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Interesting question. The song “Two Faces” by Bruce Springsteen comes to mind. My introduction came to the “Sunny” Carl Edwards: generous, optimistic, humorous and able to shake off a bad race with an “Aw shucks” demeanor a la Opie Taylor. At the same time- we’ve been exposed to a “dark” Carl Edwards: coming up the track to bump other drivers, tussling with teammates and engaging in shoving matches with other drivers in a manner reminiscent of Eddie Haskell. Is he on “the juice?” Is he just a fitness fanatic? Is he a marketer’s dream? Or a teammate’s nightmare? Perhaps a closer examination of the man will offer us insight into what makes the man tick.

Surely there’s an answer.

 

Carl Michael Edwards II was born August, 15 1979 in Columbia, Missouri. Like so many other NASCAR stars, he has racing in his DNA. Carl Sr., known as “Mike” won over 200 modified and midget feature races throughout the Midwest. Edwards is also first cousin once removed to NASCAR journeyman Ken Schrader, hence the nickname “Cousin Carl.”

The younger Edwards took up racing at the age of 13, in 4-cylinder mini-sprints. During his formative years, the long, lean Edwards picked up 18 wins. Cousin Ken is reported to have insisted Carl pick up dirt track experience before considering a move to NASCAR, he must have been paying attention. In 1997, Edwards moved over to the dirt tracks where racers can learn a great deal about car control, competing in the IMCA modified division. In 1998, he was named Rookie Of The Year.

By 1999, Edwards could be found turning laps at Capital Speedway near Jefferson City, Missouri, racing in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series running in the modifieds. In 2000, he switched to the pro modifieds (four barrel) class.

We’ve talked before about drivers having interests and professional options outside NASCAR. In the case of Carl Edwards, he attended the University of Missouri and spent a portion of his time being addressed as “Mr. Edwards” as a part-time substitute teacher. Somewhere during the course of these years, the young driver learned the value of a professional approach and persistence, much like a young job seeker in the “real world.” It’s not often you hear of a racer with business cards, but that’s what Carl did, telling his story to any team owner who would listen. Listening to a winning driver rattle off the names of his sponsors with machine-gun speed may irritate some fans, but one gets the impression that Edwards never forgets where his racing funds come from and he’s quick to try to please those who invest in him. You’ll also notice that since the economic downturn, he’s also quick to thank the fan- recognizing that many make sacrifices to come out to the race.

Some may think this a “put on.” I say, regardless of motive, it’s smart.

For “Flipper”- the persistence paid off in 2002, when he raced 7 times in the Craftsman Truck Series. He raced for fellow Missourian Mike Mittler of MB Motorsports. In exchange Edwards earned the team their first top 10, an 8th place finish at Kansas. He also climbed for the first time into a Busch Series car cockpit an ran a 38th at Gateway for Bost Motorsports.

2003 marked the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Jack Roush. The prestigious owner offered Edwards a full-time in the CTS, racing the #99 truck sponsored by the British company Superchips. Carl would earn his first career win at Kentucky and would go on to win two more, finishing 8th in the points. His accomplishments would earn Raybestos Rookie Of The Year honors in the truck series.

Edwards’ career hit high gear in the 2004 season. “Cousin Carl” won the season opening truck race at Daytona, en route to 3 season wins and a 4th place finish in the points. Hisfirst taste of action at NASCAR’s top level came in August, 2004 at Michigan, taking over for Jeff Burton in the #99 ride. It was a positive launch to Edwards’ Cup career- he finished 10th after qualifying 23rd. In 13 starts in his new car, Edwards registered a top 5 and 5 top 10s.

You had to know from that kind of start that Edwards learns quickly and wastes no time making his presence felt. In his first FULL season of racing in 2005, Edwards finished an incredible 3rd in the points. Edwards made 4 trips to victory lane- the first in the March Atlanta race- his 17th career start. He would go on to sweep Atlanta and the other wins came at Pocono and Texas. In the interest of “seat time”, Edwards made 34 Nationwide Series starts, picking up 5 wins and finishing 3rd in the final points. Where did Edwards get that first NNS win? The same place and the same weekend as his first Cup win- at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

As must seem to happen in any driver’s career, Edwards hit some debris on his road to success in 2006. Crew chief Bob Osborne was moved over to Jamie Mc Murray’s #26 team to jump start Jamie Mac’s tepid start, and Edwards’ fortunes got a little loose in the turns. Though Edwards picked up 10 tops 5s and 20 top 10s, he couldn’t close the deal with a win. Taking some of the edge were 4 wins in the NNS.

It was also during the season that Edwards’ “dark side” made its first appearance. Tony Stewart took exception to the way rookie Clint Bowyer was racing him and Smoke shoved the youngster into Edwards. Carl made a few threats over the radio and would ultimately spin Stewart on pit road. The veteran Stewart likened Edwards to Eddie Haskell- seeming to suggest a certain duplicity by Edwards: Mr. Nice Guy on camera, something entirely different on the track.

In a Nationwide (then Busch) Series event in Michigan, Edwards used his car to demonstrate his displeasure at Dale Earnhardt Jr’s race maneuvers by ramming Junior under caution. After Earnhardt won the race, Edwards paid a not-so-friendly visit to Victory Lane. the shouting match there got the pair a trip to the NASCAR hauler to work things. NASCAR blogger Jeremy Dunn said it was the first team he remembers hearing boos for “Lil E.”

Edwards would re-unite with Osborne in 2007 and the pair got back on the winning track at June’s Michigan race- ending a winless string of 52 races. One crew member pledged not to shave until Carl won, making a humorous spectacle of the win. Another nice accomplishment came Edwards’ way when he won at Bristol seeming to prove he could win on more than just intermediate tracks. All told, Cousin Carl picked up 3 wins, good for a 9th place finish in the final points.

An early season hot streak propelled Edwards to 4 wins in the NNS, opening up a lead Edwards would never surrender. Though he slumped a bit down the stretch, Edwards would snag a Nationwide Series title.

Edwards’ season was not without its bumps in the road. Aside from occasional bouts of inconsistency, he would dislocate his thumb in a dirt track race that took place in Lincoln, Nebraska in July. Edwards would also find trouble again: after an on-track fender bender with teammate Matt Kenseth at Martinsville, Edwards accosted the 2003 Cup champion while Kenseth was filming a TV interview. In front of God and everybody, Edwards starting shoving on Kenseth and reared back as if to take a swing.

The incident created much controversy. Fellow Roush racer Greg Biffle suggested we were seeing Carl’s “true colors” and Edwards complained that when he won he got more in the way of props from other racers than he did his own teammates. An avid weightlifter, rumors began circulating that there may be a problem with “‘roid rage.”

Publicly, the two made nice, though it’s obvious the pair have never been close. Privately, the wounds appear to have healed a little more slowly.

With two wins in his first three races, Edwards appeared headed for a hot start in 2008. He took the checkered at Fontana and followed it up with a win at Las Vegas. He almost won the Nationwide event in Nevada, but got hit by eventual winner Mark Martin. Edwards said if it weren’t for Martin’s reputation for racing clean, he might have been tempted to get more upset. For his part, Martin said he regretted the incident.

Edwards’ Vegas win proved to be costly. A post race inspection revealed a loose oil tank lid. The violation cost Edwards 100 points and the services of Bob Osborne. On the Nationwide side, things started a little slower for Carl, as Kyle Busch grabbed a lion’s share of the headlines and Clint Bowyer began to break out for a lead.

Edwards would continue to be overshadowed by the exploits of Busch- though he would win at Texas and the second Pocono race. Carl would go on a run of late season success that would get him 9 wins- including Bristol, Michigan and Homestead. At Bristol, Edwards won a few hearts by tapping “bad boy” Kyle Busch loose. After the race, Edwards said he felt emboldended to make the move because he felt Busch would do the same to him were the tables turned. Busch used his car to smack Edwards after the race, prompting Edwards to come down on Busch- drawing a thunderous Bristol cheer. Edwards made a valiant run at defending champion Jimmie Johnson, but missteps put Edwards title hopes in the wall.

Speaking of walls, Edwards tried to bounce off the wall at Kansas to beat Jimmie Johnson. He caught too much wall and got a few snickers from race fans. The following week at Talladega, Edwards touched off “The Big One” a 12-car pile-up affecting teammates Biffle and Kenseth as well as fellow chasers Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Not once to mince words, Harvick called Edwards a “pansy” in an interview. Later- the driver of the #99 left a sarcastic “love note” for “Happy” and the two got into a heated exchange during a rain delay at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Once again, the steroid allegations surfaced again and after a disastrous run at Lowe’s, Harvick suggested that he had gotten in Edwards’ head- something head said was “…not hard to do.”

In spite of a late season rebound in both touring series, Edwards would settle for second place in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series. As for the accident at Talladega, Edwards admitted to a mistake and Biffle was willing to forgive, understanding Edwards had caught a corner of Greg’s car while attempting to bump draft.

A winner of 15 Cup races, 20 Nationwide races and 6 Camping World truck races, Edwards has proven a winner. Away from NASCAR, he won the 2007 “Prelude To the Dream” at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway and he beat international racing star Michael Shumacher just this month at the Race of Champions. Edwards ultimately gave way to David Coulthard of Scotland by less than a second.

Other recent good news includes Edwards’ engagement to “Dr. Kate” Kathryn Downey and the announcement that Dan Stillman will head up Carl’s Nationwide pit crew as Drew Blickensderfer heads for the pit box for Matt Kenseth. Earlier this year, Aflac signed a lucrative agreement to become primary sponsor for the #99 in 2009. Subway restaurants will also sponsor Edwards as they see him as a good marketing match with his commitment to fitness to not only in lifting weights, but also in cycling.

Edwards’ other interests on the business front include ownership of Back 40 records- a label he founded with an old high school friend. Those guitars he won in Nashville could look mighty nice on the Back40 walls.

As we re-visit the earlier question of a seeming “Jekyll and Hyde” personality- there may always be lingering questions of his sincerity. Seems unfair when you consider that Tony Stewart’s outspokenness is generally admired and there are a number of fans looking for a less “politically correct” driver.

In my humble opinion, the steroid allegations are baseless- a matter of highly circumstantial evidence. Edwards would be an idiot to do it as they have no real value for a race car driver. Does he work out? Yes. Does he have a temper? Yes. Does that make him a steroid user? NO. For his part, Carl Edwards says he was taught to stand up for himself and I think that’s all he’s doing. He will be the first to admit that he doesn’t always handle his emotions properly, but he demonstrates a contrite heart afterwards. Yes, his aggressiveness on the tack often leads to costly moves that cost him wins- but will you argue with a guy who was the series leader in wins? I think not.

You don’t have to like him, but don’t engage in the smear tactics. There’s no credible evidence to link Edwards to steroid use. Like him or not, Edwards has the will to win, the work ethic and the support to be one of NASCAR’s top stars- and the way things are going right now, we’ll take all the good marketability you can get.

In the long run, Edwards is a little Lone Ranger and a little Black Bart rolled into one. You have to at least admit if you won’t root for him that he’s smart, a bit colorful, a little crazy and…..a winner.