FYI WIRZ: NASCAR's Top Five Phoenix Finishers Talk Before and After Race

Carl Edwards swept the Nationwide and Sprint Cup events at Phoenix International Raceway this past weekend. Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and Jimmie Johnson finished in the top five of the Sprint Cup race.

The Kobalt Tools 500, presented by NASCAR on ESPN, race nine in the 10-race Chase to the Sprint Cup is history.

Up next are the final 267 laps of the season, the Ford 400, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. The championship, the Chase for the Sprint Cup, will be determined next Sunday.

All top five Phoenix finishers expressed their thoughts before the green flag and after the checkers for the Kobalt Tools 500, race 35 of 36 in the long, ferocious NASCAR season. 

Drivers tend to put a positive spin going into each race, but some pre-race comments can be prophetic and interesting. Post-race thoughts often show cause for a good performance.

FYI WIRZ is the swift presentation of pertinent motorsports topics compiled and condensed by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com. Quotes provided by NASCAR and Sprint Cup team media.

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Ford) Finished first

Before:
“It’s a track where the driver can make a big difference,” Edwards said. “It’s such a unique track, it’s got bumps and it’s really unique. If you win that race, it’s one you can really be proud of, so I’d love to win a Cup race out there.” 

After:
“It’s so cool to be able to go up there and celebrate with the fans," Edwards said. “That was really nice. I saw them unlocking the gate; that was very cool. It’s been a long drought. It’s been really hard to keep our confidence up and this is what we
needed. 

“It still doesn’t feel like this really happened. We needed this win. This is very special. It’s just unreal and thanks to the fans.”

Ryan Newman (No. 39 Chevrolet) Finished second

Before:
"We were on a good run and looking for it to continue through the end of the season, but then everything just seemed to come to a halt," Newman said. "That is the nature of our sport and we need to finish off the final two races with strong results and carry the momentum into 2011."

After:
"Our U.S. Army Chevrolet was good all day," Newman said. “It was such an honor to drive the Veterans Day car, and I want to say thank you to all the Veterans for helping me along today.”

Joey Logano (No. 20 Toyota) Finished third

Before:
“We have a lot of momentum right now and I think two consecutive top-fives is also exciting,” Logano said. “I’m pumped up about it. If we were in the Chase, we’d be about fourth or so right now, so that’s exciting knowing that we’d be there. We’ve just got to do a good job next year getting ourselves in the Chase.”

After:
“Our last few finishes have been crazy: we’ve been seventh, sixth, fifth, fourth and third in a row, so that’s pretty crazy,” Logano said. If we finish off the year like this, I’m excited about next year, that’s for sure.”

Greg Biffle (No. 16 Ford) Finished fourth

Before:
“In order to run well at Phoenix, you really have to work on getting your car to handle well at both ends, which can be difficult because they are very different,” Biffle said. “If we can get that figured out, we should have a really good race in Phoenix.” 

After:
"We weren’t that good, but the fuel mileage worked out for us at the end,” Biffle said. “We had a top-10 car, but we want to be better than that so we’ll keep working on it.” 

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Chevrolet) Finished fifth

Before:
“I can promise you this. I am trying as hard as I can; I know my team is, and we are doing everything we can,” Johnson said. “Thirty-three points back is not where we want to be but we are going to work to get back on top.”

After:
“We ran well all day long: our pit stops were phenomenal and kept us out of trouble a lot because of the great stops on pit road,” Johnson said. “We had to work whatever magic we could there at the end and saved fuel and got it done. We have one heck of a points race going to Miami.”

Photo credit: Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com