7 reasons to watch the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway: No. 2 - Carl Edwards

By Art Weinstein

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

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Carl Edwards' winless streak was a big story earlier this season. As spring turned to summer and the man who won a Sprint Cup Series-high nine races in 2008 still had a goose egg in the win column, everyone wondered why. Several theories were floated: It was a down year for Fords. Roush Fenway Racing had fallen a bit behind the top Chevrolet teams. Edwards was cursed with bad luck (remember, he was set to win the spring race at Talladega before he took a detour on the last lap into the catch fence).

As summer turned to fall, Edwards' winless steak continued, but as a story, it moved to the back burner, as everyone's attention turned to the Chase For The Sprint Cup.

But Edwards is now 0-for-33 this year in Sprint Cup racing. It seems unthinkable that Edwards, the popular choice in the preseason to win the series championship this year, might finish the year winless.

Which brings us to Texas Motor Speedway, his last, best chance to break that streak.

Remember how effortlessly Edwards made it look last year at Texas in sweeping both races at the 1.5-mile track? He led 335 of 673 laps. Just short of 50 percent. That is the definition of domination.

I'll be watching Sunday to see if Edwards can recapture that magic in the Lone Star State.