HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Tony Stewart has run his mouth for almost a month trying to rattle Carl Edwards in the race to NASCAR’s championship.
Edwards has tuned it all out, and on Saturday he did his talking on the track.
Edwards won the pole for today’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where the Sprint Cup Series championship will be decided.
Edwards goes into the race with a three-point lead over Stewart, who qualified 15th.
One of the two will bring an end to Jimmie Johnson’s five-year run, and the pole-winning run seemed to indicate that Edwards is on pace.
Is it all lining up for Edwards to win his first Cup title?
“I don’t know that I believe in fate, but I do believe that things happen for a reason,” Edwards said. “I do believe that whatever you encounter, you have to treat as if that’s just the way it’s supposed to be. But, yeah, this is going really well so far and, hopefully, this helps us all race. We didn’t need to qualify poorly, get a poor pit stall, have some little thorn in our side the whole race, so this will hopefully help us for the whole event.”
But Stewart, a two-time champion, cautioned there are still 400 miles to be run.
“Don’t start etching his name on the trophy yet,” said Stewart, who is bidding to become the first owner/driver to win the title since Alan Kulwicki in 1992. “I’m not known to be much of a qualifier, so 15th – I’m pretty content.”
Edwards turned a lap at 175.467 mph in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford, besting Martin Truex Jr. and Enumclaw’s Kasey Kahne, the winner last week at Phoenix.
Vancouver, Wash., native Greg Biffle qualified eighth.
As Stewart won four of the first seven races in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup to get within reach of Edwards in the points standings, he tried a variety of one-liners and verbal jabs to get inside Edwards’ head. He kept it up Saturday after qualifying, and admitted he’s had fun the past month.
“He’s like an easy target. It’s like bringing a knife to a gunfight,” Stewart said. “He is a fun guy to pick at. He makes himself an easy target …”
For Stewart, though, passing Edwards for the title just got more difficult.
STENHOUSE JR. WINS NATIONWIDE TITLE
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who nearly lost his job 18 months ago, won the Nationwide Series title. He clinched his first championship about 30 laps into the 200-lap race at Homestead, securing the title when six cars officially dropped out of the race.
He finished second behind Brad Keselowski.
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