Fans View #1 – Biggest Story of 2011 For Edwards

If there was something to talk about this season, I think Carl Edwards was part of the discussion.  The biggest story, in my opinion didn’t come when he and Stewart battled it out for the title, all the talk came in a span from May to August.  When the media was taking every little rumor and speculating on where Carl Edwards was going to go next year, he was still keeping his mind straight on the track and scoring solid finishes.  Dale Earnhardt Jr., maybe the most popular driver but when his contract is up, even with the rant and rave of 2006 when he left Dale Earnhardt Inc, to go to Hendrick; his deal did not bring as much media rave as Carl Edwards’ contract negotiations this season.

Once again Jack Roush and Ford won out on the deal as the driver decided to stay put with his current race team and contend for future titles on the track.  Everyone had said that Edwards was going to sign with Joe Gibbs Racing and there was one helluva deal laid on the table for Edwards to sign his name to from Home Depot and Toyota.  But apparently at the last minute Ford Racing wanted Edwards even more than Gibbs and Toyota did.  Sure, having three superstar level drivers on the same team would have looked good, but truthfully it goes back to the old saying “too many roosters in the house.”

I think that all of the media was focused on Edwards leaving and when it came time to make the decision, Edwards made the observations and wisely decided to stick to the team he was with.  Even with the big deal put on the plate by Gibbs, Home Depot and Toyota; Edwards made all those that said he was leaving look very stupid.  Two days before he announced his deal with Roush, an ESPN writer had said he knew that it was all but done, NASCAR rumor writer Mike Mulhern had said he had heard in New Hampshire two weeks before that it was a done deal for Edwards to move to Gibbs.  But did he?  No.

It shows that the media likes to talk and so does teams around the garage.  The news really stood out when Edwards made his announcement to stay with Jack Roush and his organization.  He and Jack Roush have been together since 2003, and have had success through the hard times.  Roush even went down the road of signing Edwards’ crew chief Bob Osborne to a long-term deal to help seal the deal and keep Edwards there.

So when you really look at what went on during this time period, Edwards’ contract was one of the biggest stories overall this season in NASCAR, and not just for himself.