Carl Edwards: No points system encourages wrecking

Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Subway Ford, looks on in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway on June 1, 2012 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Subway Ford, looks on in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway on June 1, 2012 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

DOVER, Del. — Kudos to Carl Edwards for putting things in perspective.

In explaining the striking absence of caution flags this season, several drivers last week pointed to the current points system and the necessity of making the Chase as a possible reason for more conservative racing.

The undercurrent, however, seems to be that if drivers aren’t wrecking, they aren’t racing as intensely as they could.

Edwards acknowledges that drivers may be racing more intelligently, but that’s doesn’t mean they’re not trying to win.

“There is not a point system that NASCAR can devise that is going to make us go out there and wreck race cars, you guys,” Edwards said Friday at Dover International Speedway. “There is nothing positive out of wrecking a race car. It hurts your chances at winning the race, which is all of our number one goals when we come to the race track.

“I want to be very clear; no driver is going out there and putting the focus on not wrecking. We go out there and race. I don’t know if you guys have ridden in these race cars, but we are driving the hell out of these race cars. We also are learning and understanding that you can’t really plan on winning a race or championship if you are wrecking.

“No matter what point system they come up with, I can’t think of one where everybody is going to go out there and go, ‘Hell, let’s just go out there and wreck.’ That just won’t happen. We can talk about it all we want but we are all going to race to race, not to wreck.”

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.