CE DIEHARDS - March 12, 2008 - Race Previews
Carl Edwards showed last weekend in Atlanta, that even without his crew chief Bob Osborne on the pit box the No. 99 Office Depot Ford could be up front contending for the victory. Edwards led 33 laps last weekend before the engine expired on the No. 99 AFLAC Ford Fusion at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Bring on Bristol - Carl Edwards had a successful reign at Bristol Motor Speedway last August when he dominated the last half of the Sharpie 500. Edwards led 182 laps last year in the August race, and took his first win a NASCAR COT event in Bristol last year. Besides his one win at Bristol, Edwards has two top-five finishes, and he has 3 top-ten efforts at the track, leading 198 laps at the track. He has completed 3336 of 3504, and won a total of $945,877 at Bristol.
This weekend's race car for Bristol - Interim crew chief Chris Andrews will be taking a new chassis to the track this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. The team will be taking Chassis No. RK-575 to the track this week.
Edwards a winner at every level at Bristol - When Carl Edwards took the checkered flag last August in Bristol, Tennessee, he accomplished an amazing feat. Edwards won the March 2000 Nationwide Series event at Bristol, and in August of 2004 he won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at the venue. Between all three series he has been able to lead an incredible 453 laps.
Needing to rebound - Carl Edwards engine problems in Atlanta dropped him from 7th in the standings down to 17th in the standings after the race. Edwards is 232 points behind championship leader Kyle Busch and he currently is 37 points behind teammate Matt Kenseth who sits in 12th.
Edwards on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
“Bristol is a tough track, but it's one that I really enjoy. I think it will be all about survival at Bristol. This team has been really strong this season, and I think we're going to be strong this weekend as well. It’s a tough track, but its going to be a lot of fun and hopefully we’ll get a great finish.”
Crew Chief Chris Andrews on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
“I'm looking forward to Bristol. We went to Atlanta with everyone watching how the organization would respond to Bob's (Osborne) suspension and we put the 99 in position to win the race. Carl has won two of the four races this year, and he was strong at Atlanta. Bristol is where Roush Fenway won its first COT race last year and we've only improved since then.”