For the last two weeks while Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin were battling it out for the championship, Carl Edwards was making his case for 2011. Edwards not only dominated the last two weeks; he won the races. Edwards had a good car at Phoenix but Hamlin’s car was better. Edwards who has proven in recent years that he is the king of saving fuel and when Hamlin was forced to pit Edwards took over the lead for good. He talked about their late race strategy in terms of fuel while Hamlin and Kyle Busch were forced to pit late. "I wasn't sure exactly what our status was. I don't think [crew chief] Bob [Osborne] wanted to say it over the radio, or he just didn't want to tell me, but I didn't know what was going on.So when they dropped the green [on Lap 240], I started racing pretty hard, and I felt like I was a little faster than Denny...So I was saving.” At Homestead Miami Speedway, he started second and quickly took control of the race. He dominated and went on to win in fantastic fashion. Edwards has been overshadowed by Johnson at HMS before and he is more than ready for 2011 to come. "I tell you, it's a lot more frustrating to not be in Victory Lane and watching somebody out there doing their donuts and all that stuff," Edwards said. "I've been in this position before. We have won this race, and whoever wins this race is usually watching somebody else celebrate out there with the championship." Edwards who finished fourth in the standings didn’t exactly have the year he expected leading into the Chase. Nobody expected him to even be a factor in the Chase but Edwards and his team knew they weren’t far off. The team though made the Chase with consistent runs from about mid June on. While everyone else was focused on Johnson and Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, Edwards and his team kept their nose to grind. It finally paid off in the final two races of the year, momentum is huge in racing and now Edwards carries it into the off season. Edwards’ confidence was evident in his press conference after the race on Sunday.
"Heck, yeah, I wish the season was just starting. That would be nice to start the season with these two wins but we'll go for three in a row at Daytona and that would be a heck of a place to get three in a row. We have been close at Daytona in a couple races, and that would be nice. So we'll go there with guns blazing and I think we are going to be better than we have ever been, starting next season."
Edwards finished the year off strong but we have seen this before. In 2008 he contended for the title but only to falter in 2009 and most of 2010.
Roush Fenway Racing fell behind but the organization has gotten to work and the results have been showing that.
Now as the season ends Edwards and his team are probably looking forward to what Daytona and the 2011 season can bring.
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