Edwards fondly remembers racing near Gateway, making win more special
By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor
Monday, July 21, 2008
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Mark Martin has won 90 times in NASCAR’s national touring series, but the veteran driver knows you can never count on another victory, so you better savor the ones you get. Clearly, Martin has rubbed off on his former teammate, Carl Edwards.
For Edwards, a victory at Gateway International Raceway is like winning at Daytona, Indianapolis, Charlotte and Darlington – all at once. Two years ago, Edwards won for the first time at the 1.25-mile track he used to only dream of racing at.
Growing up in Columbia, Mo., Edwards’ sights weren’t set on Daytona or Indy or Charlotte. Racing at bullrings in the St. Louis area, those tracks were seemingly out of reach.
But Gateway, maybe, just maybe, Edwards could get there.
Finally, driving for Mike Mittler, Edwards made it to Gateway for a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in 2003. And in 2006, driving in the Busch Series for the team now known as Roush Fenway Racing, Edwards got to celebrate in victory lane after winning at Gateway.
“You always think, ‘Maybe it’s just going to be a one-time deal,’” Edwards said Saturday night – after winning again at Gateway, this time in the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Nationwide Series race. “To win it again, man it’s cool. It feels just as good as it did the time before.”
To truly understand why Edwards reveres Gateway so much, consider where he first started racing. Columbia is about two hours from Madison, Ill., home of Gateway International Raceway.
Edwards’ father, Carl. Sr., towed a Volkswagon race car to tracks like St. Charles Speedway just outside St. Louis; to I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., about a half-hour south of St. Louis; to Godfrey Speedway in Illinois, about a half-hour north of St. Louis; and to Macomb Raceway in Illinois, about three hours north of St. Louis.
When Carl Jr. was old enough, he went with his dad to the same tracks.
“He raced these little four-cylinder Volkswagon cars at St. Charles, Pevely, Macomb, Godfrey, Ill. – all these places that are right around here,” Edwards said. “When I started racing, we took the trailer we had, and he made it 4 feet longer, and we put two little cars on it.
“That was where we raced. This track, when I started working with Mike Mittler, I drove by here a lot. I knew I was close to getting an opportunity to getting drive that truck. Before they built Kansas, this was it. This was the closest track.
“For me, this is really special. There were a lot of people up there in the stands that I raced against and that are either friends or family. That’s what makes it so cool.”
A lot of those friends and family members made it to victory lane Saturday, and Edwards could have spent all night there. But he had to cut it short to meet with the media.
“It’s so hard to leave victory lane,” Edwards said. “I’ve got so many friends down there. They’re taking pictures. Man, it’s just really, really special to win here for me. I just can’t thank my guys enough.”
Crew chief Drew Blickensderfer knew how badly Edwards wanted to win at Gateway. He understood Gateway’s draw, too, for Blickensderfer grew up in Decatur, Ill., about two hours from the track.
And though it wasn’t necessary to remind Blickensderfer, Edwards did. And so did Edwards’ public-relations representative, Randy Fuller.
“[Edwards] said it last week a few times to me,” Blickensderfer said. “He just gave me hints. Our shop’s in Mooresville [N.C.], and I happened to be in Concord [N.C.] on Wednesday, and I went by Randy Fuller’s office, and Randy made sure to make it very clear to me: ‘Carl’s been calling me every day telling me this is a huge place.’
“On the way here, I remember thinking, ‘I want to win so bad, just not to disappoint.’”
Blickensderfer didn’t disappoint. And neither did Edwards. Though Edwards’ No. 60 Ford wasn’t the fastest as the drop of the green flag, Blickensderfer continued to make adjustments.
By the end of the race, Edwards was simply on cruise control. Once he got the lead from Jason Leffler with 49 laps to go, Edwards was untouchable. He ended up winning by more than six seconds – an eternity in the competitive world of NASCAR these days.
“For me, I’ve only had a couple times I’ve had a car that dominant at the end of a race,” Edwards said. “I asked Drew, ‘Were we that much faster? Did other people slow down?’ I was just cruising around at the end, and the car was so good.
“I’m just really, really proud of Drew and the guys for being able to make the adjustments to make it drive like that. I couldn’t believe how fast it was.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Carl Edwards
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