Edwards brakes for test session
Running lap after monotonous lap is a necessary evil when fine-tuning a car, trying new parts or testing tires.
Carl Edwards was eager to log his last lap Thursday in a test session for Goodyear at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It closed out a NASCAR season in which Edwards won nine Sprint Cup races, including the Las Vegas event, and finished runner-up to season champion Jimmie Johnson.
Edwards leaves today for London to represent the United States in Sunday’s Race of Champions event at Wembley Stadium.
Soon after returning from his first trip to Europe, the 29-year-old driver and his fiancee, Dr. Katherine Downey, will jet off for a vacation in Bangkok, Thailand.
They plan to bike throughout Thailand and are set to get married next month in Edwards’ hometown of Columbia, Mo.
“I always saw myself as being a single guy, and then I met this woman who knocks me off my feet,” he said. “It’s calmed me down quite a bit.”
Although he will compete full time in the Cup and Nationwide series next year, Edwards can look forward to having more time off.
NASCAR has banned testing next year at all sanctioned tracks but will allow Goodyear to use select teams — usually one from each automaker participating in the series — to help determine the best tire compound for a track’s next race.
He was joined in the Las Vegas test session by Hendrick Motorsports’ Mark Martin (Chevrolet), Penske Racing’s David Stremme (Dodge) and Red Bull Racing’s Brian Vickers (Toyota).
The test ban eliminated two-day sessions scheduled for January at Daytona, Las Vegas and Fontana, Calif.
Edwards thinks the ban should give him at least two more weeks off next year. “I think it’s the greatest thing in the world for me,” he said.
The test should give Goodyear and the four teams a jump on preparing for the March 1 Shelby 427 Cup race at Las Vegas.
• NASCAR — Bobby Labonte, winner of 21 Cup races and the 2000 series title, has left Petty Enterprises. The team, which sold controlling interest to Boston Ventures in June, is negotiating a merger with Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
There is speculation Labonte could take over Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 41 Dodge.
• NHRA — Larry Dixon has bought out the remainder of his contract with Don Prudhomme Racing and is expected to join Alan Johnson’s new Top Fuel team.
Rookie Spencer Massey will replace Dixon, a 42-year-old who won two NHRA championships in 15 seasons with Prudhomme.
Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.
