The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has passed the halfway mark in the regular-race schedule this season leading up to the 10-race Chase for the Championship Cup season finale.
This is typically the best part of the NASCAR season — short of the Chase itself, of course — because the racing becomes more intense and heated, not just with the weather but with all of the drivers and race teams pressing to make it into the top 12 who will qualify to race for the season championship.
Here is what Kansas City-area NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, who calls Columbia, Mo., home and is the current Sprint Cup Series points leader, had to say about the race for the Chase and his chances in a recent Sporting News interview:
“We have been balancing two things. One is running well enough that we have a big cushion and are in the Chase. Two, once we feel like we are there almost, we want to go out and take not necessarily risks driving but risks with some setups and engines and pit call and stuff like that. I have never been in this position at this point of the season.