Sprint Cup driver Carl Edwards hasn’t had great luck at the Coca-Cola 600. But he hopes the good karma he came across last weekend — when fans voted him into the All-Star Race — will pay dividends on Sunday.
"Thanks to the fans, we got to run in the All-Star Race, and we got a really good feel for what we need to work on for the Coke 600," Edwards said.
The two races share an evening start time, and crew chief Bob Osborne thinks that the additional time on the track, combined with the similar racing conditions, will benefit Edwards at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
"We learned a lot from running during the same time of night that the 600 will be ending this weekend," Osborne said.
But last week’s 150-mile sprint does little to prepare him for the demands of the longest course on the circuit.
"It’s our longest race of the year, so we have to be prepared for that mentally, physically and mechanically," Edwards said. "I know this team is up for the challenge."
With four career top-five finishes and seven top-10s in the race, it’s difficult to argue Edwards hasn’t been ready in the past. He’s placed third twice at Charlotte — in the 2005 and 2006 Coke 600s — but a victory in the race has eluded him.
This would be as good a time as any for Edwards to score his first. Sitting in 10th place in the Sprint Cup standings, Edwards is treading on the fringe of the Chase.
And no fans can vote him into that one.
