Edwards throws caution to the wind in attempt to win

1. Did Carl Edwards make the right move with his all-or-nothing slide job on Jimmie Johnson on the final lap at Kansas?

Mark Aumann: I thought it was a great move by a guy who wanted to win the race first and worry about the long-term consequences second (watch video).

Raygan Swan: Certainly, Carl knew he'd be sick if he settled for second place. It's no longer about just a "good points day" for him.

David Caraviello: Absolutely. These guys catch plenty of heat sometimes for being too comfortable with their position, and settling for a top-five or a top-10. It was great to see somebody want to win so bad he was willing to risk the car in the process.

Mark Aumann: Yes, if he had wadded it up, there's a real possibility he could have finished 17th -- and put himself in trouble. But it truly was an old-school move. The funny thing was watching Jimmie Johnson. It was almost as if he first couldn't believe it, then tried to slow down to keep from getting hit, then realized he had to get back in the gas to hold Edwards off.

David Caraviello: Of course, they had the luxury of being way in front of third place, giving Carl the wiggle room to limp home with a banged-up car if he needed to. But something tells me that didn't enter his mind. He was looking out the windshield, not the rearview mirror.

Raygan Swan: He knew he had a good car, he had the confidence, and he nearly pulled it off. "No guts, no glory" seems to be Carl's motto these days, as it should be.

Mark Aumann: I'd have loved to know what he and Jimmie were talking about there on pit road afterward. Almost like two guys discussing technique. It was a classic dirt-track slide job with the comfort of having the cushion on the top groove.

David Caraviello: Well, that conversation was recounted in a certain column that ran Sunday (click here). The interesting thing is, if he had hit the wall too hard and not been able to cross the finish line, we'd all be saying, "What was Edwards thinking? He's running for a championship!"

Raygan Swan: Good point David, but I'd still admire him for taking the chance. Carl and crew chief Bob Osborne have worked hard to gain race wins to put them in a position to take a chance now and again.

Mark Aumann: The scary thing? Jimmie's finishes in the Chase so far are better than either 2007 or 2006, and he only got better as it went along the past two seasons.

David Caraviello: Yeah, Jimmie's getting that look in his eye again. Maybe desperate moves are all anybody else has right now.

Raygan Swan: I appreciate the fact that two of the most clean-cut guys in our sport today are still providing high drama like the Tonys and the Kyles.

David Caraviello: What does this have to do with Kyle Petty?

Mark Aumann: Hey, I think Kyle Petty's ponytail fits his personality.

Raygan Swan: What, long and unruly? We're talking Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch types.

David Caraviello: Oh yeah, Kyle Busch. Man, talk about a fall from grace. Through no fault of his own the dude is buried. I hope he's asking some tough questions of the quality control folks over at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Mark Aumann: Is anybody else stunned that the Toyotas are now 10th, 11th and 12th? And I thought the conspiracy theorists all had NASCAR in Toyota's back pocket?

David Caraviello: Good point, Mark. The Toyotas are all struggling and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is fading. The black helicopter crowd is losing steam. Of course, I'm still getting e-mails from the delusional who claim NASCAR "wanted" Johnson to win because it didn't throw a caution when Waltrip dropped debris on the apron.

Mark Aumann: So would that be filed under "Toyota" conspiracy or "Hendrick" conspiracy, then? And there's still the whole "Hendrick gets all the advantages" thing going.

David Caraviello: No doubt, there will always be someone hiding behind the grassy knoll.

Raygan Swan: My dog does that a lot.

Mark Aumann: What, hides behind the grassy knoll? Or poops on conspiracy theories?

2. Paul Menard will leave DEI for Yates after this season. What does this mean for Yates, and where does this leave DEI?

David Caraviello: Does anyone really win here? I guess Yates gets a needed sponsor, but also a driver who hasn't done much to set himself apart. As for DEI ... wow. Brother, can you spare a sponsor (read more)?

Paul Menard has one top-10 in 68 career starts and none in his two full seasons in the Cup Series.

Mark Aumann: Well, there's Martin Truex Jr., who has sponsorship. And then there's Aric Almirola and Regan Smith, who don't.

Raygan Swan: I'm not sure what to make of this, but I guess Paul Menard will always be the winner in the end with guaranteed family sponsorship.

Mark Aumann: And the assumption is that Menard will be the third car, but Doug Yates has been struggling to cobble together two programs in 2008. Hopefully, Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland return, because they've shown strength at times.

David Caraviello: I'll tell you what, the Yates situation is a sign of either how blind corporate America can be, or truly how bad the economy is right now. No team has done more with less. Hardly any sponsorship cash, and it has more than held its own.

Mark Aumann: It really shows the ebb and flow of this sport, doesn't it? There was a time when Robert Yates Racing was a dominant force in restrictor-plate racing. Then DEI assumed the mantle. And now it's seem as if while Yates -- which seemed on the ropes two years ago -- is growing, DEI is perhaps struggling.

David Caraviello: Not to come across like a Yates cheerleader or anything, but you wonder what that organization would be capable of with the proper funding.

Raygan Swan: You definitely see a lot of heart coming from both the organization and the drivers, especially David Gilliland. What a great attitude he has.

David Caraviello: And Travis Kvapil has done wonders with that 28 car. He's had some great runs.

Mark Aumann: I know that we're supposed to be neutral and all, but knowing how hard it is for smaller teams to survive right now, you want to see Yates succeed and grow. I really would hate to see Cup become nothing but conglomerates.

Kvapil | Gilliland

2008 Results

Kvapil and Gilliland

	Kvapil	Gilliland
Wins	0	0
Top-5s	0	1
Top-10s	3	2
Avg. Fin.	23.0	24.7
Driver Rank	24	26
Owner Rank	24	27

David Caraviello: As for DEI, we know what it is capable of. We've seen it. It's still the same organization that won all those races with Waltrip and Dale Jr. and Steve Park. A lot of the same people are there. But without sponsors, there's only so much any team can do.

Mark Aumann: Money makes the world go 'round, and the recent financial issues on Wall Street aren't going to make companies any more willing to part with their cash right now. It's a tough, tough marketplace.

David Caraviello: I'll tell you what, Mark, DEI is the prime example of how no team is safe from this kind of stuff. I mean, two years ago it was among the elite teams in this deal. And now look where it is. If I'm a team owner, that's frightening.

Mark Aumann: I just hope DEI can fight through this without resorting to either merging or folding.

Raygan Swan: Well, maybe they can call on Brian France and NASCAR for a bailout! It's hard to feel for the teams when some American families are living in their cars right now, not watching fast ones going around tracks

Mark Aumann: Great point, Raygs. And we may see a lot of teams doing more with less.

David Caraviello: Well, we're still talking about job security. This sponsorship money still puts bread on the table for a lot of people. I mean, dozens of folks were laid off at Ganassi when the No. 40 team shut down.

Raygan Swan: Yeah, and the NASCAR garage absorbed most of them. NASCAR teams need to learn how to cut the fat like all businesses, run smarter operations and have some long-term planning and quit running the "wait and see" approach.

David Caraviello: Hey, no question. Not everybody needs a corporate jet. But let's not be dismissive here -- more of these teams go under, more people are out of work.

Raygan Swan: Noted, I just feel like so many of the teams have no backup plans.

Mark Aumann: But there's the "mutual disarmament" theory that Jack Roush ascribes to, that he's willing to scale back -- if everybody else does, too.

David Caraviello: Boy, Mark, how do you do that? I guess the four-team cap is an attempt at that, but still, it's quite a genie to stuff back in the bottle.

Mark Aumann: Hey, do I look like Brian France? Don't answer that. We need a NASCAR detente. A Camp David Caraviello Accord, as it were. Not to be confused with a Honda Accord, which isn't NASCAR approved.

Raygan Swan: I drove one of those to the UAW hall here in Kokomo [Ind.] once and got my tires slashed.

3. A.J. Allmendinger is parting ways with Red Bull, clearing the way for Scott Speed to take over the No. 84 in 2009. Is the former F1 driver ready for Sprint Cup?

Mark Aumann: Well, if his steady progress in ARCA and the Craftsman Truck Series is any indication, he should be ahead of guys like Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr. But the new chassis is a completely different animal than anything he's driven so far, so I'm not sold just yet.

• Speed: Monster performance

David Caraviello: In all likelihood, as ready as he's going to be. They've done a good job with his development, getting him in ARCA cars and trucks. He's had plenty of advance seat time on the right tracks. Now it's only a matter of time to see how he adjusts to the Cup cars.

Mark Aumann: Not to say the guy doesn't have boatloads of talent. If there's anybody who could be like Juan Montoya, it's probably Speed.

Raygan Swan: I was blown away when he won a Truck race in Dover in only his sixth start. He's transitioned better than anyone expected, and certainly faster than any of his other open-wheel counterparts.

David Caraviello: Yeah, guys, I agree. The dude also has charisma to spare, and would be a refreshing addition to the Cup series.

Mark Aumann: Now, when you look at the guys in contention every week, it's all about car control and knowing just how hard to push it before it spins out. Carl Edwards? Dirt late models. Jimmie Johnson? Off-road racing.

Raygan Swan: He's leading the ARCA championship but his equipment is top notch, and I think that was a bit expected. He was fast in his test at Lowe's, but testing doesn't really indicate how he will do on race day (read more).

Mark Aumann: I still don't think that a driver with an exclusive background in light, rear-engined formula cars isn't having to completely re-learn how to race in heavy, front-engined stock cars. Has Speed shown that can be done? We'll see.

• Speed: Style here to stay

David Caraviello: Speaking of refreshing, how nice is it to see a driver actually get development time? Red Bull brought Speed along kind of like Penske did Ryan Newman with its old "ABC" schedule. Slowly, no pressure, making each step when he's ready. Compare that to guys like Allmendinger, Franchitti and Patrick Carpentier, who were basically just thrown into this.

Raygan Swan: Yeah, Penske wants to do that with Justin Allgaier next season, like it did with Newman.

David Caraviello: This "sink or swim" mentality of developing drivers needs to end. Everybody suffers in the end. Drivers get forced out, teams have to hire someone else. Who know what A.J. and Patrick, given their marked improvements in the second half of this year, might have been capable of with a little more lead time?

Raygan Swan: Only time will tell if Speed can get up to speed (ha-ha) but I certainly like watching him in the media center. What a clown, and he knows so much about fashion!

Mark Aumann: And of course, Raygs is all about clothing.

David Caraviello: Well, somebody does need to tell Scott that the trucker hat went out of style about three years ago. Seriously. Ashton Kutcher called, and wants his cap back.

Raygan Swan: Yeah, well, Ashton Kutcher is back on network TV so maybe the trucker hat will come back as well! And it's not a trucker hat. Trucker hats are mesh in the back. Scott's is not mesh, just a flat bill, very skater-boy style.

David Caraviello: Mesh or not, it's a big honkin' sequined trucker cap. Seriously, some guy must have let it fly out of his cab on I-85.

Mark Aumann: Can you imagine Raygan covering racing back in the '60s, when all the drivers wore dirty, old-stained white uniforms?

David Caraviello: Yeah, Mark, and when all the writers wore dirty, food-stained ... well, wait a minute ...

Mark Aumann: Oh, that was last week.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the participants.