#99 Carl Edwards
Carl Edwards' Stats: Born: August 15, 1979 From: Columbia, Missouri Lives: Columbia, Missouri Drives: #99 Aflac Ford For: Roush Fenway Racing Teammates: #6 David Ragan, #16 Greg Biffle, #17 Matt Kenseth, Crew Chief: Bob Osborne Best Year: 2008 Finished 2nd in points Career Wins: 19 Long before driving the #99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, Carl Edwards was substituting as a part-time teacher while going to college at the University of Missouri. However, Edwards wasn't new to the sport after spending years watching his father race modified stock and USAC midget cars. As time passed, he felt he too would enjoy the life of a race car driver and by the age of 13 he started racing four-cylinder mini-sprints. Between 1994-1999, Edwards began furthering himself from the shadow of his father. In '94, he had four feature race victories at tracks in and around Illinois and his home state of Missouri. The next two years, Edwards spent most of his time in the winner's circle notching 14 wins. However, this was just the beginning to all of his success. After switching to dirt tracks during his '97 campaign, Edwards took home the Rookie of the Year honors just one year later at Capital Speedway and continued his success winning the NASCAR track championship in 1999. It wasn't until 2003 that Carl Edwards became established in the NASCAR community. The previous year, Jack Roush followed Edwards in the NASCAR Truck Series and felt even after only seven races in that series, Carl was more than ready to get a full time ride. After spending two years in the circuit driving for Jack Roush, Edwards totaled 6 wins (three each year) and finished 8th in the points in 2003, and 4th in 2004. Later in 2004, Jeff Burton decided to leave the #99 Ford, which opened the door for Carl to make his Cup Series debut. His first race would be at
Michigan International Speedway
and he wouldn't disappoint, finishing 10th in the race.
Finally, in 2005, after competing for twelve years in racing, Edwards was a full time driver on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. His first full year in the series was filled with a total of four wins. His first Cup Series win came at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Golden Corral 500 just edging out Jimmie Johnson at the start/finish line. Whats even more amazing is that he won his first career Nationwide Series race the day before at Atlanta. Carl won again in Atlanta in the fall race with his other victories coming in the Pocono 500 at the
Pocono Raceway
and in the Dickies 500 at
Texas Motor Speedway.
While the year was successful, he wasn't considered for the 'Rookie of the Year' award because he drove thirteen races the previous year.
Photo by Ford Racing
CC2.0
However, Carl isn't just a NASCAR driver. While he does give to various charities and other organizations, Edwards is known more for his physique off the track. ESPN, Men's Health, and various other magazines have used the photos and workout plans of this athlete. If he's not popular because of his racing, fans love him for his signature victory celebrations geared for the crowd. Edwards does a back flip off of his car at the start/finish line to celebrate a victory with the fans, building the anticipation up from the crowd before making the backwards leap. Needless to say everyone in the racing community now knows who Carl Edwards is and will for many more years to come.
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