Carl Edwards: A red-hot finish to 2010...but questions as he heads to Daytona for 2011

   Carl Edwards and car owner Jack Roush: 2011 is yet to get underway, but already there are questions about 2012 (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  

 
   (Updated)

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   Just how much is Carl Edwards worth?
   Just how much does Carl Edwards figure he's worth?
   The new NASCAR Sprint Cup season hasn't even gotten to the starting line at Daytona yet, but all of a sudden there's another big question looming on the horizon.
   Edwards may be one of the hottest stock car men negotiating a new contract this season.
   But he's not the only one.
   How about signing Mark Martin? He's going to be a free agent too at the end of the season.
   It appears that a number of NASCAR stars will be looking to sign new contracts this season….and that some rival team owners might be looking to pick up one for their own roster.
   How much is a good stock car driver worth these days?
   Two points:
   The economic climate in the NASCAR world is still tough, and most of these guys signed their last contract back when times were good….so their next year’s paychecks may well be smaller.
   Consider that the man who had the best overall record last season, Kevin Harvick, is still trying to fill out his sponsorships for 2011, and the new season is only a week or so away.
    And then how many team owners have deep enough pockets to play any bidding game?
  
  

   Tony Stewart (L) won two NASCAR championships with Joe Gibbs (R). But Gibbs hasn't won a title since Stewart left. Is Gibbs perhaps interested in making a run at Carl Edwards for a fourth Sprint Cup team? (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  

   Another question: how will the sport's four car makers play this game?
   Chevrolet would seem to be very well stocked, and no room if any for newcomers.
   Dodge is down to just Roger Penske and his two teams, so there is room there.
   Ford just lost two Richard Petty teams, so there's room there.
   But Toyota may be the wild card in all this. Joe Gibbs has three top-notch teams, and the NASCAR limit is four, so there's space available. What Gibbs and Toyota do may drive this game.
  
     Among those to keep an eye on this spring:
   Clint Bowyer’s contract will be up at Richard Childress'.
   Jamie McMurray just signed a new contract with Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates, and Juan Pablo Montoya is expected to get a new contract too, though Montoya hasn't signed anything yet.
   Martin and car owner Rick Hendrick seem solid, and so do Bowyer and Childress.
   However over in the Ford camp, it's triple witching hour at Jack Roush's headquarters, with Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth – Ford’s three biggest stars – all apparently free agents at the end of 2011, unless they sign new contracts with Roush. And sponsorships there are still up in the air, principally the UPS package; David Ragan, who carries UPS logos for Roush, is something of a question, as is UPS, and considering how strong rival FedEx’ Denny Hamlin is running, pressure is certainly on.
   No wonder Geoff Smith, head of Roush Racing for so many years, more than 20, is planning to spend as much time as he can this year on the Colorado ski slopes. It looks to be up to new Roush boss Steve Newmark and the lawyers to keep all this together.
 
   Edwards would seem to be the top free agent in the garage when Daytona opens SpeedWeeks in a few days.
   Joe Gibbs made a run at Edwards during the last contract period, but Edwards stayed loyal to the man who gave him his big break. And there’s little reason to see why Edwards would leave Roush; together over six full years now, Edwards has 18 wins and 70 top-fives. Plus, Edwards has made the chase five of the six times, and nearly won the championship in 2005, and had a good shot at winning it this past season.
  And Edwards is only 31.

   Roush says he doesn't plan to get involved in any of the negotiations: "Preliminary (contract) discussions are underway with David and Carl and Greg, and I believe that last year we made an agreement to go forward with Matt.
   "But Jack Roush is not front-line on negotiations with the drivers; I try to keep my focus with the drivers not based on competitive commercial interests but the things we can do to improve our competition interests on the race track.
   "Fact is I don't know what our negotiation windows are with our drivers; I don't need to know. Because Steve Newmark and the others in his area are looking to that.
   "When I need to sign something or make an agreement to something that's on the table, they'll bring it to me.
   "Until then, I am blissfully ignorant."
   So does Roush expect his full line up back for 2012?
  "I expect everyone back," Roush says.
   "I do the best I can every day; I provide the best things I can for our drivers. And if they think they have the opportunity to do better with somebody else, I have to respect that…even though it may not be in our teams' best interest."

    Isn't Roush actually in the best negotiating position with these guys? Richard Childress' roster appears filled, and so is Rick Hendrick's, and Chip Ganassi doesn't appear interested in expanding past two teams. Only that possible fourth Joe Gibbs team seems any option.
    And Roush would certainly like to get all these negotiations finished and out of the way as quickly as possible, to avoid the distractions.
    So a hot start at Daytona might be the best medicine.
     "This is a people game, and a very technical game," Roush says slowly.
   "I know there is some apprehension, or speculation, about what happened with Hendrick (the off-season shakeup), and what happened with (Dale Earnhardt) Junior and Mark (Martin) (in the crew chief swap).
    "Now Mark and Junior and Jimmie had lackluster performances at Daytona (in the tests two weeks ago)….but they'll probably go back and finish 1-2-3 in the Daytona 500.
   "But they made a (big) team change between (Jeff) Gordon's program and Jimmie Johnson's program, and that surprised me.
    "But once you identify the weakness, then you've got the prospect of fixing it.
   "So if they were in fact frustrated by some things not working that well, then this bodes well for their future."

  Martin of course is the stock car tour’s elder statesman, at 52. But he won five times in 2009 and nearly won the championship, and he seems quite solid at Hendrick’s, in some role whatever. Martin insists he’s going to be racing something in 2012, though he doesn’t want to get sidetracked with that project quite yet.
  Bowyer, 31, and Montoya, 35, will almost certainly stay where they are.
  Biffle, at 41, will likely stay too. After all Roush gave his his big break too and he’s been hot lately. And like Biffle himself points out, there aren’t a lot of options out in the market place anyway at the moment.  Biffle and Roush were up at 3M headquarters last week for several days of sponsorship negotiations.
  Jeff Burton, now 43, has found a nice home with Childress. And while he may not be winning at a prodigious pace, he’s still a solid commodity, certainly a calming influence in that camp. And he’s got some fire in the belly – See Texas.
  One curious question: Brian Vickers. He’s just 26, and he’s back in the saddle again, after being medically sidelined last spring. He was off to a hot 2010, and he made the playoffs in 2009, and he’s still quite young…and he’s extremely polished, as well as worldly-wise. Still it may be time for him too to sign a new contract. And with new teammate Kasey Kahne only on hand for this one season, before moving over to Hendrick’s, team manager Jay Frye is already keep his eyes open there.
  

NASCAR 2011 TV Times
(ET; all tentative)

 
Feb. 12       Daytona/Bud Shootout (8 pm)
Feb. 20       Daytona 500 (1 pm)
Feb. 27       Phoenix (3 pm)
March 6     Las Vegas (3 pm)
March 20   Bristol (1 pm)
March 27   California (3 pm)
April 3       Martinsville (1 pm)
April 9       Texas (7:30 pm)
April 17     Talladega (1 pm)
April 30     Richmond (7:30 pm)
May 7         Darlington (7:30 pm)
May 15       Dover (1 pm)
May 21       Charlotte All-Star (7:30 pm)
May 29       Charlotte (6 pm)
June 5         Kansas (1 pm)
June 12       Pocono (1 pm)
June 19       Michigan (1 pm)
June 26       Sonoma/Infineon (3 pm)
July 2         Daytona (7:30 pm)
July 9         Kentucky (7:30 pm)
July 17       New Hampshire (1 pm)
July 31       Indianapolis (1 pm)
Aug. 7        Pocono (1 pm)
Aug. 14      Watkins Glen (1 pm)
Aug. 21       Michigan (1 pm)
Aug. 27       Bristol (7:30 pm)
Sept. 4        Atlanta (7:30 pm)
Sept. 10      Richmond (7:30 pm)
Sept. 18      Chicagoland (2 pm)
Sept. 25      New Hampshire (2 pm)
Oct. 2         Dover (2 pm)
Oct. 9         Kansas (2 pm)
Oct. 15       Charlotte (7:30 pm)
Oct. 23       Talladega (2 pm)
Oct. 30       Martinsville (1:30 pm)
Nov. 6        Texas (3 pm)
Nov. 13      Phoenix (3 pm)
Nov. 20      Homestead-Miami (3 pm)

 Carl Edwards: NASCAR's top free agent for 2012? (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)