NASCAR Cup Series

Will Edwards, Kenseth work as a team?

Published Oct. 28, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Roush Fenway Racing’s rise to the top of the standings could make for an interesting season finale come Homestead-Miami Speedway.

With just 14 points separating Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, will it be brains or brawn that perseveres four races from now?

It would be difficult to find a driver as physically fit as Edwards. The 32-year-old is nearly as renowned for his six-pack abs as he is for his racing prowess. And yes, there was the memorable confrontation between Edwards and Kenseth at Martinsville Speedway four years ago that unfortunately was ready-made for TMZ — and all caught on tape.

Kenseth still doesn’t know “exactly what all triggered that.” But certainly Edwards, now the father of two, has mellowed significantly since then.

“First of all, I’m glad he just cocked (his fist) and didn’t fire it because that would have hurt,” Kenseth said. “I saw the still photos of that the other day, and I might still be laying out there somewhere.

“I think that our relationship has obviously changed a lot through the years. I think we have a much better understanding of each other’s personality and how we look at things ... we’ve never spun each other out or wrecked each other. We just had some disagreements, I think, throughout that season. ... But I think things have been good. We get along fine. He’s certainly been a good teammate. He brings a lot to the table for the organization. The better the cars run, it helps all of us run better and elevates how good we can run, so everything has been fine.”

While their accomplishments in the Cup are similar — Edwards has 19 career wins, while Kenseth has 21 victories — the drivers’ styles are very different behind the wheel.

Edwards constantly relies on crew chief Bob Osborne to choose adjustments and call the race. Kenseth has the confidence to make suggestions from behind the wheel to his crew chief, Jimmy Fennig. Considering that both Kenseth and Fennig have won a championship, there’s a wealth of experience to pull from as they make decisions by committee.

While Edwards respects the talent level of the drivers in the Chase, he understands the threat that exists under his own racing roof.

Edwards — who acknowledged that the No. 99 team will rely on data collected from Kenseth’s sixth-place run in the spring for this weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway — chose his words carefully when describing his teammate. If there’s a track among the past four where Edwards needs to rely on the knowledge of his teammates, it would be Martinsville, where his average finish is 16.9.

“I know how tough Matt can be,” Edwards said. “He could literally go win three out of the next four races and dominate this thing.”

If so, could the exchange of information evaporate?

No one has experienced more incestuous title battles, and endured them, than has five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has contended against Jeff Gordon in 2007, and Mark Martin and Gordon again in 2009.

Johnson knows there’s a lot of pride that exists for an organization as a whole, but in the end, there can be just one victor.

“As time goes on, it gets more and more difficult to have great team spirit and continue to be that teammate,” Johnson said. “Jeff and I — and even Mark Martin, for that matter — have handled it as good as you possibly can and kept the open-notebook situation going and (have been) respectful on track, and all those things that you would hope teammates would do.

“But it is a weird scenario where you have the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other. And what got those guys to where they are today is working together as a team, and that is what worked for Jeff, Mark and I in the different years. There is a battle there, but fortunately all that stuff builds to a race, and then in the race you are your own independent team.

“And there still is enough that takes place in the course of the race that an individual team is responsible for, that we have found separation in that. Call a better race, make better adjustments, whatever it is to separate yourself from your teammate, so it is in your mind more (on) Friday, Saturday. But Sunday when you go racing, you are on your own path at that point, and things shake out.”

Kenseth and Edwards are well matched over the final three races. While Edwards has the upper hand, that could change in an instant at Martinsville. So if the roles indeed reverse, will Edwards take the high road, or will the strategy be to win at any cost?

“There’s always that temptation in competition,” Edwards said. “As much as we share and as good a relationship we have, we are competitors, and we want to beat that 17 team just as bad as anyone else. But we’re not to the point in the season yet where we can really divide and go race one another.

“We still have to help one another, and we can still gain more by helping one another now and trying to succeed based on that help. So, right now, we’re working as a team even this weekend. If we can work together and help each other, really all the way up to the race, I think it’s better for both of us.”

Edwards is fortunate that Kenseth has a reputation of being more cerebral than emotional. He’s not the type of driver who will dump another competitor — particularly a teammate — for a win.

Then again, it has been eight years since his last Cup title.

“If it stays one-two through this stretch, there’s gonna be a big fight at Homestead,” Kenseth said sarcastically. “There’s so much racing to do that I haven’t even thought about that. Nothing has changed. All of the teams are working together the same. All of the drivers are getting along the same and working together and doing all of that, so I don’t foresee anything ever happening to change that.”

But who wins the contest if the title comes down to Homestead?

“Who do you think?” Kenseth said with a laugh.

NEW BIZ

Stewart Haas Racing is expected to announce the addition of Quicken Loans as a sponsor for Ryan Newman and the No. 39 Chevrolet on Tuesday.

Newman, 33, is in his third season with SHR. His last win came from the pole at Loudon in July, and he is 12th in the Chase after an unfortunate streak of bad luck in the postseason.

Quicken Loans Inc. holds the distinction as the largest online retail mortgage lender in the U.S. and one of the top five home lenders in the nation.

NUMBERS GAME

0: Drivers in the Ford camp who have wins at Martinsville Speedway

10: Wins by Dodges at Martinsville, most recently Rusty Wallace, spring 2004

17: Races since the last Ford won at Martinsville (Kurt Busch, 2002)

47 of 124 Martinsville races have been won by a Chevrolet

SAY WHAT

Tony Stewart on his choice of Hallloween costumes:

“I’m not going to go as one of the Busch brothers, not ’cause I don’t like ’em, just ’cause I’m not sure that’s it’s a popular ... I’d probably pick one of the beer sponsor drivers! At least I’d have something that would match my can. That’s the only thing I could think of right off-hand. I’ve never been to a Halloween party yet that we haven’t enjoyed adult beverages during the evening, so at least it would match. That’s the only thing I can think of.”