Q
RYAN NEWMAN SAID IT MIGHT BE ONLY A COUPLE OF DRIVERS RUINING IT FOR EVERYONE. DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT?
CARL EDWARDS
“I don’t know if he’s talking about me or not. I’m not a real experienced guy at this Nextel Cup speedway racing. I know there are times when I’m so thankful that someone bumped me in the rear because it helps me. I’ve never been turned around or wrecked at these places and other guys have, so all I can say is it’s in the driver’s hands. We can lift off that gas pedal and we could take it easy. If we all just try to be a little bit better, there won’t be an issue.”
Q
THE POSSIBILITY OF A SUBJECTIVE PENALTY. WILL THAT MAKE YOU MORE CAUTIOUS SUNDAY?
CARL EDWARDS
“Let me just say I’ve learned a lot about NASCAR’s penalties and their way of thinking since I’ve been down here, and what I’ve learned is that we’re all in this together. We’re trying to create a great sport, and it is a great sport, and somehow somebody has to be able to say, ‘Hey look, here is the penalty. This is what it is,’ and you have to move on. I think that’s important, but anytime you leave a door open for subjective rulings and judgment calls, it becomes a little more emotional because it’s one person judging a certain thing. I just talked to the guys up there in the hauler and they don’t want to make those calls anymore than we want them to make the calls. There’s just no easy solution.”
Q
SO IT MIGHT MAKE YOU MORE CAUTIOUS?
CARL EDWARDS
“Oh yeah, I will be more cautious. If there are more ways for someone to rule against you, and it’s subject to a judgment call, then I think inherently I’m gonna be more cautious. That’s for sure.”
Q
HOW WAS THIS LATEST PRACTICE COMPARED TO OTHERS THIS WEEK?
CARL EDWARDS
“This practice was pretty calm, I thought. There are a couple of variables because it’s hot right now and the track is really slippery, so it’s really hard to stay in that pack. When you’re tucked in right behind someone two-wide there’s not enough air right now, enough grip to have no downforce, so everyone is kind of strung out a little bit. I think that could be the biggest factor on Sunday to keep things in order.”
Q
HOW FREQUENT IS BUMP-DRAFTING IN RACE CONDITIONS LIKE SUNDAY?
CARL EDWARDS
“On Sunday night there was a lot of bump-drafting. We had a lot of grip Sunday night and I think that was one of the things that let guys make more moves and put their cars exactly where they wanted them. I think as long as a driver makes a conscious effort to minimize and be careful, it’ll be great.”
Q
HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE SUNDAY’S BUMP-DRAFTING TO YEARS PAST?
