FORT WORTH, Texas — A year ago, it would have been difficult to spot Carl Edwards among the hoard of cameras and reporters in the garage area while walking to the qualifying line. He was right in the thick of the championship battle — and everyone clamored to hear every word he uttered.
On Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, Edwards was just another guy in a driver’s suit, signing a few autographs, waving to a few fans who yelled his name and walking to his car without much notice at all. When you’re 14th in the points, the spotlight doesn’t shine in your direction very often.
"Last year was the most exciting year of racing I’ve ever had."
— Carl Edwards
"Last year was the most exciting year of racing I’ve ever had," Edwards said. "Those last few races were really, really, really fun. I’d like to have that shot every year. It’s really neat to have a goal, to have it right there within reach to where you wake up every morning thinking about it and going to bed every night thinking about it."
Edwards came up a single point short of winning the Cup in 2011, and even though he didn’t win a race, there was no reason not to expect him to be in contention again this year.
But with three races remaining, 2012 has to be one of the most disappointing — and head-shaking — seasons in Edwards’ career. After top-10 finishes at Daytona and Las Vegas to open the year, Edwards finished 39th at Bristol after getting caught up in a multi-car accident early in the race.
The year has been nothing but an uphill slog for Edwards, who has only led 254 laps this season — 206 of those at Richmond. His winless streak is now at 66 races — No. 99 upside down — and he’s had just two top-10 finishes in his last 10 races.
It may have been surprising to see Edwards struggle earlier in the season. But as the season has gone along, and things haven’t gotten any better, driver, team owner Jack Roush and crew chief Chad Norris began to look for answers.
"There are a number of reasons," Edwards said. "We did a spreadsheet on the way the first 26 races have gone, and 54 percent of the races we had some sort of wreck or failure or some trouble. That’s about twice we’ve ever had every year before that. That’s part of it. But we need to run better, too."
Edwards also mentioned Bob Osborne’s departure from the team at the end of July for health reasons as another reason why the No. 99 Ford didn’t live up to preseason expectations.
But give up? That’s not in Edwards’ vocabulary.
"I’m the eternal optimist, so all year, I’ve been thinking, ‘We’re going to turn it around, we’re going to turn it around,’ " Edwards said. "Finally, I and Jack [Roush] and Chad [Norris] and everybody all kind of accepted that we have to take this time to build the best team we can for next year.
"The greatest thing we could do would be to win this race right here, win at Phoenix, win at Homestead — finish like we did in 2010 — so we can get that excitement for next year. That’s what we’re working on right now."
Edwards realizes getting back on track — or at least back in a position to run up front — will take time and patience. With that in mind, he has a series of stepladder goals he’d like to accomplish.
Qualifying ninth for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 is a start.
"The short-term thing is win a race or two," Edwards said. "Mid-term is to build the best team, so that long-term, we can be competitive."
While the attention is focused on Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and other drivers this Chase, Edwards is going about his business in relative obscurity. That’s fine, for now.
But after experiencing the thrill of being on the cusp of a championship, Edwards wouldn’t mind hogging some of the spotlight again.
"We’ve just got to get it together," Edwards said. "This is a performance business and we’ve got to perform."
Bass Pro Shops increases mark in sport, adorning Stewart’s car for 18 races in ’13
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Tony Stewart enjoyed one of his best days fishing with Johnny Morris. On a lake in Texas, the three-time champion of NASCAR’s top series hooked dozens of bass, including a 12-pound largemouth that remains the biggest the driver has ever caught. Morris needed four attempts before was finally able to corral the thrashing creature in a net and drag it aboard the boat.
Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, though, Stewart showed off an even bigger catch — Morris’ company, Bass Pro Shops. The NASCAR sponsorship staple will become the primary sponsor on Stewart’s No. 14 race car beginning next season. Currently the backer of Jamie McMurray’s No. 1 car at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, the famous big green bass fish will switch teams for next season and adorn Stewart’s vehicle for 18 races, including the Daytona 500.
"They’re partners to us, not sponsors. The whole idea is to make it good for both sides."
— Tony Stewart
The announcement comes three days after Stewart-Haas Racing unveiled another primary sponsor for next season, Quicken Loans, which will move up from associate status and back 18 races on Ryan Newman’s car. After losing both its current primaries — Office Depot and U.S. Army — effective the end of this season, Stewart’s organization has rapidly restocked its sponsorship inventory. Now, Newman’s car is in the best shape it’s ever been from a sponsor perspective, Stewart said, while the reigning champ is down to filling just nine open races on his car.
"They’re partners to us, not sponsors," Stewart said. "The whole idea is to make it good for both sides. … I think that’s something we’ve been able to convey to potential sponsors, to existing sponsors, and I think that’s why it works. We had misfortune with … losing U.S. Army and Office Depot, but I think our reputation as a company has helped us be able to acquire the inventory back this quick."
The Bass Pro Shops sponsorship was first announced Thursday night at an event in Springfield, Mo., where the company is headquartered. The connection was a natural for Stewart, who has had a personal services agreement with Bass Pro Shops since 2001. The company has also backed Stewart’s sprint and dirt late model cars, and over time Stewart and Morris have become good friends. An avid outdoorsman, Stewart was honorary chairman of this year’s National Hunting and Fishing Day.
After the U.S. Army announced it will be departing Newman’s car, and when he first got word that Office Depot was thinking about stepping down, Stewart approached Morris to gauge his interest.
"The one thing about Johnny is, he’s very loyal," Stewart said. "We weren’t trying to steal him away from anybody, but we just threw it out there — if you ever decide to make a change, we had opportunities now that we really hadn’t had in the past to do something," Stewart said. "When Office Depot made their announcement, it was very clear we had an opportunity on our car as well."
Morris, whose deal with EGR ends after this season, was sold. "It didn’t take us too long to shake hands," he said. Bass Pro Shops has a history in NASCAR dating back to its days with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Childress Racing, and Morris said the company would likely continue its association with Ty and Austin Dillon. Bass Pro Shops is primary sponsor on Ty’s Camping World Truck Series entry, and an associate on Austin’s Nationwide car. Morris also didn’t rule out a continued presence on McMurray’s car, given how much his company has benefitted from its presence in NASCAR.
"A lot of NASCAR fans like to hunt and fish," Morris said. "We came to realize that the first time we sponsored Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s car in the all-star race. It was amazing. In a 30-day period, they sold over $10 million worth of caps, T-shirts and die-cast cars. That spoke obviously to the popularity of Dale Sr., to the popularity of NASCAR and how many of those fans wanted to buy a souvenir that had Bass Pro on it. That said, ‘We like to hunt and finish, and the outdoors, too.’"
Bass Pro Shops has been primary sponsor on McMurray’s car the past two years, and while Morris praised the EGR organization, he said he couldn’t resist the "once-in-a-lifetime chance" to work with Stewart. Now Stewart has nine races left to fill on his car for 2013, and while he could rely on co-owner Gene Haas’ company to plug that deficit, he’d rather find another sponsor to go along with Bass Pro Shops and Mobil 1 — the latter of which will back 11 races on his vehicle next season.
"Haas Automation could fill in if we needed to, but we hope to find someone to fill in those final nine races for us," Stewart said. "… My goal as his business partner is to not have to fall back on him and utilize his resources that way."
Despite brief slump, Johnson never doubted path to a championship
This is the 13th and final installment of a series on 2013 Sprint Cup Series driver recaps that will be featured on NASCAR.com
It was the worst month-long stretch of his NASCAR Cup career, but Jimmie Johnson was undaunted.
His 40th-place finish at Richmond, the final "regular-season race" of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, was the fourth consecutive finish of 28th or worse for the Hendrick Motorsports driver. Since joining the Cup series full-time in 2002, the California native had never endured a similar run of mediocrity.
But rather than dwell on what had gone wrong, Johnson chose to focus on other more encouraging areas.
Call it the power of positive thinking, the belief in himself and those around him.
FULL SERIES COVERAGE
SEASON IN REVIEW
- Dec. 11: Carl Edwards
- Dec. 12: Kasey Kahne
- Dec. 13: Ryan Newman
- Dec. 16: Kurt Busch
- Dec. 17: Greg Biffle
- Dec. 18: Joey Logano
- Dec. 19: Clint Bowyer
- Dec. 20: Jeff Gordon
- Dec. 23: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Dec. 26: Kyle Busch
- Dec. 27: Kevin Harvick
- Dec. 30: Matt Kenseth
- Jan. 2: Jimmie Johnson
"I’m going to reserve any major concern or overwhelming confidence until after Chicago," Johnson said in the aftermath of Richmond. "I’m going to go in there with confidence I can go out and win because I know that I can. We’re going to enter nice and smooth and see how Chicago goes."
"Tough," is how crew chief Chad Knaus described the four-week run, "but the thing is our cars have actually been very fast," he said.
The Chase officially kicked off at Chicago, where Johnson and his No. 48 team overcame a pair of pit-road issues to finish fifth.
Nine weeks later he, Knaus, team owner Rick Hendrick and the rest of the team were basking in the spotlight of a sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup title.
In what has become something of a calling card once NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup gets underway, Johnson reeled off victories — at Dover and Texas — and nine top-10 finishes in the 10-race stretch to claim his sixth championship in eight years.
Of course, it wasn’t as simple, or as easy, as that — thanks in large part to the efforts of rival Matt Kenseth, winner of the year’s first two Chase races.
Johnson didn’t take the points lead in the Chase until Talladega, then surprisingly lost it the following week at his go-to track, Martinsville Speedway.
But the Texas victory a week later put Johnson back on top, and finishes of third and ninth in the season’s final two races left him 19 points ahead of Kenseth at year’s end.
Others have come to expect his team’s surge once the Chase gets underway, but Knaus said it’s wrong to think the team simply cranks up the effort once the title is on the line.
"People think we come into the Chase and ratchet it up," Knaus said. " ‘OK, we’re going to go; we’re going to make stuff happen.’
"I think that’s a mistake. That’s now how we operate. We try to operate at ten-tenths all year long. When we get into the Chase, it’s kind of the norm."
The two Chase wins gave Johnson 66 for his career, eighth on the series’ all-time list.
He also won at Daytona (twice), Martinsville and Pocono this past season.
"When I look back on the year, I think about the Gen-6 car, the race to figure out what the car wanted for speed, the hard work from everybody at Hendrick," Johnson said. "The way we’ve been able to connect … find speed in the car, develop the car, innovate in the garage area with the setups.
"I give Chad all the credit in the world for honing in on those things, finding speed and building me fast race cars."
As impressive as his season was, Johnson said he felt there were opportunities that slipped past the team.
"We were in position to win a lot throughout the course of the year," he said. "Unfortunately, we gave a bunch away. I think we could be sitting here with a higher win total. At the end of the day we won the big prize.
"That helped us through some of those races that got away, focusing on the big (prize), knowing we had speed, making sure we were organized, had our inventory of cars, (and a) test setup ready to roll."
It was, he said, "just a well-executed year top to bottom, especially in these final 10 races.
"We didn’t leave many points on the table (in the Chase). I can look back on a few tracks and think we could have had a few more points, but it really was a strong 10 weeks.
"Last year we had eight great weeks," but finished third in points.
"Matt had nine (this year)," he said. "You have to have 10 great weeks to be the champion and we got it done this year."
MORE:
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READ: A season defined
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READ: Top 10 on-track
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WATCH: Handing out the
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Roush Fenway Racing crew chief staying put in Nationwide Series
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mike Kelley stared at a replica of the NASCAR Nationwide Series trophy, still wondering if he made the right decision.
The moment came at the end of a day-long celebration in Columbus, Ohio — home of title sponsor Nationwide Insurance — that included recognition at center court of an Ohio State men’s basketball game and an opportunity to meet two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.
The celebration also served as swan song with driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stenhouse is moving on to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2013. Kelley is staying in Nationwide.
And it was Kelley himself who made that decision.
"It’s probably one of the single hardest decisions I’ve had to make in my life."
— Mike Kelley, crew chief
“I was given opportunities in two different directions,” Kelley said. “One was to continue with Ricky, my best friend, and go chase that next step of the dream together. Or, the other was stay back with my group and be home with my family on Sunday.
“It’s probably one of the single hardest decisions I’ve had to make in my life.”
Kelley chose family over friendship, and no one is blaming him — especially not Stenhouse. They won two championships and eight races together.
But the driver isn’t shy about how he feels moving on without Kelley.
“It kind of sucks,” Stenhouse admitted.
The duo began racing together three years ago in the No. 6 car for Roush Fenway Racing.
What started with struggles and setbacks at RFR turned into triumphs and titles.
During that journey, Stenhouse and Kelley became best friends, bonding over on-track success and tough personal times.
“Brad Keselowski (with crew chief Paul Wolfe) is almost the perfect example of what it could be with me and Mike,” said Stenhouse, referring to the duo that won championships in both Nationwide and Sprint Cup.
But now it’s time for Kelley to forge a similar relationship with Trevor Bayne.
Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 winner, is moving into the No. 6 car for his first full-time season in the Nationwide Series.
Kelley has a different driver, but the same goal.
“I have to give my team and Trevor every chance to be back here next year,” Kelley said, referring to the celebration in Ohio. “And if we can do that, then that’s great. That’s our number one goal, to win this championship a third time.”
But Kelley’s past won’t be far from him.
The No. 6 team will work closely with Stenhouse’s Sprint Cup Series team in the shop and at the race track.
“We’re going to run the Nationwide program with Trevor and Ricky’s Cup team as close together as we can so that everything is helping both programs,” Kelley said. “I’m going to give my program 100 percent focus. But I’m going to keep my eye on (Stenhouse’s) deal over there. So that if something does have to change, it’s ready if I have to go there. And I think everyone in our organization is smart enough to know that it’s not just a possibility, that’s something that could happen.”
Nationwide celebration tour provides chance to raise awareness for worthy cause
COLUMBUS, Ohio – It’s getting easier for Jeff and Shannon Rockwell to smile at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
For years they’ve watched their 4-year-old daughter, Taylor, receive treatments for a life-threatening liver disease.
But on a December morning, they watched her get a playful lesson in putting from Nationwide Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
“It’s good to get her to see these things,” Jeff Rockwell said about his daughter, “and not just come to the hospital for ‘bad’ things, or things you don’t want to come for.”
Stenhouse Jr. came to the hospital with his entire team, part of a celebration tour put on by Nationwide for winning their second consecutive championship.
Rockwell said he became a NASCAR fan in the 1990s by following driver Ken Schrader and attending races in Michigan.
But interest in NASCAR waned when Taylor was born. His family had new priorities.
From birth, Taylor suffered from severe jaundice and she was diagnosed with a form of liver failure called biliary atresia.
"Without this hospital we’d be one child short. I honestly feel that."
— Shannon Rockwell, mother of three
At just three months old, Taylor had life-saving surgery.
“Without this hospital we’d be one child short,” said Shannon Rockwell, a mother of three. “I honestly feel that. Normally, if they’re not diagnosed in time, they’ll die by the age of 2. They caught it and ran tests here very quickly. And thankfully for that they were able to do the surgery.”
The Nationwide Children’s Hospital provides care to patients from all over the country regardless of a family’s income.
Last year, officials said they treated more than one million children.
Stenhouse Jr. and his crew spent time during the visit signing autographs, taking pictures and even challenging some of the kids to games of Mario Kart on Nintendo Wii.
Stenhouse Jr. said the visit provides perspective.
“We fight all day to be race car drivers and to win races,” he said. “But nothing compares to what they’re having to go through.
“It’s cool that we can provide some entertainment for their families, as obviously they’re spending a lot of time in the hospitals and a lot of time caring for their kids."
Taylor Rockwell still comes to the hospital at least three times a year for follow-up treatments.
Her parents said watching racing has served as healthy distraction as Taylor’s health has improved.
Next August will mark the first time the Nationwide Series will race on the road course at Mid-Ohio, not far from the Rockwell’s home.
Jeff Rockwell said the family would likely make the trip.
The race is sponsored by the hospital that helped care for Taylor.
“The Mid-Ohio race is going to be neat,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “It will obviously bring a lot of awareness to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which I think is huge.”
Earnhardt happy to have performance to match popularity
LAS VEGAS — Hendrick Motorsports already has a driver nicknamed “Five-Time” in Jimmie Johnson, and another known as “Four-Time” in Jeff Gordon. After Thursday, though, Dale Earnhardt Jr. figures he might have both those multiple-time Sprint Cup champions beat.
“I wonder if Jimmie and Jeff will call me ‘Ten-Time’ now,” Earnhardt said after receiving his 10th consecutive Most Popular Driver award. “I’m kind of hoping I get me a nickname.”
"… Each time you win it, it means a little bit more."
— Dale Earnhardt Jr.
He might have a point, given that he’s now tied with “Awesome” Bill Elliott as the driver who has received the award the most times in a row — although he still has some work left to catch Elliott’s overall record of 16. Fans cast more than 934,000 votes for this year’s award, which was backed by the National Motorsports Press Association. In order of finish, the other nine finalists were Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Bobby Labonte.
But once again, it was Earnhardt who took home the trophy at Thursday’s Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon, held at the Encore Theatre in Wynn Las Vegas. “I am completely humbled and honored to accept this,” he said in a short speech. It was Earnhardt’s lone turn in the spotlight this Champions Week, given that he finished 12th in final Sprint Cup points after sitting out two races with concussion symptoms, and only the top 10 make remarks during Friday night’s formal awards ceremony.
“I tell you, it’s real hard to get up there and express your emotions and tell people what it means to you when you win it repeatedly,” Earnhardt said afterward. “It gets tougher to show people and tell people how much it means to you. Because each time you win it, it means a little bit more. Words don’t do it justice to spell out what it really means to you. Getting up there on the stage to speak doesn’t really seem to measure it well enough.”
Earnhardt first claimed the award in 2003, after winning two races and finishing third in final points for Dale Earnhardt Inc. After that he endured some difficult seasons, most notably his first two campaigns with Hendrick, when he finished 25th and 21st for an organization that was winning championships with other drivers. Those results made it tough for him to trek to Champions Week to accept another Most Popular Driver award. The last two years, though, he’s had production on the race track to match his popularity.
“When we were not running really well, and we’ve had some really bad years, it was really, really hard to accept it. It’s hard to accept any kind of pat on the back when you’re not performing the way you want to perform, when the performance is the most important thing,” said Earnhardt, who won once this year and was in the thick of the title hunt until crashes and concussions scuttled his Chase.
“If you don’t have it, it was real tough to come out here and accept that award. Almost a bit of a shameful feeling, a bit of embarrassment to it. But when we run like we did [this past] year, it makes me feel proud to come out here and acknowledge and talk to the fans and tell them how I felt about the award. And I know they’re looking forward to what we can do next year, hoping we can be as competitive and take that next step.”
Earnhardt believes fans respond to his honesty, although he acknowledges his family history plays a role in his popularity. Another victory next year, and he’ll snap the tie with Elliott for most consecutive awards. But Earnhardt never takes it for granted, pointing out that Danica Patrick could present stiff competition when she begins her full-time Sprint Cup career next season, and understanding that other drivers present and future are candidates to potentially end his run.
“Danica is a great example of popularity and recognition,” he said. “But I look at guys like Tony Stewart, and even Brad [Keselowski] coming along and making a name for himself. You never know who might walk through the door tomorrow and turn the sport upside down and really ignite the fan base and really connect with the fan base. You just never know when that person could walk though the door. That could happen tomorrow.”
In the meantime, Earnhardt still chases a more elusive bigger prize — a Sprint Cup title of his own. His performance this past season raised hopes that it might one day become a reality. At 38, he feels like he has plenty of time left to try and complete that quest.
“I think drivers have the ability to be fast and be competitive well into their late 40s, even,” he said. “So I don’t feel like the window of opportunity is closing in. I look at other sports, and … especially in football, those guys are fortunate if they can stay healthy through a span of 10 years. I think in our sport, we’re really fortunate to still be productive late in our careers. Like Mark Martin — as old as he is, he’s still one of the fastest guys, one of the best qualifiers in the sport, one of the best competitors, one of the fastest pure speed guys on the circuit. I feel like if … I apply myself, I should be able to remain competitive and even be better in the future.”
Should that happen, Earnhardt might one day claim that big trophy, and be ensured of giving a speech at the banquet on Friday night. And in the process, he might earn another nickname — One-Time.
“That,” he said, “would be awesome.”