pandr
10-15-2011, 10:34 AM
Racing against 'a thousand ways to lose'
By David Scott -charlotteoberver
Friday, Oct. 14, 2011
CONCORD, N.C. – Carl Edwards shrunk into his driver’s seat in embarrassment when he was caught speeding on pit road at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in September.
“I felt really, really small,” said Edwards.
Edwards’ speeding malfeasance in the AAA 400 moved him to the back of the field and he eventually recovered enough to finish third. But Edwards understands how important every position is: He leads the Chase points standings heading into Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
But Edwards – along with other drivers and crew chiefs – also knows that such mental mistakes can be the difference in winning a championship or spending the winter beating himself up over what might have been.
“There are a thousand ways to lose a race or mess up,” said Edwards, who starts third Saturday night in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford. “Everything you do can determine the outcome of the championship. That is why that penalty was so crushing to me.”
Edwards isn’t the only Chase driver who has come unglued – however briefly – in the first four races of the Chase. Others have included Tony Stewart (who overran his pit stall at Kansas) and Kyle Busch (who did the same thing at New Hampshire).
“All athletes by nature are pushing things to the limit,” said Dave Rogers, crew chief of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota. “That’s what they get paid for: to live on the edge. And sometimes they step over that boundary.”
The penalties taken by Edwards, Stewart and Busch are magnified because they happened in the Chase. And those mental mistakes seem to be so avoidable.
It should be easy enough to watch your car’s RPM gauge, or see the brightly painted line that separates your pit stall from the next.
Right?
“We walk such a fine line on all aspects of the track that a small error, it can be so costly,” said five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. “Our job is to make up as much time as we can on pit road.
"I don’t know what led to Carl’s mistake, if he forgot where the lines were or just missed it by a thousandth of a mile an hour. But in (those) cases ... we’re looking at the lights on our dash trying (to see) – however they are set up – if it’s all green, red or whatever it may be. You’re just staring at those little lights trying to hit it perfectly.”
Said Rogers: "A driver tries to get everything he can get out of pit road. Every once and again, it’s going to bite him.”
When a driver does make a mental error, it’s often the crew chief’s job to help him get over it. Rogers said it’s important to keep it in perspective in the overall picture of the race. Busch was penalized a lap and finished 11th.
“My role in it is to sit with him and talk through it as his friend,” said Rogers, who is in his second full season with Busch. “I’ll ask him, ‘What can I do to help you?’ I’m just letting him know we support him as a team. We’re 100 percent behind him.”
The pressures that come from the Chase can stretch team-wide. Denny Hamlin led Johnson by 15 points heading into last season’s finale at Homestead, Fla. But Hamlin was never a factor in the race, spinning early on.
Hamlin said he wasn’t mentally ready for the race and all the Chase pressures that came with it. And other drivers also noticed that Hamlin might not have been in the most ideal mental state heading into the race.
“I could see (before the race) that (Hamlin) wasn’t going to win the championship because he couldn’t hardly sit still,” said Kevin Harvick. “He was so nervous going into that race that he could hardly stand it.
“I could see it. Jimmie was gouging at it.”
Johnson finished second in the race; Hamlin 14th. And Johnson had won his fifth consecutive title.
“You can compare mistakes – mental, physical or if somebody else takes you out,” said Rogers. “At the end, it doesn’t matter how it happened to you. Because if you finish good, it’s good. If it’s a bad finish, it’s bad.”
By David Scott -charlotteoberver
Friday, Oct. 14, 2011
CONCORD, N.C. – Carl Edwards shrunk into his driver’s seat in embarrassment when he was caught speeding on pit road at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in September.
“I felt really, really small,” said Edwards.
Edwards’ speeding malfeasance in the AAA 400 moved him to the back of the field and he eventually recovered enough to finish third. But Edwards understands how important every position is: He leads the Chase points standings heading into Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
But Edwards – along with other drivers and crew chiefs – also knows that such mental mistakes can be the difference in winning a championship or spending the winter beating himself up over what might have been.
“There are a thousand ways to lose a race or mess up,” said Edwards, who starts third Saturday night in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford. “Everything you do can determine the outcome of the championship. That is why that penalty was so crushing to me.”
Edwards isn’t the only Chase driver who has come unglued – however briefly – in the first four races of the Chase. Others have included Tony Stewart (who overran his pit stall at Kansas) and Kyle Busch (who did the same thing at New Hampshire).
“All athletes by nature are pushing things to the limit,” said Dave Rogers, crew chief of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota. “That’s what they get paid for: to live on the edge. And sometimes they step over that boundary.”
The penalties taken by Edwards, Stewart and Busch are magnified because they happened in the Chase. And those mental mistakes seem to be so avoidable.
It should be easy enough to watch your car’s RPM gauge, or see the brightly painted line that separates your pit stall from the next.
Right?
“We walk such a fine line on all aspects of the track that a small error, it can be so costly,” said five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. “Our job is to make up as much time as we can on pit road.
"I don’t know what led to Carl’s mistake, if he forgot where the lines were or just missed it by a thousandth of a mile an hour. But in (those) cases ... we’re looking at the lights on our dash trying (to see) – however they are set up – if it’s all green, red or whatever it may be. You’re just staring at those little lights trying to hit it perfectly.”
Said Rogers: "A driver tries to get everything he can get out of pit road. Every once and again, it’s going to bite him.”
When a driver does make a mental error, it’s often the crew chief’s job to help him get over it. Rogers said it’s important to keep it in perspective in the overall picture of the race. Busch was penalized a lap and finished 11th.
“My role in it is to sit with him and talk through it as his friend,” said Rogers, who is in his second full season with Busch. “I’ll ask him, ‘What can I do to help you?’ I’m just letting him know we support him as a team. We’re 100 percent behind him.”
The pressures that come from the Chase can stretch team-wide. Denny Hamlin led Johnson by 15 points heading into last season’s finale at Homestead, Fla. But Hamlin was never a factor in the race, spinning early on.
Hamlin said he wasn’t mentally ready for the race and all the Chase pressures that came with it. And other drivers also noticed that Hamlin might not have been in the most ideal mental state heading into the race.
“I could see (before the race) that (Hamlin) wasn’t going to win the championship because he couldn’t hardly sit still,” said Kevin Harvick. “He was so nervous going into that race that he could hardly stand it.
“I could see it. Jimmie was gouging at it.”
Johnson finished second in the race; Hamlin 14th. And Johnson had won his fifth consecutive title.
“You can compare mistakes – mental, physical or if somebody else takes you out,” said Rogers. “At the end, it doesn’t matter how it happened to you. Because if you finish good, it’s good. If it’s a bad finish, it’s bad.”