Welcome to Warped Wednesday. On this, we'll put out the rush to judgment mat, go a little too far and have a little fun. Will it be funny? Sometimes. Will it be crazy and largely unbelievable? Probably. Will not everyone get it? Definitely. That means this isn't real.
Carl Edwards has spent the last month searching for ways to avoid a repeat of Speedweeks when the Sprint Cup Series returns to Daytona International Speedway this weekend and he thinks he's found the solution. But will NASCAR allow him to use it?
Edwards' troubles at Daytona actually started in January when he was involved in a crash during testing. They intensified in February when he was in crashes in the Sprint Unlimited, and during practice, his Budweiser Dual and the Daytona 500. In all, Edwards was involved in five Daytona crashes.
What's the plan for the Coke Zero 400? Edwards has worked with crew chief Jimmy Fennig to install armored plates in his car in lieu of the foam that normally sits just inside the body of the car in addition to steel bumper frames. Ideally, that armor would prevent the chassis of the car from being damaged if Edwards is caught up in another crash. It wouldn't prevent body damage, but we've seen that cars with body damage can still compete in the draft at Daytona.
If you believe that things even themselves out over time, Edwards should get through this race weekend unscathed. However, he and the team aren't certain of that because of how horrible their luck was earlier in the year.
Would this car pass inspection? That's the big question. Though Edwards and Fennig hope that by making the armor the same weight as the foam that usually lies there, the car won't tip the scales at any heavier than it would normally, not tipping off NASCAR officials. And if it does? Well, it could be worth the risk. Dark times call for drastic measures.
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