Opinion: Carl Edwards' decision to stay out of the Nationwide Series race at Road America was a good one for not only the Series, but also himself

Carl Edwards seemed to be the only big name driver to chose to run both the Sprint Cup Series race at Infineon in California and the Nationwide Series race at Road America in Wisconsin. Many wondered why, especially since Edwards is unable to race for the Nationwide Series championship after NASCAR's rule change in the off season, Edwards would even think about running both.

His Sprint Cup team needed his undivided attention if they were going to get a good finish out of a road course race - a type of race Edwards has proven to be difficult for himself in the Sprint Cup Series.

On Friday, Edwards made a big decision. With the permission of his Nationwide Series sponsor, Fastenal, Edwards was able to pull himself out of the Nationwide Series race at Road America - the one in which he was the defending champion of after the inaugural race in 2010.

At the time, many fans and Nationwide Series regulars breathed a sigh of relief - it seemed that both Nationwide fans and drivers could enjoy a race that is actually consisted of developmental drivers, even if there were some road course specialists entered. After all, that is what the Nationwide Series is all about.

In reality, this was only one of another big plus - but this time it wasn't just for other people, it was for Edwards himself.

The driver of the 99 car was struggling to get a hold of his machine during Friday's opening practice at the Sprint Cup venue. With the competition so tight in today's Cup series, it was evident that the team would need all weekend to work on it. Therefore, the team's engineers needed Carl Edwards close by - somewhere where they could get him for his help and feedback.

With this move made by Edwards and Roush Renway racing, the points leading team was able to accomplish that and much more.

After running a plethora of laps in the Saturday practice sessions for the Cup Series, the team was able to improve their car much more, and even throughout the race.

The end result was quite surprising to many; Edwards finished third, ahead of tough road course competitors such as Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose. And while many people hate to hear, "It was a good points day," it was just that. Since it wasn't a typical type of a NASCAR Sprint Cup event, that good points day is crucial for a team like Edwards'.

Perhaps the most rewarding part of this move is not for the Nationwide Series, or just a good points day, but is actually down the road into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The team proved something this past weekend - that they are truly a team to beat, no matter where they are. Yes, Jimmie Johnson will most likely be the strongest team to beat - they have been for the past five years - but Johnson may have his strongest competitor yet - Carl Edwards.

Carl Edwards Removes Himself From Nationwide Series Race At Road America

Instead of traveling far distances between the Sprint Cup Series track of Infineon Raceway in California and the Nationwide Series track of Road America in Wisconsin, Carl Edwards has chosen to only focus on the Sprint Cup Series race this weekend.

The decision comes very late in the week - Friday to be exact - following the first practices of the weekend for both of NASCAR's top two series.

Since NASCAR does not score Nationwide Series points for the Sprint Cup Series regulars, there has been much discussion of whether it is truly worth it for Sprint Cup drivers to run the full Nationwide schedule.

Billy Johnson, who was scheduled to practice the car for Edwards in the first place, will be the driver of the number 60 car for Saturday's Nationwide race. Johnson was first fastest in the opening practice for the Nationwide Series this weekend.

"I think Billy will do a great job," said Edwards. "In the end, this puts us in the best position with both teams to perform well, so I'm grateful to be able to make the change and I feel like we are doing the right thing. I think this shows you just how much our sponsors and our team are able to work together and change things on the fly," Edwards stated. "The original plan was for me to miss all of practice in our Sprint Cup car in Sonoma on Saturday, but literally as we finished practice today we found out that Billy Johnson was P1 in the Fastenal Ford Mustang at Road America. We also felt like as a team that we needed more practice on the Cup side, so I called the (President and) CEO of Fastenal - Will Oberton - and without any hesitation, he said do what you need to do to have the best result and we are behind you 100 percent. It just shows that Fastenal is truly behind our whole Roush Fenway team, and we have a great relationship to be able to make this change."

This will be the first Nationwide race without Edwards since June 12, 2005 at Nashville, according to Sporting News.




Quotes from Roush Fenway Racing

Edwards To The 20 Car?

With Carl Edwards' contract expiring this season with Roush Fenway Racing, there has been much curiosity about whether or not Edwards will stay where he is.

According to a report by Jayski.com, Carl Edwards "is being courted" to take over the number 20 Home Depot car next season. Whether Logano will continue to race at Gibbs with a fourth Gibbs car is not known.

As of now, all of this is purely speculation, however Jayski.com is a well known website with good credibility.

Daytona 500 Unofficial Standings

Trevor Bayne may be the Daytona 500 champion, but does not walk away with the points lead due to his ineligibility of scoring points in the Sprint Cup Series because of NASCAR's new rules regarding points. He may only score points in the Nationwide Series. So, Carl Edwards walks away with a one point lead, which equates to a one positions advantage going into Phoenix, the second race of the season. Here are the unofficial standings following the Great American Race.

Note: There are some tied positions between drivers due to drivers getting bonus points.


1.Carl Edwards-42 points
2.David Gilliland-41
2.Bobby Labonte-41
3.Kurt Busch-40
4.Juan Montoya-39
5.Tony Stewart-37
5.Regan Smith-37
6.Kyle Busch-36
7.Paul Menard-35
8.A.J. Allmendinger-34
9.David Ragan-32
9.Mark Martin-32
10.Robby Gordon-31
11.Bill Elliot-29
12.Clint Bowyer-28
13.Jamie McMurray-27
14.Martin Truex Jr.-25
15.Denny Hamlin-24
16.Ryan Newman-24
16.Dale Earnhardt Jr.-21
16.Joey Logano-21
17.Dave Blaney-20
18.Kasey Kahne-18
19.Jeff Gordon-17
19.Jimmie Johnson-17
20.Brad Keselowski-16
21.David Reutimann-14
22.Brian Vickers-13
23.Andy Lally-11
24.Matt Kenseth-10
25.Greg Biffle-9
25.Jeff Burton-9
26.Marcos Ambrose-7
27.Michael Waltrip-4
28.Brian Keselowski-3
28.Kevin Harvick-3
29.J.J. Yeley-1

Roush Expects 3 Nationwide teams

According to Scenedaily.com, Jack Roush hopes to secure sponsorship for 3 full time teams next season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The 3 drivers he hopes to have run the full schedule are Carl Edwards, who will not be able to run for the championship because of rule changes, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., a driver who has come on strong in the series as of late, and Trevor Bayne, who was let go from Diamond Waltrip Racing late in the season to drive for Roush the remaining few races.

Here's what Jack Roush had to say:

"Right now, we're still lacking sponsorship for two of our, hopefully, three programs next year. I am committed to start the year with Ricky and Trevor, assuming that we are going to be able to find the support, generate the interest in their future to make it a financially solvent program for both of them going forward."

He also says he will be willing to back them financially if sponsors do not come aboard.

"I'm prepared to make an investment myself. So we'll see how far we get."