Since his win last year at Atlanta, Carl Edwards has spent a lot of time in front of the cameras. Credit: Autostock

Living the simple life key for surging Edwards

Modest lifestyle, down-home friends keep stardom in perspective

A plasma television sits on the upstairs floor of the house that Carl Edwards bought late last year.

Edwards doesn't know how big the screen is.

He doesn't even know what model it is.

	Inside the Numbers Carl Edwards' first 52 Cup races compared with the first 52 races of other top stars of NASCAR Driver W T5 T10 C. Edwards 4 15 24 J. Gordon 2 12 21 R. Wallace 0 4 12 D. Earnhardt 2 20 30

But he says the television, given to him for winning the pole at California Speedway, says as much about his personality as anything in the 4,000-square-foot home within 20 minutes of downtown Charlotte, N.C.

"I haven't taken it out of the box,'' he said with a laugh.

The rest of the home, like the television, is a testament to how the 26-year-old driver's life has changed since he won his first Nextel Cup race a year ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway and made backflips a new post-race phenomena.

There's the upstairs room with several tables covered in fan mail and posters that he hasn't had time to answer or autograph.

There's the game room without any games, just a computer driving chair that is as much job-related as it is game-related.

There are the other rooms with sparse furnishings that give the appearance of somebody moving in rather than settled.

"His life is a hundred miles an hour,'' said John Humphrey, one of Edwards' two roommates from his hometown of Columbia, Mo. "If he's home two to three days a month, that's a stretch. He's overwhelmed with commercials, media attention and appearances.

"I try to watch out for him, but it's hard to keep up with him.''

Edwards' world became so complicated after he left Atlanta last March that it seemed galaxies from his world four years ago.

There was the world he lived in as a substitute teacher, struggling to make ends meet and literally passing out business cards that read, "If you're looking for a driver, you're looking for me!'' to get noticed.

Then there is this new world in which he can't go to the grocery store without being recognized, in which he flies all over the country in his own Piper Saratoga and dates Olympic gold medalist swimmer Amanda Beard.

"It wasn't the Atlanta win that was the pivotal point,'' insisted Edwards, who finished last season with four victories and was third in the final standings, although he was tied second-place Roush Racing teammate Greg Biffle in points. "It was getting involved with Jack Roush.

"That Atlanta win just kind of screwed everything up. Now it's, 'OK, we won a Nextel Cup race. Now we've got to think about championships.' It changed the way I thought. It changed the fans' perception a little bit.''

In his new world, Edwards has a personal assistant to do things he once did himself, such as shopping and paying the bills.

He could have used that help in his old world, particularly with the bills, before moving out of the small two-bedroom apartment he lived in this time a year ago.

"I got so bad at the apartment not paying bills on time,'' said Edwards, who won $7 million last season. "Not that I didn't have the money. I just never looked at the mail. When I moved into the house they wouldn't turn the power on without a big deposit.

"My assistant said the lady at the power company was real nice, that she knew who I was and was a big fan. She just said they have rules. So I'm not in real good shape with the power company.''

But Edwards is in good shape with every other part of his life, including his body that was featured bare-chested on the cover of a February issue of ESPN The Magazine.

His Hollywood smile and chiseled body, along with his ability to drive the wheels off a Cup car, have made him one of the more marketable newcomers the series has seen.

"I've never seen a rookie having people standing in line trying to get a little piece of Carl for something,'' Roush Racing president Geoff Smith said. "When I say never seen, Dale Earnhardt Jr. obviously came in on a little different level.

"I'm talking about a guy not known by a soul, starting from scratch.''

But those who knew Edwards when he had nothing say fame and fortune haven't changed him. They hope it never will.

"I was really nervous when Carl made it big,'' said Humphrey, who drives one of Roush Racing's Busch haulers thanks to a recommendation from Edwards. "Carl has not changed whatsoever. The only difference I see in Carl now is he's so busy.''

Frequent flier

Monday: Spend time at Roush Racing with crew chief Bob Osborne.

Tuesday: Fly to Homestead-Miami Speedway to drive PGA golfers around the track for a Ford appearance; fly to Orlando for an Office Depot appearance; fly back home to North Carolina.

Wednesday: Fly to Atlanta for a six-hour media tour that includes interviews with five television stations, five radio stations and a stop at Atlanta Motor Speedway for a press conference; fly back home to North Carolina.

Thursday-Sunday: Fly to Mexico City for the Busch Series weekend.

Four years ago, a typical week for Edwards was knocking on doors of car owners and hustling businesses to sponsor him.

Between competing full time in the Nextel Cup and Busch Series and fulfilling sponsor obligations, he barely has free time now to play paint ball with his roommates or ride mountain bikes with Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears.

"It's a little different,'' Edwards admitted. "But I want to go to all these races every week. I want to compete for championships. Sometimes I don't necessarily want to go to promotions for companies, so I pick and choose that stuff.

"The greatest thing in your life is having the freedom to do what you want to do.''

Team owner Roush said Edwards is better grounded than most young people thrust into his position. He said Edwards still hasn't forgotten his humble background.

"He's very frugal, very conservative and very appreciative,'' Roush said. "He's working his way through things without letting the money burn through his pocket.

"He also has a great understanding of the priority he needs to have for the things he wants to do with a race car.''

Edwards showed that two weeks ago at Mexico City. His mind was so focused on changes being made to his Busch car that one question into an interview he politely postponed until after qualifying.

"If I were to sit back and say, 'Hey, this is great. I'm going to enjoy this,' that would last about two months,'' Edwards said. "Somebody once told me he'd seen a lot of guys get that I've-arrived-syndrome. Like, 'It's all gravy now.'

At the WaldorfEdwards reflects on his life-changing '05 campaign A star is bornEdwards beats Johnson at AMS for his first Cup victory Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"I know what he's talking about. It's tough. What's interesting to me is people come up and say, 'Oh, you're the greatest.' As soon as we run 25th in points all of that goes away.''

In many ways Edwards is a lot like Roush, not worried about getting his fingernails dirty working on the car or spending time with the team beyond the call of duty. Only the demands on the schedule keep him from doing more.

"There will be unrelenting pressure as time goes on,'' Roush said. "I suspect in two or three more years he won't be able to race the full-time Busch Series with the Cup schedule even if he wants to.''

Edwards hasn't looked that far ahead. He's focused on righting this Cup season in which he's had two finishes of 26th or worse sandwiched around a third at California to leave him 23rd in points.

He insists he's far from arrived and realizes how lucky he is.

"When I was in the Truck Series fans would say, 'Oh, you're in the Truck Series. When do you get to race in NASCAR?''' Edwards said. "I'm like, 'Man, look, this is real close to the top of the mountain. There are 10,000 guys out there that are good enough and they never get the chance to run a race on television in front of a big crowd like we were doing in the Truck Series.'''

Staying grounded

Larry McReynolds, an analyst for FOX Sports' NASCAR coverage, was pulling out of the garage at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Saturday when he noticed Edwards walking toward his car.

"Carl came over with that big ol' grin of his,'' McReynolds said. "I thought he was about to tell us about his race car or the Busch race. He leaned into the car window and said, 'You won't believe what I just did? I just drove the General Lee with John Schneider around the track.'

"He was like a kid talking about what he got on Christmas morning. I hope so much, no matter how many races he runs, that he will not lose that excitement about him. Most of them do.''

Edwards doesn't want to be like most. That's why he surrounds himself with people such as Humphrey and Tom Giacchi, his motorcoach driver that also shares his house.

He certainly doesn't keep them around for rent money.

"I like being around nice people and it's fun to come home and have guys that I know there,'' Edwards said. "I've known them for a long time. It's cool to have somebody to keep you grounded. They know how I am.''

Edwards knew Humphrey and Giacchi when times were tough in Missouri. That he's been able to help each of them through tough times in their careers makes his success more meaningful.

He also knows he wouldn't be where he is without them. It was Humphrey who helped Edwards land a Truck Series ride with Mike Mittler in 2002. That enabled him to be discovered by Roush Racing.

"Me and Fred Harris had been trying for some time to convince Mike to give Carl a shot,'' Humphrey recalled. "One day Mike said, 'Well, I don't have a tractor to get my trailer to the track. If you can find a way to get my trailer there we can give him a shot.'

"Fred and I picked up a yard tractor, more or less, and went up and got his trailer and Carl got his first test that way.''

But, Humphrey added, Edwards really didn't need any help.

"We always knew he was going to make it, with or without us,'' he said. "He could talk his way into the presidency if he had to. He's his own PR guy.''

The bare facts

Edwards stood behind his trailer, his fire suit covering his bare chest that drew so much attention in ESPN The Magazine.

	Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Carl Edwards at Atlanta Year Start Finish 2004 4 3 2005 4 1   2 1 Avg. 3.3 1.6

"I volunteered after seeing a copy to let any media person take a 2x4 and see if he could break it across his [stomach],'' Smith said as he watched his young star.

Edwards has been asked about the magazine cover, in which his fire suit is pulled to his waist to reveal his six-pack abs, so many times that he doesn't like talking about it.

But he's not embarrassed. The photo, as he hoped, showed that NASCAR drivers aren't middle-aged, beer-bellied men with no athletic ability. He wishes more drivers could be seen in the same light, particularly 46-year-old teammate Mark Martin, who influenced his intense workout regime years ago.

"Mark was giving me some trouble the other day and he flexed his abs,'' Edwards said with a laugh. "He's got me beat by a mile. He could embarrass me real bad by doing his own magazine cover.''

Don't think Smith hasn't thought about that and other promotions.

"Actually, I want to see the abdominal contest between Carl and Mark,'' he said. "Mark Martin is solid. He is smaller muscled than Carl, but there is no questioning that those two are really buff.

"In all fairness, we should do the 40-under group and over-40 group and do a walk-off and let the fans vote.''

Rookie Clint Bowyer said there aren't many drivers in the garage willing -- or in good enough shape -- to do that.

"You wouldn't catch me doing it,'' he said. "But what he's done is cool. It's just another way of getting recognition for the sport and how big it's grown. I never thought I'd see the day when a driver would pose with his shirt off for the cover of a magazine.''

Better Homes and Gardens?

If the boxed-up television doesn't say enough about Edwards' life, then the cereal dispensers in the kitchen do.

"I eat a lot of cereal,'' Edwards said. "Raisin Nut Bran is my favorite. The people that lived there before me had these cereal dispensers like you see in a buffet line.

"That's one of the things that sold me on the house.''

For a man whose world has become complicated, Edwards is simple at heart. His dream is to buy the home that he grew up in for his mother, Nancy Sterling, who helped him as much as anybody achieve his dream of becoming a driver.

One of his most-prized possessions is the old Datsun he drove when he had little money.

"He keeps it like a treasure,'' Humphrey said. "I remember how he would come over to the shop and that car would be smoking and we would have to work on it so he could get back home.''

Edwards still works on the car for relaxation. But nothing helps him forget his hectic schedule more than tearing up the acreage around his house on a four-wheeler or dirt bike with Humphrey and Giacchi.

"He's a one-of-a-kind guy,'' Humphrey said. "He doesn't want a place with a lavish garden and waterfall and all of this fancy stuff you see on the front of magazines. He's not into the Better Homes and Gardens thing.

"He'd just as soon have his dirt bike laying around with dirty gloves and dirty boots laying in piles in the corner. That's the Carl I've always known. He hasn't changed a bit. He's still a slob.''