Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards had a blast racing in Nationwide this season
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
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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
