We saw another incident between teammates Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth that has people asking if there is more to this than just hard racing. The key is being in tune with what the situation is currently. Are these guys hanging out together and communicating or are they standoffish? Have they genuinely mended their fences or do they just merely tolerate one another?
If it’s a case of toleration, then yes, owner Jack Roush needs to get in there immediately and not let it get even more intense between these two. Both drivers are in the Chase, and this is the last thing Roush-Fenway Racing needs is these guys focusing on taking each other out on the track.
Think back to Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace or Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte. Those were guys that were close friends, yet still had several on-track situations that could have ruined their friendship. They were able to get past it, though, because to a certain degree, both Rusty and Terry knew that was just how Dale raced.
I think this is some of that same situation. Carl is a very aggressive driver. Like Dale, he’ll drive a car deep into a corner, and if a guy ahead of him doesn’t do the same, well, then it leads to contact. If there really is animosity there between Carl and Matt, you can count on Jack sitting them down so that it doesn’t escalate.
Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are another pair of teammates we’ve seen have on-track issues in the past. The key there is for the most part, both guys recognize it as racing incidents. Once the race is done, Jeff and Jimmie seem able to put whatever happened on the track behind them and move on. I mean, those two really do have a good friendship.
The other thing that can’t be overlooked is making sure both crew chiefs and the teams of the No. 99 and the No. 17 know what is going on. Everyone needs to be on the same page, and there can’t be any in-fighting. I’ve been down that road during my career as crew chief. You don’t need the guys inside the shop having problems with each other either.
Again, the risk/reward here is enormous. Both Matt and Carl are in the Chase. There is a lot on the line right now. With eight races to go, they can’t let anything take their focus off the ultimate prize — winning the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.
