Edwards: ‘Whatever we can do to get wins early … that’s what we want to do’
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LAS VEGAS — Some of the shine is gone, but Carl Edwards‘ surroundings still have that new-team smell.
It’s been two races in the No. 19 Toyota for the former Roush Fenway Racing lifer, whose career was uprooted heading into 2015 in the form of a new team, a new manufacturer, a new crew chief and new teammates. Two races in with plenty more still to come — and plenty more still to learn.
“For me personally, having spent so much time at Roush Fenway Racing, it is a little bit overwhelming to come to a new place and to meet everyone and to see everything,” Edwards said Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. ” … I thought it would be harder to find my place really, but it’s been simple. There’s a lot of information sharing between the drivers and for me that’s good. It’s exciting.”
In part because of his newfound ability to analyze data from his JGR teammates, Edwards notched a 12th-place finish last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway after poring over how Denny Hamlin circled the 1.54-mile oval. It followed a 23rd-place effort at Daytona, so Edwards still seeks his first top-10 of the season.
Starting — qualifying, more specifically — hasn’t been a problem, though. Edwards has started in the top six for both events, a testament to the cars produced by Darian Grubb — that new crew chief — and the rest of his No. 19 team.
Producing fast cars has actually been the easiest part of the transition for both driver and crew chief, who are learning the nuances of new language and how the other communicates.
“We’re learning a lot,” Edwards said. “Each race is a learning experience. I’ve been very fortunate every time I’ve got a new crew chief in the past it seems like we’ve done really well together soon. I know Jimmy Fennig and I, we won really quickly (second race). That’s really the key. You’ve got to do well right off the bat and that’s Darian and I’s goal is just to go out here and get a win here to start and then it takes all the pressure off.”
The win is so important, Edwards said, that he’s willing to take a massive gamble in order to get it.
And what better place to roll the dice than in Las Vegas?
“Absolutely,” Edwards said. ” If we can win anytime — at the point at which we feel like we’re locked in to the Chase, it definitely allows you to take gambles. It’s more fun to race that way, too. Darian and I talked about it early, before the year even started, whatever we can do to get wins early so that we can go out there and be aggressive, that’s what we want to do.”
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