View Chase Chronicle: Carl Edwards
Chase Chronicle: Carl Edwards
By Gregg Leary
Category:NASCAR -> Sprint Cup
“Possible, but not probable,” said Carl Edwards. Perhaps the odds are longer than that optimistic assessment. Edwards has a chance to make history at the Homestead-Miami finale in BOTH the Nationwide and Cup series. IF he were to win championships in both series he would be the first driver in NASCAR history to win both titles in the SAME year. (Bobby Labonte in the only driver to win both, period.) The Nationwide Championship is quite possible as Edwards trails Clint Bowyer by 56 points. If Edwards were to win the race and lead the most laps and Bowyer finish 9th or worse, the Nationwide trophy would be Carl’s. Even if Carl remains status quo in the two series, he would be the first driver to finish in the top two in both the Cup and Nationwide series in the same year.
The Cup scenario is MUCH different. Jimmie Johnson leads Edwards by 141 markers and needs to finish only 36th or better even if Edwards wins the race and collects all possible bonus points. “Possible, but NOT probable.” Stranger things HAVE happened. Remember 2004 when Kurt Busch lost a wheel, barely squeaked into the pits and went on to win the Championship by the smallest margin in history…8 points? Can Edwards do the seemingly impossible? That’s why we run the races. Americans love underdogs and relish upsets. As long as it’s MATHEMATICALLY possible, it’s still possible.
Carl has run 48 Chase races in his career. He has won 5… for a Winning Percentage of 10.4%. (His Career Winning Percentage is 9.6%.) Edwards has 19 Top Fives in Chase races for a 39.6% average. (His Career Top Five Percentage is 34%.) Carl has 28 Top Tens in Chase races for a 58.3% average. (His Career Top Ten Percentage is 54%.) The numbers reveal that Carl cranks it up in Chase races. He will have to run the proverbial “race of his life” at Homestead and Jimmie Johnson will have to encounter a rare DNF for Carl to claim one of the greatest upsets in stock car racing history.
Carl Edwards: Career Retrospective
DOB: 8-15-79 (29)
Hometown: Columbia, MO.
Cup: 156 Starts, 15 Wins, 4 Poles, 84 Top Tens
Nationwide: 140 Starts, 19 Wins,11 Poles, 88 Top Tens
Truck: 60 Starts, 6 Wins, 4 Poles, 35 Top Tens
Crew Chief: Bob Osborne
#99 Office Depot Ford
Roush Fenway Racing
2008: Cup 2nd in Points (-141 to Jimmie Johnson)
8 Wins (Fontana, Vegas, Texas 1, Pocono, Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta, Texas 2.)
18 Top Five
26 Top Ten
1125 Laps Led
Nationwide: 2nd in Points (-56 to Clint Bowyer)
6 Wins
18 Top Five
21 Top Ten
671 Laps Led
2007:
9th in Cup Points with 3 Wins (Bristol Race #24, Michigan Race #15, Dover Race #28)
Busch Champion with 4 Wins (All Concrete Tracks: Bristol, Both Nashville, Dover)
2006:
12th in Cup Points with 0 Wins
2nd in Busch Points with 4 Wins
2005:
3rd in Cup Points with 4 Wins (only 35 Points behind Champ Tony Stewart)
3rd in Busch Points with 5 Wins
Edwards is the first driver in history to get his first Busch and Cup wins in the same weekend (March 2005 Atlanta)
Edwards is one of nineteen drivers who have won in Cup, Busch and Truck: Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Jimmy Spencer, Greg Biffle, Ken Schrader, Bobby Hamilton, Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, Steve Park, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch, Johnny Benson, Ricky Craven, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman.
Carl Edwards has won a pole and a race in all three series. (One of 12 to do so.)
1st Truck Win: 7-12-03 Kentucky
NCTS Rookie of the Year 2003.
In NCTS Edwards has 6 Wins, 4 Poles, 35 Top Tens in 60 Starts
1st Busch Win: Atlanta 3-19-05
1st Cup Win: Atlanta 3-20-05
1st Start at Roush Racing…Truck at Daytona in February 2003
First Cup Start:8-22-04 at Michigan in the #99…finished 10th…One of only four active Cup drivers to finish in the Top Ten in their first Cup start (Kyle Petty, Terry Labonte, Matt Kenseth are the others)
Edwards won in his 11th Truck Start, His 6th Busch Start and his 17th Cup Start
Racing Roots:
Dad, Carl “ Mike” Edwards won over 200 races driving modified stock cars and midgets throughout the Midwest
Carl started in 4-cylinder Mini-Sprints in 1993 (Age 13)
18 wins in 3 seasons
1997 dirt IMCA Modifieds
1998 ROY at Capital MO. Speedway
1999 Ran Modifieds and Dirt Late Models …13 Mod wins…NASCAR Track Champion
2000 NASCAR Weekly Racing Series…13 ProMod wins, ROY and Capital Track Champ…won all three Sportsman Division races he entered…California, Missouri and Capital
2001 Won 9 of 11 Baby Grand division races. Ran 5 USAC Silver Crown pavement races (best finish 15th at Richmond) …Ken Schrader (Carl’s Dad’s cousin) had told Carl that he wasn’t ready to just run pavement…he needed more dirt “seat time”
2002: 8 USAC starts, 7 Craftsman Truck starts for Mittler Brothers (Top Ten at Kansas)
Baby Grand National Champion
2003: Roush NCTS…3 wins…8th place in points…ROYear
3rd at IRP in his only USAC start
2004: NCTS 4th in Points…3 Wins
Carl will team with Travis Pastrana in the Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium in London, England in December, representing Team USA. Carl will be competing against such drivers as Michael Schumacher. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have represented the United States in the ROC in the past.