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Last year Carl Edwards lost the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship by one win. This year he hasn’t exactly picked up where he left off. He is currently tenth in the standings and in the Chase for the Sprint Cup but he needs to get one or more wins to insure he makes the Chase. Those wins will also give him additional points in the Chase. Carl Edwards knows better than anyone how important those points will be. Now is the time to do just that. This weekend is the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.
Dover International Speedway is a one mile true oval racetrack. The track surface is concrete and there is 24 degrees of banking in the corners with 9 degrees on the front and backstretch. The race is 400 miles or 400 laps.
Carl Edwards has had an up and down year. He has eight top 10 finishes this year out of 12 races but he also has two finishes 30th or worse. With good finishes about every other week, his season doesn’t look headed in the right direction. Looking at the Driver Ratings for Dover, Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with a dominating 118.6. Matt Kenseth has a rating of 110.0 followed by Carl Edwards 106.5 and Greg Biffle 105.4. Roush Fenway Racing appears to have an edge on all drivers at this track based on the driver ratings. Matt Kenseth won this race last year.
Every week we point out the Driver Ratings and use them to pick who will most likely have a good week. This week, Driver’s Average Finish at Dover will have a major bearing on who is good. This is where we discover why Carl Edwards is called “Concrete Carl”!. “Concrete Carl” has an average finish at Dover International Speedway of 7.3. The next best driver is Jimmie Johnson with an average finish of 9.3. When you start a race all but guaranteed a top ten run it has to boost your confidence immensely. Averaging a finish of seventh is mind blowing.
If Carl Edwards is to achieve the level of success he had last year he needs to start winning and now is the time to start.
This race is the last race of the season that will be broadcast by Fox Sports. Dick Berggren will give his final pit report during this race because he is retiring from calling the races after 30 years. Join www.RantSports.com in wishing Dr. Dick Berggren well in his retirement.
If you cannot make it to Dover International Speedway you can watch it on Fox this Sunday at 1 PM ET.
Brian Berg Jr. is the Lead NASCAR writer for www.RantSports.com
Follow him on Twitter @brian_jr1 during the race and throughout the week for more NASCAR news and commentary. On Facebook at NASCAR News and Commentary
Driver Rating at Dover
Jimmie Johnson…………………… 118.6
Matt Kenseth……………………….. 110.0
Carl Edwards………………………. 106.5
Greg Biffle………………………….. 105.4
Kyle Busch…………………………. 102.6
Kurt Busch……………………………. 97.8
Mark Martin…………………………… 96.1
Ryan Newman……………………….. 91.1
Jeff Burton…………………………… 90.0
Jeff Gordon………………………….. 89.2
Clint Bowyer…………………………. 88.1
Martin Truex Jr………………………. 88.1
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2011 races (14 total) at Dover.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2012 Top 12 at Dover International Speedway
| Driver |
Races |
Poles |
Wins |
Top Fives |
Top 10s |
DNFs |
Average Finish |
Driver Rating |
||
|
1 |
Greg Biffle |
19 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
10 |
1 |
12.3 |
105.4 |
|
|
2 |
Matt Kenseth |
26 |
1 |
2 |
12 |
17 |
4 |
12.2 |
110.0 |
|
|
3 |
Denny Hamlin |
12 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
20.7 |
78.7 |
|
|
4 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
24 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
1 |
18.0 |
75.6 |
|
|
5 |
Jimmie Johnson |
20 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
14 |
2 |
9.3 |
118.6 |
|
|
6 |
Martin Truex Jr. |
12 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
17.2 |
88.1 |
|
|
7 |
Kevin Harvick |
22 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
9 |
1 |
16.6 |
79.7 |
|
|
8 |
Kyle Busch |
14 |
0 |
2 |
7 |
9 |
2 |
13.3 |
102.6 |
|
|
9 |
Tony Stewart |
26 |
0 |
2 |
10 |
15 |
3 |
13.0 |
70.5 |
|
|
10 |
Carl Edwards |
15 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
11 |
0 |
7.3 |
106.5 |
|
|
11 |
Brad Keselowski |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
18.3 |
73.9 |
|
|
12 |
Clint Bowyer |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
14.3 |
88.1 |
* – Based on last 14 races at Dover International Speedway
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