Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards had a blast racing in Nationwide this season
By Rea White - Associate Editor
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards says he enjoyed his Nationwide Series season even though he finished second to Kyle Busch.
David Griffin
NASCAR Scene
Related stories: Kyle Busch learned a valuable lesson in dominating the Nationwide Series for his first NASCAR title
Brad Keselowski gained attention, success during Nationwide run
Braun Racing's Jason Leffler takes pride in 2009 Nationwide consistency
Mike Bliss pieces together fifth-place season racing for several teams
Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards may not have enjoyed his best outing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2009, but he found that racing in the Nationwide Series helped him continue to find the fun side of the sport.
Edwards, 30, finished second to Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Nationwide standings in a season in which he won five races and earned 30 top-10 finishes, 23 of them top-fives, in 35 outings.
He finished second by 210 points to Busch, who won nine races and finished second 11 times, but says that he enjoyed racing in the series, especially in a season in which he failed to win on the Cup side and finished 11th in the standings there.
Edwards rallied late in the season in the Nationwide standings, but then Busch and his group once more began reeling off top finishes and easily put the competition away.
Still, Edwards says he enjoyed the experience.
"People ask me why I run the Nationwide Series, and [at Homestead] in practice I was thinking, ‘This is why.’ I’m having a blast. We’ve got fast race cars, [and] I’m proud to represent Ford in the series," Edwards said. "We didn’t win the championship but ran second to a team that’s really unparalleled in their performance. So I’m ready to go next year. We’ve got some great sponsors. We’ll go at it again.”
Edwards plans to return to the series for a full run again in 2010.
And while he's clearly hoping for a better outcome in the standings, he had nothing but praise for Busch, who doesn’t plan to run the series full time next season, and his season.
"I’ve got to say congrats to Kyle and those guys," Edwards said. "We finished second to them in the championship, but those guys have really been a classic deal."
Driver: Carl Edwards
Age: 30
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Finishing position: Second
2009 stats: 5 wins, 23 top-fives, 30 top-10s in 35 starts.
Years in Nationwide: 5 full-time seasons
Career stats: 176 starts, 25 wins, 87 top-fives, 119 top-10s, 18 poles
Popular News
-
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: Which Sprint Cup star will snap his long winless streak first?
Comments (188) -
For Dale Earnhardt Jr., life as an Earnhardt is not easy, especially when you're not winning
Comments (139) -
Jeff Owens: Should RCR’s black No. 3 return to NASCAR’s Cup series?
Comments (120) -
Hendrick Motorsports’ Mark Martin more prepared mentally and physically for 2010
Comments (105) -
Dale Earnhardt Inc. plans for Jeffrey Earnhardt still in flux
Comments (96)
Recent Headlines
-
SEASON PREVIEW: Mike Skinner optimistic about 2010 prospects
Comments (1) -
SEASON PREVIEW: Camping World Truck Series top-20 rankings
Comments (3) -
Josh Wise to drive in Nationwide Series for Specialty Racing
Comments (2) -
HBO’s ‘24/7 Jimmie Johnson’ documentary series expected to shift into high gear tonight
Comments (26) -
SEASON PREVIEW: Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards hungry to regain place among Sprint Cup’s elite
Comments (14)
Poll PositionView All
After qualifying and the Budweiser Shootout, who is the favorite to win the Daytona 500?
Promotions
-
Tweet your thoughts about each race and join the conversation with other fans.
-
Drive an authentic NASCAR Sprint Cup car at the NASCAR Racing Experience.
Comments
5 responses to "Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards had a blast racing in Nationwide this season". Post a Comment.
nascarnutsheeler said:
Nov 26, 2009 at 2:39 PMCarl,in my books is a class act.There aren't many drivers that have the charisma that he has. I don't agree with the cup drivers running full time in the Nationwide but I can understand a guy like Carl wanting to race no matter what class it is' as long as it's racing. I just don't think it's fair to the up and coming drivers and teams.I'll be cheering for him no matter what.
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse Reportjbbigrod said:
Nov 26, 2009 at 3:51 PMAtta way Carl. Looking forward to you winning the Championship again in 2010. And also doing much better in Sprint Cup too.
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse Reportalisoeddie said:
Nov 26, 2009 at 5:54 PMCarl is the anti-Kyle.A good sport,likeable,and all around nice guy,a guy who wins the Truckseries race at Daytona and on the spur of the moment gives the trophy to a terminally ill kid in the winners circle.
Report as AbuseCarl,the anti-Kyle.
Report Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse ReportLUV88AND99 said:
Nov 27, 2009 at 10:54 PMI am so proud of you Carl! The true gentleman and yet has that mean streak every once in a while to keep some folks straight! Looking forward to next year.
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse Reportphillipwafford said:
Nov 28, 2009 at 4:26 AMyou are still my driver WIN LOSE or DRAW. maybe one of these days FORD will come back to their GLORY with this new FR9 engine and you can show these guys what racing is all about God bless you, your wife Kate and the little soon to be I know he/SHE will be proud of their daddy
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse Report