 | | A few more people seek Carl Edwards' time after a third-place finish in the points last year. Credit: CIA Stock Photo |
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
February 4, 2006
10:57 AM EST (15:57 GMT)
Carl Edwards is a list guy. These days, he's got to be. Nextel Cup Series, check. Busch Series, check. He did have IROC on his calendar until a scheduling conflict forced him to step away. Add dirt-track races and appearances. And with Office Depot committed as the No. 99 car's full-time sponsor, Edwards' list keeps growing. "I write lists of what I need to do for the day, and on my list today is to take 30 minutes and focus on the things that are important," Edwards said at one of his Daytona test sessions in January. "I'm having to actually prioritize things, because there was definitely a time not too long ago when I just wished I had something to do related to racing. Now there's so much to do, so it definitely was a different offseason -- a lot more attention." Although he wasn't considered a rookie, Edwards had the best season of a first-year driver since James Hylton finished second in the points in 1966. Edwards won four races and finished third in the Chase for the Nextel Cup all while running a full Busch Series schedule, as well, where he also finished third with five victories. He'll be double-dipping again this year, like a handful of other drivers. But he said the commitment isn't a big deal -- he's just doing his job. "I love racing," Edwards said. "I feel like the rest of these guys -- that I have an amazing opportunity to drive for the best team in the world and I can't even describe it." Edwards enters 2006 with the same personnel in place to make an encore performance -- no members left the team during the offseason. However, just because the same team is together again doesn't put him in the Chase. He knows that, and he knows there are plenty of things to work on. Being patient on the racetrack tops his list.  | 
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"A lot of times I just said, 'You know what, I'm racing for a sponsor and to prove myself,' and I'd just go for it," he said of racing in tight quarters last season. "I'd tick somebody off and then I'd realize later that the outcome would have been just the same if I'd have just given him a little more respect. That's something Mark [Martin] helped me a lot with." Second and third on the agenda are improving his finishes at road courses and short tracks, two areas that set the gap between him and champion Tony Stewart. Edwards finished 39th at Infineon and 19th at Watkins Glen, where Stewart won. Although there's not a road course in the Chase, Martinsville is the sixth race of the 10-event playoff. Edwards' average finish on short tracks last season was 26th, the exact spot in which he finished at Martinsville in October. Stewart, meanwhile, finished second. "As long as I can get a little bit better there ... I think that the chances of us performing like last season are really good," Edwards said. "Because of the way the last 10 races were run -- there wasn't a road course -- but we still closed in on Tony." Entering the Chase last season, Edwards sat eighth in the standings. His goal this year is to have a better opportunity to reach the top. If that doesn't happen, Edwards said it won't be because of a lack in his determination. "I truly believe that if we run poorly this season ... that it won't be because my head is not in the right place," Edwards said of his focus. "I think it would be naïve to think I would let something go that I've worked so hard for." | 
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