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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY OCTOBER 23,2007
>> NASCAR
Edwards, Kenseth can't replicate team spirit of Hendrick drivers
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nextel Cup points leader Jeff Gordon, left, congratulates teammate Jimmie Johnson in Victory Lane after Johnson won the Subway 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., on Sunday.
BY JENNA FRYER ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — What happens on the track between Jeff Gordon and jimmie Johnson stays there. The teammates have mastered the balance between competition and friendship.
The same can't be said for Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards, who were caught on camera in a nasty confrontation following Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway.
Kenseth was about to be interviewed when Edwards, his teammate at Roush Fenway Racing, grabbed him and firmly pushed him down pit road.
In videos posted on YouTube, the two are seen arguing before Edwards climbs over the pit wall. Before walking away, Edwards raised a fist as if to strike Kenseth, who noticeably flinched.
A Roush Fenny spokesman said Monday the team had no immediate comment on the incident, and president Geoff Smith was out of the office and unavailable.
Apparently, there's some serious animosity between Edwards and Kenseth, who first publicly criticized each other following a Busch Series race in Kansas last month.
It started when Kenseth appeared to cut Edwards off midway through that race, and the contact caused Edwards to cut a tire. Edwards later wrecked — not because of Kenseth
— but blamed him for it by clapping his hands and giving a thumbs-up at Kenseth as he passed by him on the track.
"The reason I was mad, someone like a teammate would race me like that." Edwards said. "He may or may not have done it on purpose. He's my teammate and we've really got a
Kenseth went on to finish second, and was perplexed by Edwards' anger.
good relationship, so I hope we can get by this."
"I don't really feel like I did anything wrong," he said. "My job's not to get out of his way all of the time. Were supposed to race each other
Kenseth didn't stop before taking a slight jab at Edwards, who is running away with the Busch Series driver championship but only has the car ranked third in owner points behind entries fielded by Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing and
"If I was getting beat for the owner's championship by a couple of guys running part-time ... it's probably got him a little worked up," Kenseth said.
piloted by multiple drivers.
If the two ever made up, it wasn't apparent after Sunday's Nextel Cup event.
It was not exactly clear what they were even arguing about, but it likely stemmed from a mid-race restart when Reed Sorenson's car failed to take off at the green flag. It caused the traffic behind Sorenson to stack up, and Kenseth and Edwards became entangled as they tried to weave around Sorenson.
They banged doors in Turn 1, and had heavier contact in Turn 3 that caused Edwards to lose track position. His anger apparently festered for the rest of the race, and when he spotted Kenseth starting a television interview, he was aggressive in interrupting to make a point.
It was a stark contrast from the harmony in the Hendrick Motorsports camp, which had just witnessed another duel between championship contenders Johnson and Gordon.
Johnson won Sunday's race, holding off a charge from his mentor and friend to score his series-best seventh victory of the season and tighten a championship battle that Gordon is trying to run away with. With four races remaining, Gordon holds a 53-point lead over Johnson.
There's no animosity between the two, who celebrated in Victory Lane together.
"I know that Jeff is going to do everything that he can to win, and I'm going to do the same," Johnson said. "We have a great deal of respect for one another."
The unity is contagious at Hendrick, where driver Casey Mears also went to Victory Lane, as did several of Gordon's crew members. A week earlier, when Gordon won in Charlotte, driver Kyle Bush stopped by to congratulate him.
It's a teamwork philosophy that owner Rick Hendrick spent years implementing and fostered by assembling selfless employees who focus on the big picture.
"I have told them this year, last year, year before that. You won't get beat from the outside in this business once you get the momentum. It is going to happen from the inside," he said.
The cohesiveness could be why Hendrick has won 15 of 32 races this season, put three drivers in the Chase and will likely get another Cup title from either Gordon or Johnson.
Roush Fenway, on the other hand, put just two of its five drivers in the Chase and has just five wins on the season.
Now the team appears to have a brewing problem between its top two drivers that if left to fester will only prevent the organization from ever catching up with Hendrick.
》 MLB
La Russa returns, inks two-year deal to stay with Cardinals
BY R.B. FALLSTROM ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS — Tony La Russa tended to his many pets on the West Coast for a week or so and made up his mind: He wanted to keep managing.
Now, he's hoping the St. Louis Cardinals can make an equally quick decision on hiring a general manager.
La Russa agreed Monday to a
two-year contract to stay in St. Louis, confident that the Cardinals can still be contenders. Whether he ever works out his rift with Scott Rolen, that remains to be seen.
"You've got to be honest, he's probably the one guy who has issues with me," La Russa said. "You hope he's healthy, understand we have issues, and don't let it get in the way."
A year after winning the World Series, the Cardinals endured a disappointing 78-victory season. General manager Walt Jockett, who
hired La Russia in 1995, was fired earlier this month.
The 63-year-old La Russia never courted offers from other teams. He would have preferred the new GM give the OK for his return, but La Russa felt it was important to finalize his status heading into free agency.
Team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said all the GM candidates he's talked to have said they'd have no problem working with La Russa.
"I'm real pleased it worked out." La Russa said. "I'm thrilled to be back."
La Russia has led St. Louis to seven playoff appearances, six NL Central championships, two pennants and the 2006 World Series victory against Detroit His Oakland team won the 1989 World Series.
DeWitt expects to hire a new GM by the end of the World Series. The candidates are all currently assistant GMs, including former Jockeytop aide John Mozeliek.
La Russa also said he'd got positive feedback from players with the notable exception of Rolen, the star third baseman with whom he's clashed repeatedly the past few seasons.
"The sooner the better, ideally" DeWitt said.
La Russa twice benched him in the 2006 playoffs, displeased that Rolen failed to disclose the extent of
a shoulder injury. Rolen disagreed with the manager's handling.
"I've played for a lot of managers and as far as running a bullpen, I'd put him up there with Bobby Cox as the best in the majors," reliever Russ Springer said. "He's a winning manager, the fans love him and he gets respect from managers across the league."
Most of the roster is happy to have him back.
La Russa said the firing of Jocketyte was not a huge surprise, given the front-office squabble that developed with lef Lahnow, vice president in charge of amateur scouting and player development. The two clashed in philosophy, Jocketyte's old-school approach vs. Lahnow's new-school numbers crunching.
"I was surprised that it happened like it happened," La Russa said. "But I was not surprised there were issues."
La Ruska finished a three-year deal at the end of the season. He said two years was the right length because a one-year contract would prompt questions from the start.
"One is the wrong message because from spring training on it's the same deal," La Russa said. "Two lets the players know I'm back for more than one."
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa will stay put as a manager for the club, which won the 2006 World Series but missed the playoff this year. La Russa signed a two-year contract Monday.