BOSTON -- Carl Edwards is used to driving a racecar at speeds that sometimes approach 200 miles per hour. But Friday night, his nerves were raw as he prepared to perform a rare but seemingly much simpler athletic feat.

Edwards was about to join his boss, Jack Roush of Roush Fenway Racing, and Bob Bahre, owner of New Hampshire International Speedway, to throw pitches off the mound at famed Fenway Park. Actually, they cheated and all of them threw from a little in front of the mound -- but Edwards was skittish beforehand nonetheless.

Finding an audience

Boston is known for great sports fans who love their Red Sox and Patriots. But David Caraviello says the city, in part due to the merge of Roush Racing and Fenway Sports Group, is becoming NASCAR's capital in the Northeast.

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"I didn't know I was throwing out any sort of pitch or I might have worked out a little bit," Edwards said. "I would have at least thrown the ball around a little bit. We've got a baseball and some gloves in the motorhome, we should've played."

Well, maybe he should have played at some point in his life; anyway, Edwards grew up a racer, not a ballplayer.

"I never played baseball," he said. "I mean, I played in the street, goofing around. But I never played for a team or anything.

"So I'm a little nervous about throwing this pitch. But you know what? I was telling everyone, when you get a chance to throw out a pitch at Fenway Park, I'm bringing the heat and throwing as hard as I can."

When a bystander warned that he should be careful and not risk throwing his arm out, Edwards seemed suddenly to catch a breeze of bravado.

"Well, you've got two of 'em, you know? So we'll see what happens," he said. "I'm bringing all the heat I can. It'll probably be ugly. I'll probably shoot it right into the dirt." (Watch Edwards take Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy for a spin)

Right on target

Standing a few feet from Edwards at Fenway on Friday night was John Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox and Roush's new partner at what now is called Roush Fenway Racing. They announced their 50-50 partnership in February, just before the Daytona 500 -- but Friday was all about celebrating their new business marriage.

It was Roush Fenway Racing Night at Fenway. Henry gazed around at another packed house and took on the look of a man satisfied with all that he was seeing, including the gaggle of NASCAR guys getting ready to charge the mound at his ballpark.

"This is very cool," Henry said. "It's sort of the culmination of three and a half years of working and putting this partnership together in a way that makes sense."

Despite Edwards' consternation about how his pitch was going to look, Henry could agree on only half of the driver's analogy: as far as his new venture into NASCAR is concerned, he fully intends to bring the heat -- but seems certain that it won't be ugly or wallow in the dirt, unless he decides to start investing in dirt tracks as well.

AP

Carl Edwards

To walk into the rarefied air that not only envelopes Fenway Park but permeates the air for city blocks all around it on Red Sox game days is to suck in mouthfuls of pure energy and excitement. The rich, delicious aroma of a variety of grilled meats -- hot dogs are only one item on the menu these days -- are merely a bonus.

Everywhere one ventures, fans are talking baseball. They talk it on the street outside the park, and they talk it in establishments such as the Boston Beer Works and Who's On First?

Street vendors hawk not only the variety of aforementioned foods and beverages, but T-shirts disparaging the hated New York Yankees in many creative, cruel and usually vulgar ways. Somebody must buy them, but at every turn Friday night it seemed another fan was spotted wearing the Red Sox jerseys of Big Papi, Curt Schilling, Jason Varitek or one of their other own heroes.

It can be, in a word, overwhelming. And on this night, it brings up the question: What exactly does racing have to do with all this? Isn't it a strange marriage?

Roush and Henry are quick to say no, and then tell naysayers why. And the crux of their reasoning can be found right within the pixie dust that is Fenway Park.

"It's magical here every night," Henry said with a wave of his hand. "We've had 350 straight sellouts. You can just see it. You can feel it. Every night, no matter who we play, whether it's a last-place team or the Yankees, there is magic in the air.

"Having NASCAR here, it just becomes part of that excitement. I think people underestimate the amount of racing fans up here in New England -- because you see Loudon [where Bahre's track is located in New Hampshire] sells out all the time. They've sold out, what, 20 straight races or something?"

Actually, they have sold out 25 consecutive races at NHIS, further validating Henry's point.

Roush later indicated that visiting Fenway actually came close to being a religious experience for him. He also said it only confirmed the belief he already had that his new business partnership makes perfect sense for both parties.

"It was amazing to be in Fenway Park, with all of the mystique and all of the history and prestige that goes with this ballpark and the things that happened within these hallowed walls," Roush said. "I expected a number of opportunities to open up that would change the dimension of our race team and maybe the whole sport by having John and his representation from Major League Baseball involved -- but I really hadn't thought it would get that personal. I didn't think I would be as moved as much as I was."

What's the deal?

The perception when the partnership between the organizations of Henry and Roush was announced was Roush, upset at all the dollars being thrown at Nextel Cup racing by new Cup manufacturer entry Toyota, needed the Fenway Group to provide a quick infusion of cash and prop up his operation.

Truth is, and Henry is willing to admit it, Fenway Group ultimately felt it needed Roush Racing to help it grow at least as much as Roush needed Fenway Group. And it all comes down to money. Doesn't it always?

"We sold every sign we could sell in this building," Henry said of Fenway. "We sold every amount of television advertising. We sold all our inventory there. This is just a way for Fenway Sports Group to take a national platform. Because baseball, despite the fact that the Red Sox Nation is national and even international, baseball essentially takes every dollar that we generate out of our territory. We get three percent of that. So this is a way for us in Fenway Sports Group to move into a national platform and generate more revenues."

Shortly after making that statement, it was time for Edwards and Roush, who was almost unrecognizable in a Red Sox uniform jersey and ballcap instead of his trademark straw hat, to take the mound along with Bahre.

Roush went first and threw wide right, but at least one of the Red Sox players was able to make a quick move to catch the ball. Edwards went last. True to his promise, he fired a fastball as hard as he could. No one was prepared for this kind of smoke.

The ball flew past everyone, all the way to the backstop behind home plate.

"It took the pitcher from the other ballpark next door to catch my ball, but it was OK," Roush said. "I hadn't thrown the ball for 40 years. I should have practiced, but I didn't. At least Carl brought some heat."

To close out the pre-game ceremonies celebrating the unprecedented baseball-racing merger, a pair of doors in Fenway's outfield wall parted and out drove the No. 99 car of Edwards, which had been unveiled publicly a day earlier and bore the proud logo of the Red Sox (along with local New England company Lumber Liquidators). An old Beatles song blared from the public address system ...

"Baby you can drive my car.
Yes, I'm gonna be a star."

Edwards' decorated machine circled the field slowly, as tens of thousands of baseball fans gawked, eventually coming to rest under the famed Green Monster, the massive left-field wall over which a giant Roush Fenway Racing banner had been draped.

Combined with the general overlaying magic of Fenway itself, the surreal scene was enough to make one believe that each side involved with this unique business merger may just emerge as a star more brilliant than perhaps anyone could have imagined when the deal first went down.