Carl Edwards introduced NASCAR to the backflip at Atlanta. Credit: Autostock

For Edwards, it's backflip to the future at Atlanta

It's been one year since Carl Edwards went from Jeff Burton's young, relatively unknown replacement in Jack Roush's No. 99 Ford to Carl Edwards: backflip enthusiast and Chase contender.

Last spring Edwards swept both the Busch and Cup series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but he went on to show his trademark victory celebration of backflipping off the car was more than a flash-in-the-pan gimmick.

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Edwards parlayed that victory into a run in the Chase. Back-to-back victories at Atlanta and Texas thrust him into a battle for the Cup title. He finished third, just 35 points off Tony Stewart's championship-setting pace.

After the three races of 2006, Edwards is 23rd in points. He's looking at Sunday's Golden Corral 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX) at Atlanta to jumpstart another Chase season.

"I'm pretty excited about racing in Atlanta, to say the least," said Edwards, who's trying to become the first driver to win three consecutive Cup races at AMS. "Last year we had a great run and we hope to improve on that."

Drivers at Atlanta Carl Edwards Starts 3 Wins 2 Top-5s 3 Top-10s 3 Poles 0 DNFs 0 Avg. Start 3.3 Avg. Finish 1.7 CARL EDWARDS •   2006 Driver Page •   Store: Get Edwards gear! Matt Kenseth Starts 12 Wins 0 Top-5s 3 Top-10s 6 Poles 0 DNFs 3 Avg. Start 25.4 Avg. Finish 17.8 MATT KENSETH •   2006 Driver Page •   Store: Get Kenseth gear! Jimmie Johnson Starts 9 Wins 1 Top-5s 5 Top-10s 5 Poles 0 DNFs 1 Avg. Start 9.3 Avg. Finish 12.4 JIMMIE JOHNSON •   2006 Driver Page •   Store: Get Johnson gear!

"I just love going to Atlanta. We have had a lot of success in Atlanta over the last year and we are hoping we can continue the same success this weekend."

Edwards, who sandwiched in a third-place finish between disappointing runs at Daytona and Las Vegas, isn't the only Roush driver looking forward to Atlanta.

"The most fun track we race on may be at Atlanta," said Matt Kenseth, who's second in points. "You can run the white line or you can have the right rear scraping the fence and probably run the same lap times, so you never have an excuse for not passing a car in front of you.

"There are a lot of good grooves at Atlanta. It's a good race for the drivers and good fun for the fans."

Kenseth is coming off a second-place run at Vegas, where Jimmie Johnson's last-lap sprint in a green-white-checkered finish prevented Kenseth from posting back-to-back victories.

"I feel good about going to Atlanta," said Kenseth, who has led the most laps (214) this season. "I'm looking forward to going there. Of course, I'm looking forward to going anywhere with the way our stuff's running right now."

Both Edwards and Kenseth will have the series' hottest driver in which to contend. And Jimmie Johnson has had his share of success at Atlanta, too.

Johnson has a 12.4 average finish at AMS. In nine races, he has one victory and five top-fives.

Johnson has won two of the first three races of the season, and finished second to Kenseth at Fontana. He finished second a year ago at Atlanta when Edwards passed him on the final lap.

FedEx PreviewNBC/TNT's Marty Snider previews the action heading to Atlanta Driven to WinGo behind the scenes with Carl Edwards as he guest stars on a soap opera Making historyBill Lester to attempt to qualify for the Golden Corral 500 Weekend WeatherCNN/Headline News forecasts the weather in Atlanta 2005 Golden Corral 500Carl Edwards beats Jimmie Johnson for first Cup victory Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"I had a great finish last year with Carl and came close to winning," said Johnson, the early points leader. "Qualifying is going to be fast. I'm going to remind myself how fast it's going to be and how brave I need to be on Friday in qualifying."

Johnson's 16th-place finish in the fall broke a string of four consecutive top-fives at AMS.

"We didn't run like we wanted to in the fall there last year, so I am a little nervous going to the racetrack," he said. "But I believe we understand what took place last time. In general, we've had so much success at Atlanta that I'm really not that worried about going to the track."

Furthermore, Johnson hasn't had much difficulty with any track in the past two years. Since March 2004, at Atlanta, Johnson has been in the top 10 in points for 72 consecutive races.

"I feel very good and I'm very happy with the race team," Johnson said. "But it's a long season. I know our cars can be better. They can be faster, they can drive a little better. And I'm really excited for the whole year.

"We've got a lot of growth in this race team still ahead of us and, hopefully, we can get everything done when the year is over."

Bill Lester Credit: Autostock

One driver just hoping to make the race is Bill Lester. Lester, a Craftsman Truck Series regular, will attempt to qualify his Bill Davis Racing No. 23 Dodge for his first Cup start.

"I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, and I'm hopeful we can get our No. 23 car into the show and ready to go for Sunday,'' said Lester, who's trying to become the first black driver to start a Cup race since Willy T. Ribbs in 1986.

"I'm certainly confident in our Bill Davis Racing team and I know we'll show up with a competitive car and a great group of people on the team. We tested in Kentucky last week in preparation for this event, and I can't wait to get to Atlanta.

"Racing the trucks at this track would be something to look forward to in itself, but your first start in the Cup Series is something you dream of your whole life and obviously only happens once. The possibilities from this point forward are endless, and I can't wait to see what happens from here."