Edwards apologizes for his latest run-in with Kenseth
ATLANTA
The war of words between teammates Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth continues.
Edwards took offense at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday to some bumping by Matt Kenseth and made quite a scene in front of TV cameras after the Subway 500. Matt Kenseth, in return, said that Edwards has been acting odd this season, with unusual mood swings.
Edwards has apologized: “I was definitely wrong for showing my anger and putting on an aggressive display toward Matt Kenseth after the race at Martinsville.
“I definitely want to apologize to my fans, to Matt Kenseth, to everyone at Roush-Fenway for letting it come to that. That was definitely the wrong thing to do.”
The Edwards-Matt Kenseth run-in, which wasn’t a one-time incident, is contrary to the more harmonious teammate approach taken by Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Edwards agreed that he and the other Jack Roush drivers need to work better together.
“Hendrick Motorsports and those people we compete against do a better job of having a team spirit than we’ve done lately,” Edwards said. “I’m just as guilty of that as anyone.
“What led up to the deal wasn’t just Sunday’s on-track incident, where I bumped into Matt and then he bumped into me harder. As a team, we need to do a better job of working together.
“I’ve won three races this year, and when I win, people call and congratulate and are happy for me … it’s just the wrong people. I’ve got Jimmie Johnson calling me every time I win to say ‘Good job.’ My teammates aren’t the ones doing that.
“I’m just as guilty. I haven’t been as happy for their success as I could be.
“We just need to have a little more team spirit. I feel bad about what I did. I feel bad I got sucked into that turning into such a bad deal.”
Edwards hopes to be in better spirits this weekend, particularly if he clinches the Busch series title at Memphis Motorsports Park, but it’s up to Roush to settle things between his two drivers.
“Matt Kenseth and I are completely different people, but we both are extremely competitive,” Edwards said. “Matt is a champion. He’s won tons of races. He’s a good person. I just think we need to communicate better.
“I don’t think Matt, voluntarily, has said two sentences to me in the last six months. We just don’t talk a lot. We don’t know one another well enough … and it’s my opinion that’s what precipitated this stuff - lack of communication.
“I’m ready to do whatever it takes to understand Matt and be a good teammate.”
The incident “was a worst-case scenario,” Edwards said. “I had an alternator quit at about lap 195, so I shut all my fans off. I breathed exhaust fumes all day and had a massive headache.
“I was frustrated, and I was walking out thinking how frustrated I was … and I looked up and standing right there in front of me is Matt.”
The pressure of this year’s championship Chase also was on everyone’s mind.
“We haven’t won 15 races this year (as Hendrick’s teams have), and we don’t have five guys in the chase,” Edwards said. “So people aren’t as content as they have been.
“But I think it’s just competition. All of us - myself included - just have to take a step back and say ‘We can’t let this get to us.’”
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