
This past weekend at Texas Tony Stewart notched his fourth win in the Chase – it was an impressive feat considering that prior to the first Chase race in Chicago it had been 32 races since he’d last seen victory lane. Despite the late string of success, Stewart still finds himself second in the championship points standings. For some that’s inexplicable.
This fundamental question of what’s more important in the push to a championship is something that’s dogged NASCAR and motorsports for a long time. Do we want a champion who the had the best overall Chase, or the one who had the most wins? Often times they are not one and the same.
NASCAR, prior to this season, retooled the points in an effort to simplify and put slightly more emphasis on winning. The new system gave three extra points to the top finisher in addition to another point for leading a lap. NASCAR also gave the two teams outside of the top-10 but inside the top-20 with the most wins berths in the Chase.
The result of the points changes, while certainly an improvement and much easier to understand has been pretty insignificant this season. But is that a bad thing?
Championship success in NASCAR unlike other sports is not and never has been solely based on winning. It’s of course important, but consistency and good finishes are often the key. Consider Carl Edwards has an average finish of 9.7 on the season, with one win, and 5.6 in the Chase with no wins. Tony Stewart on the other hand is averaging a finish of 12.6 on the season and 7.3 in Chase. For Stewart that includes those four wins.
Carl has without a doubt put together the better, more consistent season. He’s even put together the better, more consistent Chase. And that’s why he finds himself leading the points.
I’ve always been of the belief that the best team should win the championship no matter how it gets there. In this case I want the team with the best Chase performance to win it all. Whether that means the championship winning team has the most wins or the most number of better finishes.
So what do you think should get the emphasis? Consistency? Or wins? Does NASCAR need to restructure the points again? Should Tony Stewart be leading the points?
Ford and Jack Roush made waves this weekend after word seeped out of the camp that the teams were directed to draft exclusively with their manufacturing counterparts. With two Roush Fords in serious contention for the championship it wasn’t a surprising edict – especially not from Jack Roush.
At the end of the race we saw what appeared to be the edict in action as Trevor Bayne gave up drafting with Jeff Gordon to draft with Matt Kenseth. The move was bad news for Gordon who ended up finishing way back in 27th. Bayne and Kenseth finished 15th and 18th.
The help kept Kenseth in contention, moving him to second in the points just 14 back from teammate Carl Edwards. And after everything, not doing damage is the most important thing at a place like Talladega.
The track serves as THE wild card race in the Chase where literally anything can happen. That uncertainty leads teams to do everything they can to control the things they can. This is why you see teams like Roush and manufacturers like Ford letting their drivers know where loyalties need to lie.
In this instance there seems to be some surprise that Bayne switched dancing partners choosing a teammate over a potentially better pairing. But it makes sense when considering what was at stake: a championship, a precarious future and a whole lot of money. Would you not have done the same?
Success in this sport involves reliance on those who are around you. That goes for the Ford teams, the Chevrolet teams, the Dodge teams and the Toyota teams. While the Roush and Ford team orders are the only ones that made the press this weekend there were no doubt similar understandings at organizations throughout the sport. Consider the other teams on track. Who was working with whom?
The Fords were with the Fords, the Chevrolets with the Chevrolets and on and on.
At superspeedways you draft with who brung ya – it’s true for EVERY manufacturer and EVERY team. While it’s unfortunate for those left out, it’s a cold hard fact.
With Carl Edwards locked up for the foreseeable future at Roush Fenway Racing, we found out today that Fastenal is the first company to sign on as a primary sponsor for Edwards’ #99 Fords. Starting with the 2012 Daytona 500, Fastenal will sponsor 17 races a year for Edwards over the next few years. Edwards’ current main sponsor, Aflac, has yet to announce whether they will return to RFR, but this announcement shows that at the very least Aflac is scaling back. But while its good to see a sponsor move from the Truck Series, through the Nationwide Series, and into Cup sponsorship, the move isn’t all good.
As we move closer to the end of the 2011 season, much remains up in the air for RFR. Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Edwards, and David Ragan all have contracts for next season, but as of today, only Biffle (3M) has a full sponsorship deal. Edwards still needs about half his inventory filled, and questions remain for Ragan and Kenseth. We know for sure that Crown Royal won’t return next season as a team sponsor for anyone, as they’ve signed on to sponsor the Brickyard 400, and the future of UPS has yet to be announced. And RFR developmental drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne still don’t have firm plans.
As RFR pursues sponsorship for 2012, Fastenal’s move to the Cup Series really comes at the expense of their Nationwide Series program and the series as whole. As one of our Twitter followers (@kebzach) pointed out today, Fastenal now represents another sponsor lost by the Nationwide Series. The industrial supply company has been the primary sponsor for Edwards’ #60 NNS Fords for the last couple of seasons, and they’ve appeared on the hoods and quarter panels of the other RFR NNS teams as well. We already know that Edwards won’t compete full time in the NNS for 2012, but now we know we’ve lost a full time team and a major sponsor.
We’ve all heard it time and again, but moves like these are just another symptom of the current climate of NASCAR business. Teams need to find ways to keep their Cup cars racing, and poaching sponsors from other series is one way to go about it. Hopefully Roush is able to track down a company to back Edwards’ partial NNS bid, and fill the remaining inventory for it’s other Cup and NNS teams.
For months Carl Edwards and the speculation about his 2012 plans have dominated Silly Season coverage (TC wrote about it just last week). It was a daily will he or won’t he. In the last several weeks it looked increasingly likely Edwards would make the jump to Joe Gibbs Racing – some were reporting very specific rumors including signing bonuses, sponsors and driver pay.
And then, as quickly as it began, Roush Fenway Racing put an end to it with a press release last week announcing Edwards would re-sign with the team in a multi-year deal.
From the very beginning Edwards said performance was going to be the key factor in his decision for 2012. As the points leader and a winner this season Edwards was/is in a very good position at RFR. Improving on the situation he was in would have been difficult.
Enter Joe Gibbs Racing, a Championship winning organization, looking for the right opportunity to expand to four cars.
Early on RFR made an offer to Edwards that they say was firm throughout the negotiations. Apparently JGR also made an offer to Edwards.
As the days turned into weeks, and weeks into months details began to emerge about one side of the deal. Some were reporting rumors of Edwards to the #20 car and Home Depot. There were suggestions of a signing bonus as high as $10 million (signing bonuses are unheard of in NASCAR).
Even with all the details it was clear no one felt too good about any of the information they were getting. As TC said last week, Lee Spencer, who has some of the best sources in the garage, wrote about hearing “scuttlebutt.” Not inspiring language.
Where exactly it originated is anyone’s guess, but there was only one person who stood to benefit from talk of a massive deal with a competitor – Carl Edwards. With Roush standing firm on their initial offer, sweetening that deal was only going to happen with external pressure. The offer from Gibbs, whatever it was, was that necessary pressure.
Then came news that Ford had stepped in with a very generous package for Edwards to improve the deal with RFR. Ford didn’t want to lose Edwards anymore than Roush did.
What Edwards finally got was a contract that is almost certainly better than his last with RFR and he gets to stay in a position where he can win a championship. From the get-go Edwards had to know if he decided to leave Roush at any point during the season it would have spelled an end to his championship run this year. Jack might not have booted him from the car (see Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton) but he would have seen to it Edwards wasn’t going to win a championship only to move on to another team.
And in the end, I don’t honestly think Edwards had any intention of leaving Roush – there really wasn’t any reason to. He though, like anyone in his position, wanted a better deal than he had, and he was going to make it happen. It took a couple of months but he eventually squeezed what I’m sure is a very generous contract out of Roush that puts him at the top of the heap among his fellow Roush drivers.
With this move it’ll be interesting to see how quickly things fall into place. Silly Season is still in full swing, even if the big free agents are quickly falling off the market.
Now that we know Carl Edwards is returning to Roush Fenway Racing next season, expect the rest of the Silly Season dominoes to start falling quickly. But even though the Edwards drama is over, there is an aspect of the rumored move by Edwards to Joe Gibbs Racing that seems to have been overlooked by some folks. If Edwards did indeed end up taking over the #20 Home Depot ride, there was talk that JGR would start a fourth team with sponsorship from NAPA. That sounded a little unbelievable considering NAPA currently has a deal with Martin Truex Jr. and Michael Waltrip Racing through 2012. But in a recent article by Lee Spencer over at FOXSports.com, J.D. Gibbs admitted that NAPA had submitted an RFP to JGR regarding sponsorship. So while they may have a contract with MWR through 2012, it appears the auto parts retailer could have an out in their deal and are exploring their options.
A possible reason why NAPA could be looking at other teams to sponsor for 2012 and beyond is the performance of MWR and Truex’s #56 team. Since coming to MWR following the 2009 season, Truex’s results have been disappointing. In 56 races, the #56 car only has one top five and thirteen top ten finishes. This lack of performance led MWR to replace crew chief Pat Tryson in June (we questioned the move then), but a big turnaround has yet to happen. Truex’s average finish in the seven races with new crew chief Chad Johnston has improved from 19.7 to 18.4, but the team has actually dropped two spots in the points. And after nearly two seasons together, NAPA may have seen all they need to see.
Besides a possible fourth JGR entry, there are plenty of top tier teams in need of backing for 2012 and beyond. Of the four Roush Fenway cars, only one (Greg Biffle’s #16) has sponsorship for next season. Clint Bowyer appears to be on the cusp of re-signing with Richard Childress Racing, but sponsorship for his #33 has yet to be announced. We’ve heard RCR might be close to locking down funding for Bowyer, and it’s not unrealistic to think NAPA could be in play here. There could also be a million other possible combinations with Stewart-Haas needing more funding, drivers like Mark Martin and Brian Vickers available, or the possibility of a deal with a young driver (Trevor Bayne & Ricky Stenhouse Jr. come to mind). The point being that NAPA has plenty of options.
Whether NAPA actually makes a move remains to be seen, but their availability could add a new wrinkle to what’s left of the Silly Season. If they’ve already submitted an RFP to JGR, we’ve got to believe that they’ve inquired with other teams as well. And like we mentioned on Twitter earlier today, don’t believe anything (like denials in this case) until a deal is actually done.
…but since the story won’t go away until Edwards finally announces a decision, I want to put a few things out there.
First, all we really have at this point is a lot of rumors. Talk and speculation has been running rampant through the garage all season about Edwards’ future, and none of it seems really concrete. When I heard that Lee Spencer of FOXSports.com had wrote something about Edwards possibly going to the 20 car, I thought maybe she finally had the first solid info. And then I read what she wrote:
…the latest scuttlebutt has Edwards driving the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2012…
Spencer has some very good sources in the garage area and when she reports something is happening, you can trust it will happen. But her choice of words here doesn’t convince me that she really trusts the info. And if she doesn’t trust it yet, you probably shouldn’t either.
Next, I believe Edwards is a very savvy individual. The guy does serve as his own agent. He’s been criticized at times for doing so, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. For one, you don’t have to pay somebody else a percentage. But if you are trying to negotiate the best deal possible with Roush Fenway, what’s better than continuing to leak details about a possible contract with Joe Gibbs Racing? It’s a great way to apply pressure. When was the last time we knew such specific information about a driver’s deal? $8 million a year, plus a $10 million signing bonus is pretty specific. They are to the point now that even Ford has stepped into the negotiations.
The other thing to consider here is how Edwards is doing this season. He’s the current points leader, and RFR has shown all year that they came to play in 2011. An announcement before the end of year that he’s leaving for JGR would effectively end Edwards’ 2011 title hopes. Jack Roush hasn’t taken kindly to defections in the past, and you can be sure that the other RFR cars in the Chase would get the best stuff. For a guy as competitive as he is, is a move to JGR worth throwing away his best championship chance to date?
Just so you are aware, I don’t have any new information to add to this story. I’m just trying to pick through the mess and make some sense of what is happening. In the end, Edwards will want to capitalize on his earning potential, but he’ll also want to be with a team that has the resources necessary to compete for championships. We could probably debate for days about which organization provides the best opportunity to do so (I think RFR has the edge here), but even so that makes me think this is going to come down to money. Whoever is willing to pony up the most cash will end up with Edwards. Hopefully we find out sooner than later.
With the announcement last week that Red Bull was ceasing its NASCAR operations at the end of the season, the 2011 Silly Season went into full overdrive. While the number of available rides just potentially got cut by one, the number of unanswered questions increased. Can Red Bull find investors? What will Brian Vickers do next season?
Along with those unanswered questions about Red Bull are the drivers and teams who find themselves without a solid deal for 2012. Still what are the realistic opportunities for movement before next season.
Carl Edwards is in the final year of his deal with Roush Fenway Racing and easily finds himself as the hottest prospect. He’s the current points leader and a 19-time winner in the Cup Series.
Edwards has been the subject of a rumored move to Joe Gibbs Racing. While a fourth car at Gibbs is the best option available to Edwards, is it really better than his current position with Roush Fenway? I think, at best, it represents a lateral move for the driver.
The rumors of an Edwards to Gibbs move no doubt came from either Gibbs or Edwards – either way it strengthens Edward’s negotiating position at Roush, which, I think, was the purpose of the rumors. We’ll see what happens, but I think the driver will more than likely stay where he is; despite his potential to bring money wherever he goes.
Clint Bowyer is in the final year of his contract with Richard Childress Racing and has been the subject of a rumored move to Red Bull Racing (that is, before Red Bull announced they were leaving the sport). Bowyer has had success at RCR but has played second fiddle to Kevin Harvick. With a move to Red Bull now out of the question, Bowyer is also very likely to stay where he is.
Brian Vickers finds himself in a worse position than the other two drivers mentioned. He has been with Red Bull Racing since the team began in 2006, leaving Hendrick Motorsports for the opportunity. With a severe lack of opportunities, he doesn’t have many better options but to stick it out with Red Bull and hope Jay Frye can put together investors capable of keeping the team alive.
Mark Martin is a man toward the end of his career who is not ready to end his career. With Kasey Kahne moving into Martin’s spot at Hendrick Motorsports when Martin’s contract ends at the end of the year, Martin is a wild card. Excluding unsubstantiated rumors that he would be investing in Red Bull Racing, Martin’s future remains very murky. He and Jay Frye have a relationship from Martin’s time at Ginn Racing and it wouldn’t be surprising, if Frye can put the investors together, that Martin ends up in a Frye car. We’ll see what happens, but that may be the only Cup opportunity available to the 52-year-old driver.
Danica Patrick, while maybe not the most sought after driver, is perhaps the most intriguing driver of this Silly Season. She is in the final year of her deals with Andretti Autosport in the IndyCar Series and JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series and brings with her big sponsorship and endorsement deals. Her realistic available opportunities include a continued role at JR Motorsports and perhaps a third team at Stewart Haas Motorsports. Both are of course contingent upon the money she brings, but she can no doubt bring the money. We’ll see if she brings her talents to NASCAR.
What are your thoughts on the current Silly Season, these drivers and others? Where do you think these drivers will end up? Talk amongst yourselves.