AVONDALE, Ariz.— After winning last week at Texas, Carl Edwards made more headlines when he berated some of his fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers for complaining that the races are boring because the new cars are too hard to drive.
Several other drivers weighed in on the subject Thursday at Phoenix International Raceway, mostly agreeing with Edwards that the so-called Car of Tomorrow, which is being raced for the entire season in 2008, is just what NASCAR was hoping for when it began developing the car six years ago.
NASCAR’s stated intention was to build a safer car that also promoted close racing and helped keep team costs under control by requiring fewer different cars for a variety of racetrack configurations.
“I think, after watching Michael McDowell flip several times and drive straight into the wall (at Texas), the mission was accomplished, as far as what everybody wanted to accomplish in that car,” Kevin Harvick said.
Rookie McDowell came away with only bumps, bruises and some residual soreness after the spectacular and scary crash during qualifying on the 1.5-mile Texas oval.
The CoT was introduced last year, running 16 of the 36 points race in Cup. None of those CoT races were on 1.5-mile tracks.
And it’s on those intermediate tracks, where Edwards has excelled with victories at California, Las Vegas and Texas, that the most complaints have been heard about the new cars.
“As you look back and you go to those types of racetracks, the high-banked, 1.5-mile racetracks have been the toughest on the CoT car, and it’s been that way with the old car as well,” Harvick said. “Those types of tracks are a little less conducive to the racing, it seems, for whatever reason.
“But, being the first time that we went to Texas (with the new car), I don’t anybody wants to throw up a red flag and say we need to change everything because we had a tough race. I mean, we got to give it more than one race. You can’t just change things just to change them. The cars, the drivers, everything will be better the next time we go back.”
Two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart had a similar viewpoint.
“You have to take it one variable at a time and change one variable and see how it acts,” Stewart said. “You definitely gave each other more room than you normally did. That takes away from the side-by-side racing aspect that we’ve all been accustomed to in this series for so long that I think has made this series so popular.”
But, despite also noting that the cars are “a handful,” Stewart added, “We haven’t ran a lot of mile-and-a-half and two-mile tracks, yet. As the season goes and we get to go to some of these tracks a second time around, I think everybody is going to be a little more caught up and be a little more aware of what the challenges for race day will be and anticipate them a little better.”
PENALTY PHASE: Ryan Newman and his Penske Racing team have accepted the penalties that were handed down by NASCAR earlier this week and are just ready to get on with the season.
Newman and team owner Roger Penske each lost 25 points and crew chief Roy McCauley was fined $25,000 and placed on probation until the end of the year after the No. 12 Dodge failed inspection following Newman’s fourth-place run at Texas. the car was found to be an eighth of an inch too high, a change that could produce more downforce.
The points penalty dropped Newman from eighth to 10th in the standings.
“We did some adjustments throughout the day, but something happened in the car,” Newman said Thursday. “The fact that it was an eighth high caught us off guard. We fully accept the penalty. We understand NASCAR’s position and we’ll go on.
“Points-wise, we made up seven spots in the last 10 laps at Texas. That’s close to the number of points (that he lost due to the penalty). You have to put it out of your mind. Those 25 points are gone. You go on.”
The Daytona 500 winner called the situation in Texas a learning experience.
“We don’t look at it as a situation where we were cheating,” he said. “We looked at it as a situation that we screwed up and we’ll try and make it up.”
MAN TO BEAT: Carl Edwards is off to a great start with three wins in the first seven races, but he’s not ready to start thinking about the Cup championship just yet.
“It’s awfully early in the season,” said the Roush Fenway Racing driver who is 10th in the season standings.
“Our Ford Fusions are so good right now that it’s really a joy to drive them but, if there’s one thing that’s certain this season, it’s there is going to be change,” Edwards added. “Things are going to happen through the season. People are going to change things and, hopefully, we can stay on top of that change and be just as fast at the end as we are now.”
Two-time reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson agrees that Edwards’ No. 99 is the car to beat right now.
“Roush last year showed they were moving in the right direction and had a lot of speed,” said Johnson, who is winless but sixth in the points. “I thought maybe the No. 17 (Matt Kenseth) would come out of the gate and be the lead driver and team at Roush, but it’s turned out to be the No. 99.
“It’s not really a surprise. Carl is a great driver. … They’ve set a very high mark for the start of the season and we’re all trying to catch up.”
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