Carl Edwards – NASCAR Nationwide Series
Carl Edwards #60 Fastenal Ford at Elkhart Lake in June
Carl Edwards – NASCAR Nationwide Series ORP Indianapolis
Team: No. 60 Fastenal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer
Chassis: RK-686
QUOTES
Carl Edwards on racing at ORP:
“After winning in four different series at ORP, this track is really special to me. I’ve won in a Baby Grand car, a USAC Silver Crown car, a Camping World truck series entry and a Nationwide Series car. I’ve spent some of my best nights of racing at ORP. The first time I walked in there and ever saw the place, I walked in the gate near turn one and I saw the Silver Crown cars running so fast. The first thought that came to mind was…oh man that looks crazy. To be coming back there Saturday night as the defending race winner means a lot to me. Hopefully we can have a good run at what I think is one of the greatest race tracks in the country.”
Crew chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at ORP:
“ORP is the same type of track that every Saturday night racer cuts their teeth on. It has a couple different lines and is pretty worn out. Getting your car to roll through the middle and then have good forward drive are the two main areas to focus on to run up front at ORP.”
FAST FACTS
-FLASHBACK…Last week at Gateway, Edwards finished 1st after starting 8th. Edwards has now won three times at Gateway International Raceway.
-CARL EDWARDS will make his sixth Nationwide Series start at O’Reilly Raceway Park Saturday night.
-FOR THE RECORD…Edwards’ average start at ORP is 23.0 and his average finish is 9.2. He has had two top-five finishes and three top-ten finishes and one victory.
-THE CAR…The No. 60 Ford Fusion will carry the Fastenal colors this weekend.
-THE CHASSIS…The No. 60 team will unload chassis # RK-686, the same car that Edwards drove earlier this season in Richmond , finishing fifth.
-ROUSH FENWAY RACING…has two wins, nine top-fives and 13 top-10s in 18 Nationwide Series starts at O’Reilly Raceway Park. Carl Edwards is the defending race winner.
2010 No. 60 Racing Team
Name Hometown
Drew Blickensderfer Decatur , IL
Seth Barbour Chatanooga, TN
Heath Landis Forest City, NC
EC Nichols Detroit , TX
Brett Ragan Unadilla, GA
Kenny DeGuisto Garland , TX
Jay Maybry Camp Bello , SC
Bennie Stevens Hampton , TN
Justin Edgell Salisbury , NC
Troy Cupples Normal , IL
Jason Hedlesky Clinton, MI
Tom Hatcher Middleburg, FL
Frank Brassfield Fort Walton Beach , FL
Jeremy Neeley Trenton , GA
Michael Smith Hiddenite, NC
Dale Hoffman Allentown , PA
Jon Moore Gainesville , GA
Darren Beach New Franklin, MO
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LifeLock.com 400 Weekend at Chicagoland Speedway 2009
Carl Edwards wins Pole
Photos By Dan Peters
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"Talladega Day's"
Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Claritin Ford, wasn't about to let a last-lap crash ruin his chances of finishing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. He got out of his car and ran to cross the finish line. It looked like a scene from the movie "Talladega Nights" Carl is not Ricky Bobby..
Edwards thrilled the huge crowd after his spectacular wreck within sight of the finish line by climbing out of his smoldering, torn-up Ford and jogging down the track to finish the race on foot. The crowd roared its approval but the crowd was roaring most of the splendid, sun-splashed Alabama afternoon.
“First of all, I’ve got to tell my wife and my mom I’m fine. Brad was pushing, he’s doing everything he can. I saw him go high. I went high. He goes low right here and I didn’t realize he got that far, so I went low to block a little bit and he was already there, so I turned around backwards. At this point I’m thinking, ‘Boy, I wish this made out of liquid gel material,’ and then I’m very fortunate we hit the wall in a way it didn’t crush my roll cage down on my neck because that would have been a lot worse. NASCAR just puts us in this box. Brad did a great job. Congrats to him on the win, but they put us in this box and we’ll race like this until we kill somebody and then they’ll change it, but I’m just glad nobody got hurt today. I’m glad the car didn’t go up in the grandstands and hurt somebody. Most of all, I’ve just got to thank Claritin and all my guys. That was the smartest race I could run and I guess we ended up 23rd or something, but Brad did his job. We were just racing hard and we’re lucky nobody got hurt.”
Keselowski went on down the track to win his first-ever Sprint Cup race with smoke and parts from Edwards' Ford filled the air.
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Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion, has had an eventful week after Sunday’s last-lap accident at Talladega Superspeedway. First, he drove the milestone leg of the Ford Fusion Hybrid Challenge on Monday in which he hit the 1,000-mile mark on one tank of fuel. Second, he made the national media rounds that included stops with Larry King and Ellen DeGeneres to talk about Sunday’s accident. He spoke about all of that during his Q&A session Friday afternoon.
CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion – IT WAS A BUSY WEEK. “Yeah, we got to do a lot of media this week but not for the reasons I wanted. I’m just happy I didn’t have to use my Aflac insurance and I’m good. I’m glad to be at Richmond.”
HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE VIDEO AND YOUR CAR SINCE THE WRECK? “I didn’t get a chance to look at the car. They got it all apart before we could really take a better look at it, so when I walked away from it Sunday that’s the last I saw of it.”
WAS A HEADACHE THE ONLY LINGERING EFFECT YOU HAD FROM THE WRECK? “Yeah, no worse than any other wreck that I’ve been in as far as physical pain or anything like that, so everything in the car did its job and I’m real glad for that.”
WAS IT QUIET WHEN YOU GOT AIRBORNE? “Yeah, it was a little strange when I realized I was off the ground. It surprised me when I hit the fence. I didn’t realize I was going towards the fence at that sharp of an angle, so that surprised me when I hit it. That got my attention.”
ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW TO KEEP THE CARS OUT OF THE AIR? “Yesterday, I went down to Daytona with Jack and we talked with a group of folks from NASCAR and it was really a good talk, and I think that we’re all on the same page and that we want to do whatever we can to make these races as safe as they can be for everybody – the fans and the drivers and all that. We’ve come a long ways in the last however many years, but there’s still stuff that can be done. All we did was talk about things that really needed to be done and they’re working on ideas of things to be done, so I’m real excited about seeing what they come up with and, hopefully, it’s stuff that keeps wrecks like that from happening.”
WHAT DID YOU SUGGEST? “I’m not an engineer, so I didn’t tell them, ‘This is how it has to be,’ but the bottom line is unless you take the banking out of that race track or we don’t go race there, you’ve got this big problem trying to keep the cars apart, keep them slow, and that’s the battle. There’s history there and the fans enjoy that, but there’s also the real problem of having a group of cars run like that, so it’s something they’ve worked on for a long time with restrictor plates, and they’ve worked on the safety stuff, but there are still things to be done. I don’t know exactly what it’s gonna be, but I’m hoping that there’s something we can do.”
HOW WAS YOUR CONVERSATION WITH BLAKE? “My conversation with Blake was great. I talked to her mom first because Blake’s jaw is wired shut, so she couldn’t talked much, but her mom was real cool and she just thanked the Lord for shining down on her and thanked everybody for their support and their prayers, and then I talked to Blake and she was upbeat about it. She was mumbling a little bit, but she seemed really cool. She’s a 17 year old girl and I hope she comes out of this alright in all ways.”
YOUR COMMENTS ON SUNDAY WERE VERY STRONG. ARE YOU GLAD YOU EXPRESSED YOURSELF THAT WAY? “Yeah, for sure. That’s how I felt and that’s what I believe. I also believe that there are things that can be done. We’re all in this together – NASCAR, me, the owners, all the other drivers. No one wants to see anybody get hurt, but I think what I said needed to be said and that’s how I felt at the time, and I hope people respect that.”
DID YOU LEARN MUCH WITH THE NASCAR MEETING? “Yeah, I learned a lot, and hopefully they learned a little bit about me and the driver’s perspective. They said they would talk to some other drivers, which I think that would be really good, but I definitely learned about where they’re coming from in trying to make the sport the best it can be. We all shook hands and understood, so, hopefully, something comes out of it.”
DO YOU REALISTICALLY EXPECT TO SEE ANYTHING DIFFERENT A YEAR OR TWO FROM NOW AT THOSE TRACKS? “Time will tell. We’ll see what comes out of it. I’ve just got to have faith that something will be done.”
WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND DECIDED TO RUN ACROSS THE FINISH LINE? “Well, I just wanted to finish the race. That’s it. I wasn’t really sure, but I thought there might be a small chance it could count for something. I don’t know. At least I’d have something I could argue later, but you’ve got to get all the points you can one way or another.”
PEOPLE WERE IMPRESSED YOU HAD ENOUGH THOUGHT TO WANT TO FINISH THAT WAY. “That’s the first thing, after I got in the wall and I was sliding I thought, ‘Damn, I’m not gonna make it to the finish line,’ and then I heard some cars go by and I thought, ‘Well, maybe I’ll make it there. I’ll just be punted by someone.’ So, yeah, you can’t stop that close to the finish line and not go across it. I can’t.”
ANY REASON YOU DID LARRY KING AND ELLEN? “No. I’m a fan of both of theirs and it was cool to be able to be on both of those shows. They’re a lot of fun.” HOW IS YOUR CAR HERE? “My car is absolutely terrible right now, so we’ve got an hour-and-a-half to get it better and I hope we do because it’s embarrassing bad right now. We’ll get it though. We’ll get something. Bob always pulls something out of his hat.”
WHAT ABOUT BUMP DRAFTING AT TALLADEGA? WHO HAS TO POLICE IT? NASCAR OR THE DRIVERS? “You can’t. If you take all the bump drafting out of the deal you’re still gonna have wrecks and stuff like that at Talladega because everybody is together. It puts everybody in a tough position. We’ve given the fans something that’s so exciting and so entertaining, but there’s more risk there. We talked in depth about it yesterday. We looked at it from all different angles. The coolest part is NASCAR has an open mind. It’s not like the got me down there and yelled at me for saying bad things about the racing. We sat down and we talked about it, and I think that’s all we can do is do the best we can to deliver the best sport and the safest sport to the fans and that’s good.”
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2008 Past Stories and Photos...
Edwards Wins Race, Johnson Takes Third Straight Title
NASCAR Photo
Jimmie Johnson has accomplished racing's version of the hat trick.... three championships in a row.
He did it with a 15th -place finish in southern Florida's grand finale for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. Carl Edwards won the battle, so to speak, but Johnson won the war.
On a day when he only needed a 36th-place finish to clinch his third title in a row, Johnson brought his Lowe's Chevrolet into the thick of the battle, steadily clicking off position after position in the 267-lap race.
Johnson's championship run was the first three-peat in NASCAR since Cale Yarborough did it 30 years ago.
While Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus were the men of the hour, hard-charging Edwards, for the second time this season, coaxed extra mileage out of his Ford and hung on to win the race on fuel mileage. However, it was not a fuel mileage fluke. Edwards led the most laps and was clearly the fastest cat on the track all day and into the night.
NASCAR Photo
Trailing Edwards across the finish line were Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Travis Kvapil, Casey Mears, Tony Stewart and Martin Truex, Jr.
The win was Edwards' ninth of the year and cemented Carl's position as a serious challenger to Johnson for the championship next year.
A slew of caution flags in the last 100 laps kept the outcome in doubt until the very end, when leader Matt Kenseth ran out of fuel with just a couple laps left. Edwards, as he did once before this season, proved he can be just as smooth letting up on the gas pedal as he is in mashing it down. He backed off just enough to finish in front of the field.
David Reutimann, the first-time pole winner, led a lap at the start before former champion Kenseth passed him.
Beautiful, balmy, South Florida weather welcomed the drivers as they streaked around the Homestead-Miami track at 180 miles an hour. Johnson, who started 30th, charged towards the front right from the git-go. At just 10 laps, he had moved past nine drivers to 21st position.
Edwards, Johnson's only threat for his third championship in three seasons, moved past Kenseth for the lead on the 13th lap. Edwards was flat-out-all-caution-to-the wind, planning to give it everything he had in the season finale.
Johnson was 18th by Lap 19. He was 17th when Edwards, the leader, pitted on the 51st lap. Harvick led a lap when Edwards pitted. Montoya also led a lap when the field started pitting.
Once the pitting cycle ended, Edwards was back out front and Johnson had gained two spots to 15th.
The top 10 at 60 laps were Edwards, Harvick, David Ragan, Reutimann, Truex, McMurray, Kenseth, Mears, Stewart and Jeff Burton.
Johnson, meanwhile, had moved into 14th spot and was continuing his charge to the front. The first caution of the afternoon waved on the 68th lap when Aric Almirola spun on the frontstretch.
At 90 laps, Edwards was in control, followed by Ragan, Harvick, Reutimann, Stewart, McMurray, Bowyer, Kenseth, Mears and Hamlin. Johnson had worked his way to 11th.
By the halfway point, it was clear Edwards had come to Florida with one thing in mind --- winning the race.
It was Edwards, Ragan, Stewart, Hamlin, Reutimann, Harvick, McMurray, Earnhardt, Johnson and Gordon. Johnson had come from 30th to ninth in 134 laps.
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CARL EDWARDS
http://www.carledwards.com/
NASCAR Photo
Carl Edwards relaxes in the garage prior to practice for the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
NASCAR Photo
Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards Placed On Probation For Next Six Races
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 27, 2008) – NASCAR announced today that it has placed Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards on probation for the next six races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as a result of their on-track incident last Saturday at the conclusion of the race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Busch, driver of the No. 18 car and Edwards, driver of the No. 99 car, both violated Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing; hitting another competitor’s car after the race had concluded) of the 2008 NASCAR rule book.
The probation takes effect beginning with this weekend’s event at Auto Club Speedway.
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Carl Edwards flips after winning at Auto Club Speedway in February. He'll go for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series sweep at the track this weekend in the Pepsi 500 in Fontana, Calif
NASCAR Photo
EDWARDS, FORD
CARL EDWARDS DOMINATES NASCAR WEEKEND AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DEARBORN, Mich., August 17, 2008 – Jack Roush takes great pride in winning at Michigan International Speedway, the closest track to Ford Motor Company and his Roush Industries headquarters.
This weekend proved to be another example of that determination to win at home, as Roush Fenway driver Carl Edwards swept this weekend’s NASCAR action in Brooklyn, Mich.
Edwards was in control for most of the Sprint Cup race, leading five times for a total of 84 laps. The win was Edwards’ fifth Sprint Cup victory of the season and the 12th of his career. He remains second in the standings, 222 points behind leader Kyle Busch.
“Four years ago today I ran my first Cup race for Jack Roush and he took a giant gamble on me,” said Edwards. “Jack won the race that day. I believe Greg [Biffle, teammate] won it, and we finished 10th and all five of the cars were in the top 10, and to be a part of that again today, for Ford Motor Company, for Roush and for all the guys, it’s an honor.”
Livonia, Mich., native Roush, who now has 11 Sprint Cup victories at his hometown track, was able to place all five of his cars into the top-10 again in this race, with four of his cars claiming the top five spots. Edwards’ teammates, David Ragan, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth, finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Biffle and Kenseth both improved their position in the Chase as Biffle moved up three spots to seventh place, while Kenseth moved up two spots to 10th. Ragan is tied for 13th in the standings, but is just 26 points out of 12th place, the final Chase spot, with three races remaining before the playoff begins. Their teammate Jamie McMurray rounded out the top 10 in the No. 26 Fusion.
Edwards had the dominant car in the Nationwide Series race as well, leading five times for a total of 71 laps. He moved up one spot in the standings to second place, just 113 points behind leader Clint Bowyer. It was his third win in the last nine Nationwide Series races.
Biffle grabbed another top-five with a fifth-place finish, and Kelly Bires crossed the line ninth in his No. 47 Fusion.
Four Ford drivers left the NHRA race in Reading, Pa., knowing that they had safely clinched a place in the Countdown to the Championship. Mike Neff entered the race on the bubble, but was able to lock himself into the playoff after advancing all the way to the semifinal. Unfortunately, he had to defeat two of his teammates, Robert Hight and Ashley Force, on his way there. Neff remains 10th in the standings.
“Getting in the Countdown was definitely one of our goals at the beginning of the year,” said Neff. “We really wanted to get in there this weekend solid so we didn’t have to worry about that going into Indy [in two weeks]. Indy is just such a high-pressure race. It feels good to get that monkey off our back.”
The other Ford drivers who have clinched spots in the NHRA playoff are Robert Hight, who is third in the standings, Ashley Force, who is fifth, and John Force who is in sixth place.
In the KONI Challenge race in Trois-Rivierese, Quebec, three Mustangs finished in the top five spots. James Gue and Bret Seafuse were the top Ford drivers in the race, finishing second in their No. 37 Mustang FR500C. Billy Johnson and Ray Mason were right behind in third place, and Dean Martin and Jack Roush Jr. grabbed a fifth-place finish.
“Our third podium this year, it was a great point race for us,” said Seafuse. “We did very well. We were third [in the standings coming into this race]. This should move us up to second with a little cushion. That's what we were looking at. We would've certainly loved to win; we already visited second and third on the podium a couple of times. We were looking for the top spot here but the points, this race, was definitely what we were looking at.”
Terry Borcheller won the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Race at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. Borcheller, driver of the No.4 StableOne Racing Mustang FR500S, earned his second straight victory after holding off teammate and series points leader Andrew Caddell by .676 seconds.
Next weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be in action in Bristol, Tenn., while the Grand-Am Rolex Series will head to Sonoma, Calif.
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, 2008
Carl Edwards at the LifeLock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway July 12, 2008
Carl Edwards Car featured a special paint scheme at Chicagoland Speedway... Some 8,000 Office Depot employee signatures were featured all over his car.
Photos Above By Dan Peters
Coke Zero 400 July, 2008
Race winner Kyle Busch (18) and runner-up Carl Edwards (99) race side-by-side on the last lap of the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway
NASCAR PHoto
Carl Edwards presented his team with their 2007 series driver championship rings prior to Saturday's race at Nashville Superspeedway. 
Carl Edwards presents Randy Fuller, his PR Representative, with a 2007 series driver championship ring prior to Saturday's race at Nashville Superspeedway. (Below)
NASCAR Photos
Carl Edwards presents Randy Fuller, his PR Representative, with a 2007 series driver championship ring prior to Saturday's race at Nashville Superspeedway. (Below)
NASCAR Photos
Edwards takes a break and shows his talent at Bowling
Carl Edwards sets up his lane before bowling with the media in Johnson City, Tenn
Carl Edwards admires a paper that was printed before he was penalized 100 points and knocked from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point lead.
Carl Edwards follows through as he seeks a strike while bowling with media in Johnson City, Tenn.
NASCAR Photos
Carl Edwards at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis July 28, 2007
Carl Michael Edwards, II (born August 15, 1979) is an American NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and Busch Series driver for Roush Fenway Racing.
In the NEXTEL Cup Series, Edwards drives the #99 Ford Fusion that is primarily sponsored by Office Depot (other one-race primary sponsors have included: Pennzoil, Stonebridge Life Insurance, and the American Automobile Association). His #60 Busch Series car, also a Ford Fusion, is sponsored by Scotts-Miracle Gro (and their brands, Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Ortho and Roundup), Dish Network, and the World Financial Group.
Early career
Edwards was born in Columbia, Missouri. He grew up watching his father, Carl, Sr., race, and was inspired to do the same. Carl, Sr. has been racing modified stock cars and USACmidget sprint cars for over four decades, winning over 200 races. Carl, Jr.'s career began in 1993, when he started racing four-cylinder mini-sprints at age 13. His success was not far off, as in 1994, he won four feature races in the mini-sprint series at tracks in Missouri and Illinois. He added a combined total of 14 wins from the 1995 and 1996 seasons.
Edwards switched to dirt in 1997, racing in IMCA's modified division. It didn't take him long to find success there, either, as in 1998, he was crowned Rookie-of-the-Year in that same division at Holt Summit, Missouri's Capital Speedway. In 1999, he won 13 races in the track's Modified division, winning the NASCAR Track Championship.
NASCAR
Edwards' big break came in 2002, when he competed in 7 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events for MB Motorsports. His best finish in the seven races was 8th at Kansas Speedway. He also ran one Busch Series race for Bost Motorsports, finishing 38th at Gateway International Raceway. However, it was enough to impress Jack Roush, and Edwards became a full-time Truck Series competitor in 2003, driving the #99 Ford F-150 sponsored by Superchips. He won Rookie-of-the-Year honors in addition to three race wins, eventually finishing 8th in the points standings at the end of the season. In 2004, he notched three more race wins, including the season-opening Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at the Daytona International Speedway. At season's end, Edwards finished 4th in the points. In August 2004, he made his NEXTEL Cup Series debut, replacing Jeff Burton, who left the team, in the No. 99 Ford Taurus for Roush Racing, at the Michigan International Speedway. He finished 10th. He drove the #99 Ford for the remainder of the 2004 NEXTEL Cup. He also once again ran one Busch Series race; this time for Robby Benton Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway with sponsorship from Mac Tools.
In 2005, Edwards became a full-time driver in both the NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series. He has already won races in each, and he made history in the process of winning. On March 19, 2005, Edwards won the Aaron's 312 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, recording his first Busch Series win. The next day, he beat Jimmie Johnson by 2-hundredths of a second to win the Golden Corral 500 at the same track for his first NEXTEL Cup Series win. Until this took place, no driver had ever won both the Busch and NEXTEL Cup Series races in the same weekend at Atlanta, although the feat had been pulled off numerous times before at other tracks by other drivers. Also, Edwards became the first driver in NASCAR history to pick up his first career Busch and NEXTEL Cup Series wins in the same weekend.
On June 12, 2005, Edwards picked up his second NEXTEL Cup win by taking the checkered flag at the Pocono 500 at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The weekend was somewhat bittersweet for Edwards, as the Busch Series race at the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee had been rained out the night before, and rescheduled for the same day. Even worse, qualifying for that race had been rained out, too, and in NASCAR, when qualifying is rained out, the starting grid is set by owner points. Through this process, Edwards was awarded pole, but Hank Parker Jr. ended up driving the car to a 20th place finish.
Edwards got his third win of 2005 on October 30 in the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Edwards got his fourth win at Texas and became the tenth different driver to win at that track, and the fifth to win there for Roush Racing. By finishing the remainder of the 2004 season in the NEXTEL #99 car, he was not eligible to compete for the 2005 Rookie of the Year in NEXTEL Cup, but did win the 2005 Busch Series Rookie of the Year. In 2006, Carl Edwards' best finish was at Michigan Speedway where he finished 2nd.
On May 18, 2007, Edwards won the pole for the 2007 NEXTEL Open, and while he lead almost the entire 40 lap race, he faded to third in the last few laps, just missing the feature event. On June 17, 2007 Carl Edwards broke his 52 race winless streak in the Nextel Cup by winning the Citizens Bank 400. Shortly thereafter, on July 23, he dislocated his thumb in an eleven car pileup at a late model race at Nebraska Raceway Park (formerly I-80 Speedway) near Lincoln, Nebraska. Carl won his second race of the 2007 season, and sixth career Cup race, at the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 25. During the post-race interview on Victory Lane, Edwards commented on the race, saying, "This is the biggest win of my career". At the conclusion of the first 26 races, the 2007 "regular season", Edwards ranked 6th in overall standings, with 3372 points, 477 points behind overall points leader Jeff Gordon. Edwards entered the 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup in 4th place, with 5020 points, based on his two wins in the 2007 season, clinching a spot in the Chase after his win at the Sharpie 500 at Bristol.
On November 3, 2007, Edwards clinched his first NASCAR Busch Series Championship by finishing 11th at the O'Reilly Challenge. This came despite struggling in the second half of the Busch Series season. Edwards became the 19th different Busch Series Champion in the 26 years of the modern-era series.
Other racing
On June 6, 2007, Carl won the 2007 NEXTEL Prelude to the Dream at the Eldora Speedway. The Prelude is a dirt late model race organized in part by Tony Stewart, owner of Eldora, to benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp and other worthy causes. Over 20 NEXTEL Cup drivers participated in the heat races and 30-lap feature, along with other drivers from different forms of motorsports. Edwards started second in the feature and held off Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon to win.
Personal life
Edwards previously dated Olympicgold medal-winning swimmerAmanda Beard, who was well-known in NASCAR circles long before she and Edwards began dating, after having dated several other drivers. While they were dating, she got him into an Olympic Training Center for help to perfect his trademark backflip.
Edwards is a first cousin once removed to fellow NASCAR driver Ken Schrader, who furiously told Edwards early in his racing career to get dirt track experience before going to Cup; he took the advice.
Off the track, Carl has been busy promoting his new record label, Back40 Records, a company he started with a high school friend back in Columbia, MO. Back40 Records is an Independent record label searching for new talent in the Mid-Missouri area.
During the week of the Auto Club 500, Edwards participated in taping of the Fox television series 24, where he played Homeland Security Agent Jim Hill.
Musculature and Athleticism
Carl Edwards has appeared on the covers of ESPN The Magazine and Men's Health shirtless, displaying his muscular body. For a NASCAR driver, Edwards spends a lot of time developing his body, as photos of his abdominal and pectoral muscles have shown. Edwards made an appearance on the February 22, 2006 episode of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Ferguson produced the cover of the February issue of ESPN The Magazine which featured a bare-chested photo of Edwards. Joking that Edwards' nipples seemed far apart, Ferguson suggested this was due to the high rates of speed at which Edwards often traveled.
Edwards is popular among fans for celebrating his wins by doing a backflip off his car (or truck), a style of celebration he took from sprint car driver Tyler Walker. Seizing on the popularity of Edwards' trademark celebrations, Ford has recently run several "Overactive Adrenaline Disorder" commercials featuring a "young Carl" performing backflips in his baby crib, off of a couch, and off a doctors exam table.
Races won
NEXTEL Cup
2007
2005
Busch Series
2007
2006
2005
Craftsman Truck Series
2004
2003
The #60 Dish Network car at Milwaukee
Photo By Joe Paolella
HOW IS YOUR INJURED THUMB FOLLOWING YOUR FIRST RACE ON A ROAD COURSE?
“They put a T-handle shifter in it, and it worked really well. There was no issue at all.”
ON SWITCHING BACK AND FORTH THIS SEASON BETWEEN THE STANDARD CAR AND THE CAR OF TOMORROW.
“The car of tomorrow just drives a little bit differently, we don’t have the travel in the front end, so that’s a little different feel. But, on the road course, it really doesn’t feel that much different because you have to have the front end so stiff anyway. Going back and forth between them, I think, is the toughest on the crew, because those are the guys who have to do all the work on different types of cars and manage that.”
WITH THE CHASE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER, DOES YOUR MINDSET CHANGE AT ALL?
“It’s still just one race at a time. We have to keep as many points as we can, make sure that we get in the chase, and then we can breathe a little easier and know that we’re starting on equal ground with everyone. But for now, each one of these races is extremely important.”
YOU WERE IN THE CHASE BEFORE. WERE THERE ANY SURPRISES?
“I did learn some stuff the first time, being in the chase, but what we try to do is have the mindset that we’re always in the chase, that we’re always racing for points, we’re trying to do the best we can. That’s what we’re working on.”
THERE’S ONLY SO MUCH PRACTICE TIME. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE WEATHER LIKE THIS?
“I just hope we don’t miss too much practice. We need the practice – I need the practice. I don’t know if my team actually does, but I definitely need some laps here at Watkins Glen.”
HOW HAS THE THUMB INJURY CHANGED YOU APPROACH TO WORKING OUT?
“This thumb thing has made me realize how delicate you are – you can’t mess anything up if you want work out every day and race all the time, and not have anything hold you up. So it has made me work out a little easier and I kind of value that a little more.”
MORE AEROBIC-TYPE WORKOUTS?
“Yeah, I’ve been doing a lot of aerobic stuff, and it’s probably good for me. My trainer’s always telling me that I need to work more on the aerobic stuff than lifting weights, so this will be a good break.”
IS THIS RACE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO TRY TO MAKE UP SOME GROUND ON POINTS?
“You never know. To me, this is a lot like a restrictor-plate race or something, with the way fuel mileage can pan out. The traps are out there, and you’ve got to be sure you don’t screw your day up by getting in one of those. So, I don’t look at this as a place where we can gain a bunch, I look at this where we have to avoid losing points.”
WITH WHERE YOU ARE IN THE POINTS STANDINGS, DOES 10 EXTRA POINTS FOR A WIN MEAN MUCH?
“I don’t feel comfortable right now, where 280 points or something, we’re not in a safe, danger-free zone right now. I’m just going to take it easy here and maybe two or three races down the road if we’re in the same position we’ll really go for it.”
DOES PIT POSITION MEAN ANYTHING HERE? TOWARD THE FRONT THERE IS AN ELEVATION CHANGE.
“I don’t know about the pit selection here. The elevation is a little bit of a factor, but our guys are good, and being downhill hurts you trying to stop, but it helps you trying to get going out of the pits, so you never know.”
Carl Edwards just misses the car of Jimmie Johnson at the Allstate 400 in July
