Carl Edwards, not Jimmie Johnson, was NASCAR’s best this season
Call me crazy … OK, don’t bother, I’m certifiable, and perhaps biased, too, being from Missouri and all, but I think Carl Edwards of Columbia, Mo., was the best driver and had the best season in NASCAR’s top series in 2008.
Nevermind that the Sprintel Cup title is in the books as Jimmie Johnson’s record-tying third in a row … and also remember that I am on record as believing and supporting the theory that Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knaus, is a genius … and I’ll also add right now that Johnson is far and away The Best driver of his generation and maybe one of the best ever, with three titles, two runners-up and a pair of fifth place finishes in just seven seasons on NASCAR’s top circuit. NASCAR is more competitive than ever, and to have such palmares in this day and age is astonishing.
So, major props to Johnson, Knaus and the boys at Hendrick Motorsports.
However, the telling stat to me was offered by a reader, and it’s a jaw dropper.
Carl Edwards’ average finish this season was 9.5, a full spot better than Johnson’s average finish of 10.5.
Again, Edwards - 9.5; Johnson - 10.5.
So, under the Chase format, the best driver for the entire season didn’t the series title.
Yeah, I know sports history is littered with teams who excel in the regular season but poop out in the postseason — I covered a few in my previous life as a hockey scribe — but NASCAR’s Chase isn’t really a playoff in the traditional sense. It’s a 10-race mini-series in which 12 (formerly 10) drivers compete with the rest of the league’s also-rans and bottom feeders.
So, here you have a system in which the driver who has the most wins (9), the most top-5s (19) and the most top-10s (27) ends up in second place, 69 points behind Johnson — the winner of 7 races, with 15 top-5s and 22 top-10s.
Again, I give full props to Johnson for winning his third consecutive title and joining the great Cale Yarborough as the only drivers to accomplish a Pat Riley ‘three-peat.’ This is not to diminish Johnson’s achievement or the genius of Knaus or the excellent work of the pit crew, the behind-the-scenes shop guys and engineers at Hendrick. They had a marvelous and great season, and they won the title fair and square and performed the best and gained the most points under these circumstances.
Still, my cycling cohort Edwards had a better year, and has only second place to show for it.
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My husband recently travelled to the Charlotte area and toured both Hendrick Motorsports and Roush-Fenway Racing, and one trip to each helps us understand why Jimmie Johnson now has 3 Championships under his belt, and why Carl is still waiting on #1. There is no doubt in my mind that Carl IS the better driver of the two and the numbers clearly show that this season he was THE MAN, but Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports has a level of professionalism that Roush can learn from. Case in point….When Jamie McMurray was leading Carl late in the season, and it was obvious netierh would win the race, team driving should have taken over and Carl should have finished ahead of Jamie (and I promise you Jimmie would have finished ahead of Junior or Jeff if need be) to earn those 4 extra points for Carl…. In addition, if the Kenseth/Edwards feud was taking place at Hendrick Motorsports, Kenseth would be looking for a different ride, because he is not willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. All in all, I really HATE the Chase format and long for the good old days when all 43 drivers fought until the very last race to actually WIN THE RACE!!!!!!!!! If they would get back to a place where competitors were rewarded for racing to win, the excitement that was lost when Cale, the Allison brothers, DW and Dale Sr. left the sport would return. That’s what I love about Carl…..he drives for the WIN…..Go #99 - 2009 IS ALL YOURS!!!!!!!!!