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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Edwards Deals With Insult As Well As Injury
Carl Edwards broke his right foot playing Frisbee Wednesday...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted September 05, 2009   Hampton, GA
Carl Edwards will race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway but will travel to his car on crutches. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

As if Carl Edwards didn’t already feel bad enough having broken his right foot playing Frisbee on Wednesday, team co-owner Jack Roush made sure he added a little insult to the injury.

“Jack’s reaction was something along the lines was, ‘You just can’t go a day without showing everybody how dumb you are, can you?’” Edwards said Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “That’s how Jack is.”

And that points up one of the toughest things for any athlete to have to do: Go to the boss and explain a freak injury.

Jimmie Johnson knows about that all too well, having broken his left wrist when he fell off the top off a golf cart while clowning around in December 2006, shortly after winning his first of three consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championships. The injury knocked him out of the Race of Champions in Paris.

But an even worse problem may have been having to face team owner Rick Hendrick afterwards.

"When I came back from Florida and I got off the plane, the one waiting there to take me to the hospital was Mr. Hendrick,” said Johnson. “I'm not sure how Jack Roush deals with things, but Rick is that father-figure to us. And Rick never said a word. Just seeing his eyes and understanding that he was disappointed in me was enough.”

It was not a pleasant experience.

“It was like that father deal where when your parents don't say anything, you know they're really mad,” said Johnson. “So I'm like, ‘Man, I've really disappointed this man.’ That's how I worked through my situation and make sure I stay away from making stupid mistakes again.”

Edwards also got a little bit of sympathy from his own Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle, who earlier this year slipped getting off his boat, fell on a dock and bruised his ribs, forcing him to miss a NASCAR Nationwide Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway.

And, oh yeah, he had to face Roush, too.

“That’s tough,” said Biffle. “I hate those phone calls. Those are probably the hardest.”

As for Edwards, he’s trying to take his injury — and Roush’s reaction to it — in stride. “At least he can see the humor in it,” said Edwards, who will have Matt Kenseth on backup duty in Saturday night’s Nationwide race at Atlanta. “He understands. We’re gonna race no matter what, it’s just up to me.”

But it will be a while before Edwards plays Frisbee again.

“Frisbee is not four letters, but it’s an ‘F’ word for sure,” he said.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to




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