Category: Featured Stories

The elite of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, and it’s challenging one mile oval, for Sunday’s running of the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. One of the post race traditions at this speedway is the presentation of a live giant lobster to the race winner.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]However, there’s a lot more at stake here than just enjoying the world’s largest lobster dinner. There are Sprint Cup Chase For the Championship implications. With the September 10th deadline for the Chase line up getting closer, there are some teams who will have to be in the go mode if they’re going to compete for the championship. Also on the line here is the determination of the two wild card berths for positions 11 and 12 in the Chase.

THE VEGAS BREAKDOWN

So, who’s going to enjoy that lobster next Sunday? There are several clues provided for you by the professionals from the Las Vegas based World Sports Exchange, (WSE). They’re starting out strong this week with drivers Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson topping their rankings at 5 to 1 odds.

The phrase “winner, winner lobster dinner” could easily apply to either one of these drivers. After a somewhat dubious, not to mention surprising, start to his season, Hamlin has clawed his way to tenth in the championship standings. He’ll be looking to improve on that status on Sunday. He has some outstanding stats at New Hampshire including a win, four top five finishes, seven top tens and a very impressive average finish ratio, AFR, of 7.6.

Jimmie Johnson is currently fifth in the points standings and his the defending race champion. He has three previous New Hampshire wins, including a sweep of both races there in 2003, along with six top fives, 12 top tens along with an 9.9 AFR.

At 8 to 1 odds you will find the trio of Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch. Harvick is third in the standings and only ten points from the top. He’s a previous winner at New Hampshire with five top fives and a 13.9 AFR.

Four time champion Jeff Gordon is keeping his drive for five alive and is currently seventh in the points. He’s a three time New Hampshire winner and over the years has collected 14 top fives, 18 top tens along with an 11.0 AFR. However, the past few races has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride in terms of team performance and that’s an area that will require a lot of focus. Rolling a strong car right out of the trailer will be important for this team in the weeks to come.

Then there’s Kyle Busch. The current points leader was extremely strong during the course of winning last weekend’s race at Kentucky in a car that required virtually no adjustments during pit stops. If they can find that magical combination again, then this driver will be a force to be reckoned with. He’s also a previous winner at New Hampshire with four top fives along with a 14.7 AFR.

The WSE has drivers Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart sharing the 10 to 1 category this weekend. The elder Busch brother, currently fourth in the standings, has some strong New Hampshire numbers including three wins and, in 2004, became the second driver to sweep both races there. His Penske Racing team has been strong of late and, at 10 to 1, he could turn out to be a good long shot consideration.

It’s go time for Tony Stewart. He’s currently 11th in the standings and still, much to every one’s amazement, is still looking for his first win of the season. He also has endured roller coaster performance levels this year. However, New Hampshire could be a good starting point to get this team back on track. Stewart is a two time winner there with a healthy AFR of 12.4.

All by himself, in the WSE’s 11 to 1 ranking, is Carl Edwards. He will start the New Hampshire weekend second in the standings only four points from the top. The WSE recently closed their books on the 2011 Sprint Cup championship with Edwards on top of the list. Some may take that fact into consideration and place a long shot wager on Edwards. But, let the buyer beware. His New Hampshire numbers, zero wins and two top fives, aren’t that strong.

In the WSE’s middle tier this week you will find Matt Kenseth at 15 to 1. He’s sixth in the standings and his Chase status seems to be solid. However, he’s still looking for his first lobster at New Hampshire.

At 17 to 1 is Clint Bowyer whose bad luck has caused him to slip to 12th in the standings. New Hampshire is great place for this team to get back on track. He’s a two time winner there including scoring his first ever Sprint Cup win back in 2007.

At 20 to 1 odds you will find drivers Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Biffle, who recently became a first time father following the birth of his daughter last week, now has something else to consider this weekend. At 14th in the standings, 128 points out of first, this team is going to have to pull a giant rabbit out of a small magician’s hat to make the Chase. That’s why there was a crew chief change for the team this week. Matt Puccia makes his Sprint Cup debut on the pit box this Sunday replacing veteran Greg Erwin.

Dale Earnhardt Jr has dropped from third to eighth in the standings over the past few weeks. This slide has been based on bad racing luck not of his making combined with hit and miss handling packages. He’s still looking for his first win at New Hampshire and will likely be content with somewhat of a solid finish to keep himself in that all important top ten in the rankings.

In my personal opinion here’s the WSE long shot bet of the week: Jeff Burton at 25 to 1 odds. I’ll pause here to allow many of you to scream WHAT??? Yes, this Richard Childress Racing team is having a terrible season. Yes, he’s 25th in the points and any chance of making the Chase is now gone. So, why is Burton such an interesting consideration? It’s his extremely strong New Hampshire numbers. He’s a four time winner there including a win in 2000 when he led all 300 laps. He also has eight top five finishes along with a 13.5 AFR. Also bear in mind that the law of averages says this team’s season has to turn around some time.

At 35 to 1 this week is Ryan Newman a two time lobster winner including his first ever Sprint Cup win back in 2002. “The Rocket Man” is also a series high four time fast qualifier at New Hampshire. Joining him, in the 35 to 1 ranking, is veteran Mark Martin a former New Hampshire winner.

In the WSE’s 40 to 1 group you will find Kasey Kahne, also a previous New Hampshire winner, along with drivers David Reutimann, Martin Truex Jr and Brad Keselowski who holds the track qualifying record set back in September.

At 45 to 1 are drivers Jamie McMurray, Joey Logano, who won his first and only Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire, along with Juan Pablo Montoya. Closing out the list this week is David Ragan, at 50 to 1, despite his win at Daytona two weeks ago and a solid top ten at Kentucky last weekend.

Now for the disclaimer. NASCAR wants us to remind you that these posted numbers are for entertainment and information purposes only. They neither encourage nor condone the placing of wagers on their races. But if you’re going to do it anyway, then be grateful that you have the help of the Las Vegas based World Sports Exchange to guide you through the numbers.

Then again, you can always use the money to make a donation to the state of Kentucky to help fix Interstate 71. (Yeah I know, that was out of line).

************

THE RACE BREAKDOWN

The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 is 301 laps/318.485 miles around the New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s 1.058 mile oval.

The race has 47 entries vying for the 43 starting berths. 12 of those entries are on the go or go home list. These teams are not guaranteed a starting position because they are outside of NASCAR’s current top 35 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speed to make the race.

The New Hampshire Motor Speedway officially opened in 1990. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held there in 1993 and was won by Rusty Wallace. Since that time there has been 32 Sprint Cup races that has sent 20 different winners to victory lane. Hendrick Motorsports leads the team win category with eight. Eight of the last nine races there have been won by a margin of victory under one second. Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Joe Nemechek are the only current Cup drivers who has raced in all 32 events at New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire Motor Speedway is very challenging. The turns are banked 12 degrees and the straights, each 1,500 feet long, are banked at two degrees. The track currently has seating for 95,491 fans.

Weather could provide a slight complication with the speedway schedule on Friday. There is a slight, 20%, chance of rain on Friday afternoon. The Saturday and race day Sunday forecast for the Loudon area is solid calling for sunny skies and temperatures around 87 degrees.

The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 will be broadcast live this Sunday by the TNT Network with the pre race show beginning at 12 pm eastern time. The race replay will be broadcast on Wednesday, July 20th, by the SPEED Channel beginning at 12 pm eastern.

A lot of headlines are made whenever Kyle Busch wins. His latest Saturday night at the Kentucky Speedway might not have come as handedly as it did if not for one person. Not the talent behind the wheel but the sometimes forgotten man atop the pit box.

If your name isn’t Chad Knaus or whoever the latest scapegoat for Dale Earnhardt Jr. is, then as a crew chief it’s easy to be overlooked. Drivers get most of the praise for their on track actions while thanking and praising their team in victory lane. The crew chief on the other hand gets most of the credit for race strategy and making proper adjustments.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”216″][/media-credit]At Kentucky Dave Rogers not only did that better than the competition, he made them look bad. Rogers gave Busch a car that led 125 of 267 laps on the way to their third win of the season. They became the inaugural winners at the speedway in the Sprint Cup Series.

In his post race interview Busch was more than willing to give Rogers all the credit and with good reason. Busch is now working with the man who helped Joey Logano become the king of Kentucky in the Nationwide Series.

In 2008-09 Logano captured two straight poles and wins with Rogers. Logano would eventually go on to earn three straight poles and wins but the third came with a different crew chief. Busch now believes that because of Rogers he has that same success.

“It feels awesome to be able to come out here and run the way we did,” said Busch. “To unload the way we did off the hauler. Dave and all the guys, all the engineers back in the shop did a phenomenal job with our racecar, to be fast right out of the gates.”

Fast wasn’t the word. During Thursday’s test sessions where drivers had up to six hours on track, there were times when Busch appeared to be in a league of his own. His time and speed impressed many, as it looked like the 18 team weren’t even breaking a sweat.

Rogers while right in crediting the engineers, also deserves the praise for the way the car was built. He enabled the team to head to the track already with a plan in mind; they just needed to executive it.

“We came off the truck really close to setup,” he said. “Sometimes that’s bad. We came off the truck really close and actually sat out [of practice] a little bit, [we] wanted to give Kyle a breather.”

During that time teammate Denny Hamlin got behind the wheel of the 18 while Busch went and drove the No. 20 of Logano. As the competition was hard at work trying to learn the new facility, the JGR team was playing driver swap. All three crew chiefs would be able to compare notes later.

“We didn’t focus on our lap times practicing,” said Rogers. “We focused on what we needed to race. [He] gave me some good feedback after the truck race and made adjustments to our primary car yesterday morning.”

During the official practice sessions Busch was again atop the speed charts. When qualifying was rained out his speed was what put him on the pole for Saturday’s race. And just like in practice, Rogers said not much was done to the car once the race started.

It left Busch “pretty confident that we were the car to beat. Whether you stay the car to beat is the next question because how long this race is, how you change from daytime to twilight to nighttime. The track goes through a lot of different changes.”

While other drivers may not have had race experience at Kentucky, most in the field have tested at the facility before. A few, like Busch, have competed in the Camping World Truck and NNS races in the past. There were also the aforementioned test sessions to help every driver find some sort of level playing field.

Nothing though beats experience as Busch says. And that’s just as important for a crew chief. Rogers knew what the track was going to do, how it was going to change. As the race wound down he already had an understanding and an all-important notebook of how the car might react and what he would need to do.

“Dave had to do a lot of thinking on his own,” said Busch. “I was telling him the car is good, but he would still make a change knowing what the track is going to do. That’s just experience. Knowing this racetrack pretty well, for us it worked well. We kept up with it.

“We stayed up front all the night, made it seem easy, but certainly it wasn’t. There at the end there was a couple tense moments, but we prevailed.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series July 9th debut at the Kentucky Speedway was greeted with much anticipation. 107,000 seats were sold out but weren’t completely filled by fans because they were stuck in a lengthy, mega hour, traffic jam at a freeway exit trying to get to the track. Oh, by the way, there was racing that weekend at the Kentucky Speedway. Brad Keselowski had a good weekend and Kyle Busch had a great weekend. With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin with:

[media-credit name=”Brian Douglas” align=”alignright” width=”273″][/media-credit]A never before issued WAZZUP to the third power goes to Kentucky Speedway officials for not being properly prepared for their Sprint Cup debut. Traffic en route to the race track was deplorable and reported to be backed up as much as 20 miles on freeways and highways incapable of handling that many cars at one time. Many fans abandoned their vehicles on the side of the road and walked a reported one to three miles to the race track. There were also reports of fans paying home owners, adjacent to the highway, as much as $20 to park in their yards and then make the long hike to the track. A reported thousands who made it to the track, after being snarled in traffic for as long as five hours, were turned away because the inadequate parking lots were completely full.

WAZZUP with not learning lessons from past events? The Kentucky Speedway is owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc, (SMI). Many years ago the SMI hosted Sprint Cup debuts at their tracks in Fort Worth-Texas and Las Vegas-Nevada. The traffic jams were equally intolerable. But the speedway and SMI officials made quick work of resolving those situations. The Quaker State 400 may have been a Cup debut at Kentucky, but it was not a NASCAR debut. NASCAR’s Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series have been racing at Kentucky for approximately ten years now. During that time there has been reported traffic jams that clearly indicated the freeway to highway interchange leading to the track was a problem. Officials should have seen this coming on Friday afternoon when these highways were overloaded with fans trying to get to the Nationwide Series race.

There’s an ageless proverb that applies to this situation: “if we don’t learn from history, then we are doomed to repeat it.” What happened to those fans trying to get to the Kentucky Speedway on Saturday was definitely a repeat offense.

In all fairness, in the aftermath, speedway officials did issue a formal apology to the impacted fans and has offered them tickets to any remaining 2011 events at SMI owned tracks. They deserve a HOORAH for that gesture. However, that offers only works towards soothing the public relations problem. It doesn’t address the real problems of highway access to and from the speedway as well as the need for more parking. The parking lot situation is easily resolved. The highway situation may take a lot of time and effort.

HOORAH to driver Jimmie Johnson for coming up with a solution for getting to the Kentucky Speedway: rent a helicopter. On the Friday prior to the Cup race Johnson left Kentucky to return home to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. When it came time to return to the race track, Johnson was advised of the expected traffic situation and chose to ride a helicopter back to Kentucky.

WAZZUP with Johnson sharing all of this on “Twitter”? With so many fans stranded for hours on a highway it’s safe to assume they read and sent “Tweets” just to pass the time. They couldn’t have been that thrilled about how easy Johnson made it to the track while they sat still and suffered.

Then again, maybe Johnson really does have a good idea. How about let’s all rent helicopters to attend the Kentucky Speedway’s 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup event. Surely by 2012 SMI will have constructed enough new parking spaces to accommodate all of those whirly birds. If by chance parking is still a problem next year, you can exercise the option of sitting in that little rescue seat and have the pilot lower you to the grandstand area. Dare to dream.

*************

Oh by the way: in the midst of traffic jams, parking trauma and fans having to stand in line for as long as 30 minutes to use the insufficient amount of portable toilets, there was racing at the Kentucky Speedway that weekend.

Yeah, you know what’s coming next. Fifty percent of you are going to read the next couple of paragraphs filled with rapture like joy. The other fifty percent will experience the biblical weeping and gnashing of teeth perhaps peppered with a few not so biblical four letter words. Brace yourself, it’s Kyle Busch time.

HOORAH for Kyle Busch and the excellent weekend he enjoyed while visiting the bluegrass state. The weekend started on Thursday night when he won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race despite having to be sent to the back of the starting field for being late for the driver’s meeting. While attempting to qualify for Friday’s Nationwide Series race, Busch spun out, hit the wall, had to roll out a back up car and again started at the rear of the field. He made a strong run to a third place finish in that event. During Saturday’s Sprint Cup race he was the class of the field and again returned to the Kentucky Speedway’s victory lane. He also took over first in the Sprint Cup championship points standings.

The accomplishments from his driving talent always seems to generate some very impressive numbers and the Kentucky Speedway weekend was no exception. In a period of 48 hours Busch drove in three races for a total of 925 miles. He ran 619 laps, around the Kentucky Speedway’s 1.5 mile oval, and led 186 of them. Along the way he collected $301,816 in prize money.

But the racing weekend didn’t conclude Saturday night in Kentucky. The following morning Busch flew to Slinger-Wisconsin where he won the Miller LIte Nationals 200, super late model race, at the Slinger Super Speedway.

HOORAH for Brad Keselowski for winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Kentucky while, once again, displaying his talent for conserving fuel. In victory lane the race winner said that his fuel conservation effort was “a seat of the pants operation” adding “I’d like to say it’s a special gauge we put in the car. I call it an Ass-on-o-meter. It’s my ass, that’s my gauge.”

HOORAH to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for, once again, being the most entertaining race of the weekend at Kentucky. Anyone who has avidly followed this series from the beginning knows exactly what I’m talking about.

************

HOORAH for being able to end this week’s column with something very emotional and very positive. A GOD BLESS goes out to Nicole and Greg Biffle who welcomed their new baby daughter, Emma Elizabeth, to their home. The newest member of the NASCAR Nation was born last Wednesday and weighed in a seven pounds six ounces. It’s the couple’s first child.

By now every NASCAR fan in the country is likely well aware of the traffic and parking trauma that created a public relations nightmare during the Kentucky Speedway weekend. Needless to say there has been a lot of comments on this matter since.

[media-credit name=”Joe Dunn” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Some of the more interesting ones came from the social network phenomenon known as “Twitter” and “Face Book”. It’s only natural. When you’re snarled in a hopeless traffic jam that’s barely moving, with the dwindling hope that you’re not going to get to see a race you paid hard earned ticket money for, then sending messages on your cell phone is a great way to spend the five hours stranded in a vehicle. Some of those comments truly represented the telephone term “4 G Face Burner.”

The following are just two examples obtained from “Face Book”: “Wow ! Paid $220 for tickets, took five hours to go 20 miles, saw a 67 lap race due to a SRO crowd taking all of the parking. Oh, and we walked three miles. All speedway memorabilia sold out, food and drink sold out. We are supposed to take this in the rear and shut up? Don’t think so, refund please.”

Another message read: “for those unfortunate fans who never made it through the grid lock disaster, Kyle Busch won the Not Ready For Prime Time Quaker State 400.”

************

The Kentucky Speedway is owned by SMI, Speedway Motorsports Inc. It’s one of the eight SMI owned race tracks that plays host to NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series. SMI is owned by Bruton Smith who is hands down one of the most interesting characters who ever set foot on a speedway. He’ll be the first to tell you that he’s “NASCAR’s biggest customer.”

One of the best self promoters in the business, Smith was all over the Kentucky Speedway property placing himself in front of every media microphone and television camera he could find. With that effort came some genuine Smith verbal gems on a variety of subjects.

Seemingly knowing well in advance that his fans were going to have a major traffic problem coming off of Interstate 71, Smith went on the offensive, as well as the SPEED Channel, and announced that he was going to “pressure” the Governor of Kentucky to make needed road improvements in that area because his race track was going to turn Sparta-Kentucky into the third largest city in the state. “Interstate 71 sucks,” Smith said adding “it’s the worst interstate I’ve ever been on. It’s a disgrace to the great state of Kentucky. We hope to get everybody out of the area and home by Tuesday. You don’t even want to be on it, (interstate 71), This is the worst section of interstate highway in America. The Governor and I have talked about that. Don’t go on I-71, you’re not going to win.”

*************

However, traffic wasn’t the only issue that had Smith going on the offensive that weekend. There were driver concerns regarding whether or not the Kentucky Speedway had an adequate amount of energy absorbing SAFER barrier walls around its 1.5 mile oval.

That concern was primarily led by drivers Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. Commenting on his safety concerns, Stewart said “they don’t have enough SAFER barriers yet, not near enough SAFER barriers for what we’re doing here and how close the wall is to the race track. Hopefully, none of us will have to test that out.”

When the issue was presented to him by the SPEED Channel, Smith replied “I have not talked to Jeff and Tony, but tell them just to drive where Kyle Busch goes, If they will do that, they won’t have to worry about any padding.” It was almost as if Smith knew Busch was going to dominate the NASCAR Sprint Cup debut at his race track.

There were also driver concerns regarding the state of the track surface which contained a series of bumps especially in turns three and four which turned out to be troublesome all weekend long. Smith said the track had “character” and added “maybe we’ll look at repaving after the 2013 race.”

***********

In still other Kentucky Speedway comments that deserve to be repeated, Smith was asked about the possibility of his annual Sprint Cup race becoming as popular as the most famous race in Kentucky. That of course would be the Kentucky Derby. Without a second’s hesitation, Smith replied: “we will outdraw that horsey event and we will have a bigger impact.”

***********

It’s hardly a big secret that Smith seriously wants a second Sprint Cup date for his SMI owned Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The annual numbers from the track’s lone date in March easily supports that argument. It’s safe to assume that the fans are solidly behind the idea as well. Any fan who has ever spent a NASCAR weekend in Las Vegas will stand proud and testify regarding how much fun it is.

If the prospect for a second Cup date at Las Vegas isn’t likely anytime soon, Smith would love to see his March race moved to November. NASCAR’s final race of the season will again be held at the Flordia based Homestead-Miami Speedway. After that, it’s off to Las Vegas for the annual champions week and the gala Sprint Cup awards banquet. To Smith it makes all the sense in the world to finish off the regular racing season, as well as NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Chase For The Championship, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and then head downtown for the annual party. There seems to be a lot of fans who supports that idea as well.

When asked about the prospect of a Las Vegas date change, Smith quickly replied “yeah, we need to get that last race out of North Cuba.”

Seriously Bruton? North Cuba? It’s easy to imagine the reaction that the Beach Boys, (that would be NASCAR officials in Daytona and not the famous rock n roll band), must have had when Smith let that comment fly.

Was the comment appropriate? In all honesty not really. Was the comment politically correct? That’s hard to say because the PC boundaries seem to constantly change and we’re no longer sure what’s a joke and what’s an insult. Was the comment funny? If I may borrow a quote from famed comedian Larry The Cable Guy:”that’s funny I don’t care who you are.” Should yours truly be chastised for laughing to the point of pain when I heard this comment? Okay, I guess I should have displayed an extra ounce of self control and been a little more sensitive to the feelings of the “North Cubans.”

Anytime Bruton Smith talks about any topic he always has my attention. Because I know he’s going to make a comment that deserves to be repeated.

With eight races left before the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup begins and with a firm grasp on the point lead until recently, Carl Edwards still doesn’t want to start thinking about what could be in terms of a championship.

“Man, this thing can change quickly,” said Edwards in Daytona. “You guys know how this works. Look at what Kurt’s [Busch] been doing. They’ve turned things around. They’ve been running spectacularly.”

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”247″][/media-credit]While Busch might be one of the hottest drivers on the circuit, it’s Edwards who has been at the head of the class. He’s won both a point paying race, Las Vegas, and the non-point Sprint All-Star race. Had it not been for the likes of Trevor Bayne or Regan Smith, Edwards could have multiple victories and a bulls-eye on his back when it comes to the championship fight.

Instead, his Roush-Fenway Racing team is satisfied just taking it one week at time. Back running competitively after an ugly 2010 is all they wanted, having the point lead was a bonus considering when the Chase starts teams will be seeded by wins and the lead reset.

Edwards though, who came into 2011 as the pre-season favorite, isn’t concerned about what’s down the road. As far as the Chase is concerned, he wouldn’t even say he thinks he’s locked in because “anything can happen.” Engine failures, wrecks or even getting injured are all reasons Edwards isn’t going to be relieved until the right time.

“Until this season is over, if I’m standing there with the [championship] trophy that would be great” he said. “But I’m going to just keep my head down and keep working because anything can happen, but we have had a very, very good year.”

Perhaps it’s because Edwards has been in this position before that he isn’t ready to take it for granted. In 2008 Edwards sat second in points heading into the Chase, having already won six races. He was going to be the man that dethroned Jimmie Johnson but Edwards, even after going on to win three more races came up 69 points short.

The following two seasons Edwards didn’t come close to contending for the title. The No. 99 team went winless in 2009 and not finding victory lane until the final two races of the 2010 season.

“It’s nice to be disappointed with second-place runs at a lot of these tracks,” Edwards said.

Yes, Edwards has been in this position before and he’s better for it. The last two years, a second place finish would have been like a win for Edwards’ team. While he remained competitive in the Nationwide Series, winning races and contending for a second championship, the Cup program lacked.

Yet, Edwards forged ahead. Grateful for the opportunities that he was given and knowing things would soon change. Away from the track he enjoyed other successes like getting married and having two children. To Edwards, he says he’s won the lottery and is the luckiest man in the world.

Not only does he get to travel to places like Daytona or Indianapolis and do what he loves, he’s become quite good at it. The 2011 season is shaping up to be one of his best, even though Edwards hasn’t been able to win since Las Vegas. But he knows they’re good enough to contend.

“I believe that as a team we’re running well, our cars are fast enough that we don’t have to go make these lunges for life and have crazy strategies, and I don’t have to do wild things on the race track to run well and have chance at winning, so it’s been really good.”