Edwards throwing caution to the wind

Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Fastenal Ford, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 24, 2012 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Fastenal Ford, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 24, 2012 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Carl Edwards may not want to do the bump-and-run on one of his fellow drivers to win Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol, but he does concede that he’ll be willing to take bigger risks for a victory.

Edwards is 12th in the Cup standings, but he hasn’t won a race since March 2011. Without at least one victory in the next three races, he’s an extreme long shot to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“You could say that stuff and you can have a plan, but, really, it comes down to how the race is going,” Edwards said Friday when asked if he would use his bumper to get to Victory Lane. “We’re in a position right now where our 99 Fastenal team — we have to get that win.

“I’d say I would probably hang it out there a little more than normal to get that win.”

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.