Edwards eager to race for first time at Atlanta

CONCORD, N.C. -- The oddity of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule means that Carl Edwards has gone 29 days since last winning a race.

But since there are 29 days between the season-opener at Daytona and the Easy Care 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, Edwards is still on a winning streak.

EASYCARE 200  •  Entry List  •  Driver Standings  •  Notebook: Trucks to make Atlanta debut

The trucks finally return to the track -- any track -- with this weekend's race. Thank goodness, Edwards said. Any momentum from the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 victory might be gone, but Edwards is ready to get back to racing.

"I've been going just about crazy," Edwards said. "I really like racing. What I've been doing, we took the crew guys and we've done some go-kart racing, and I've been playing a lot on my computer, running the Atlanta race track on my PC just trying to be as best prepared as I can be.

VIDEO CLIPS Truck drivers discuss the series' first race at AMS Play video Edwards holds off Kvapil for the win at Daytona Play video

"Plus, my crew chief (Kevin Starland), he runs a pretty tight ship here so we work out every morning and just try to do the best we can. It is tough. You want to be racing every weekend. It's hard to have that month off."

Driving the 1.54-mile quad-oval track on a computer won't tax your muscles that much, but it has helped Edwards get ready to race on a track he's never raced on before.

And working out helps keep his muscles in shape, but it's nothing like driving.

So Atlanta could not have come soon enough for Edwards. The time off was getting to him, it seems.

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"I do a lot of goofy things," Edwards said.

He said that, not us.

"I've got these folks building me a shifter kart so that I can just go out and run that thing, and hopefully just wear it out and get some seat time," Edwards said.

"Every once in a while I'll sit in the truck, but not very often. I spend most of the time sitting in this little chair I made in my apartment playing my computer game, and it's almost like a little cockpit, and that thing tricks my brain sometimes. It's really good practice and it keeps me sharp, I think."

He'll find out this weekend if it worked. Of course, he isn't the only driver who has been trying to find creative ways to stay busy, so in that regard, Edwards is equal to the 35 other drivers.

But he's ahead on another point, the NCTS points standings. Sure, it's only one race, but being first is better than being 23rd - where he was this time last year.

	Edwards is hoping for a chance to do more gymnastics at Atlanta. Credit: Autostock

"That's a good feeling," Edwards said. "Last year we had to wait this month out after a pretty big mistake on my part, and I crashed the truck and we were something like 26th in points, so this is a lot easier month in that respect. Having that points lead is awesome."

One mistake will take it away, and making a mistake at a new track isn't out of the realm of possibilities. The trucks have never raced at Atlanta, which is known for its high speeds.

Some of the veterans like Bobby Hamilton and Steve Park may have an advantage this weekend because of previous experience at Atlanta, but Edwards has tested there in a Busch car.

"I think it will be a really big advantage," Edwards said. "I tested that Busch car and we ran a lot of laps. They flat wore me out there in a two-day test. It got to where I felt very comfortable running that car around the race track. I'm hoping a bunch of that transfers over. There's some little things I picked up, and I really think that's going to help."

One of the things Edwards noticed was the ability to run the high groove and still be able to maintain good lap times. Some tracks, especially the newer 1.5-mile ones, only have one groove -- the lower one.

But Atlanta's pavement and design is a few years old now, which makes it a little more drivable and allows for better racing.

"I'm really excited about it because I think it will give us a chance to really use some of the things that Ford has spent so much time working on this winter as far as our body and more downforce," Edwards said.

"On that front I'm really excited, and it's also the first time since Homestead that we've gone to a track where we are going to have to get the chassis perfect. That will be fun, plus, I got to do a little bit of testing there, and from what I saw I think the racetrack itself is going to lend to some really great racing with the ability to run on the bottom and the top -- just the classic Atlanta races that you can run all over the race track.

"I'm really excited about that, but I'm also looking forward to the challenge of keeping up with the guys that have raced there before and the learning process of a driver that is going to have to take place the whole weekend."

Driving. Again. Finally.