In the three races held so far since the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup began, Tony Stewart has visited victory lane twice and Kurt Busch once. Kevin Harvick may be tied with him atop the championship points standings heading into Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, the fourth race of the 10 that make up the Chase, but Carl Edwards has quietly been the hottest driver week in and week out since the Chase began at Chicagoland Speedway a few weeks ago.
You see, Edwards in the only driver among the 12 that make up this year’s Chase field to finish in the top-10 in all three races so far. As a result of his consistent and steady performance, Edwards has scored more points so far in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup than anyone else.
Edwards may have started the Chase with somewhat of a deficit, as Harvick and Kyle Busch began NASCAR’s 10-race “postseason” tied for first, but Edwards is now the driver tied with Harvick at the top, and given his stats of being the most consistent driver three races in, Edwards is happy with the position he finds himself in as the circuit travels to Kansas Speedway – a racetrack Edwards considers to be his “home” track – even if he his sharing that top spot with another driver at the moment.
“We led the points, I think, for 13 or 15 weeks,” Edwards said of his performance over the course of the season so far. “I feel that our team, we know we can lead the points. We know we can finish well enough to stay up front, but our strategy hasn’t changed much.”
While Edwards is comfortable that he and his No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing team know how to be consistent and run up front, the driver does acknowledge that he probably needs to make at least one or two more visits to victory lane before the season runs out if he hopes to claim that first Sprint Cup champion’s trophy.
“I do believe that the winner of the championship is going to win a race or two in the Chase,” Edwards said recently.
He also believes that, considering how he’s kept his No. 99 car near the front on a fairly regular basis, those wins will come.
“If you’re going to have to run so well, you will win a race or two, Edwards said.
Edwards next chance to capture his first 2011 Chase win will come this weekend at Kansas, Edwards’ home track. The race is scheduled to take the green flag at approximately 2 p.m. ET on Sunday. The race can be seen live on ESPN.
Amanda Vincent is a feature writer for SpeedWeekly magazine and SpeedWeekly.net
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