KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- It all began with a handshake.

Even at 19, Carl Edwards was a master of self-promotion. He printed up business cards, bought space in National Speed Sport News advertising himself as a driver, and introduced himself to everyone. Whether it was a legend like Richard Petty, a star on NASCAR's top circuit or a team owner, Edwards was never shy about sticking out his hand and mentioning his name. And that's just what he did in the late summer of 1999 at Indianapolis Raceway Park, when he walked right up and shook hands with Mike Mittler, owner of a Craftsman Truck Series team from his home state of Missouri.

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Obviously, my crystal ball was pretty clear about the ability that he had. You just knew that he had it. And you just knew by working with him, by looking at the intensity in his eyes and his face, and you knew by his ability.

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MIKE MITTLER

Edwards wanted a ride -- but not in a racecar. Just a ride back to St. Louis. Mittler readily agreed to provide one, but added that he wouldn't be leaving until the next day. When the time came to depart, Edwards never showed.

"I'd been home for a week or two, and who shows up at my door but Carl Edwards," Mittler remembers. "He comes over and says, 'Remember me?' I said, 'Yeah, I remember you, what happened? I thought you were going to ride home with us?' He said, 'Oh, man, I had to get back. I had to get back that night.' I asked him, 'How did you get home?' He said, 'I hitchhiked.' I thought, 'Holy cow.'"

It was Mittler's first exposure to the always-ready Edwards, who soon afterward began traveling to races with Mittler's MB Motorsports team even though he didn't have a ride, always carrying his helmet in case an opportunity arose to get behind the wheel. It was that unwavering persistence that eventually swayed Mittler to put Edwards in his race truck, that helped Edwards record a groundbreaking eighth-place finish at Kansas Speedway six years ago, that led the sport's power teams to take notice of Edwards and put the driver on the fast-track to stardom. And it all began when he introduced himself to Mittler, who runs his race shop and machine and tool business out of Wright City, Mo., and could only keep Carl Edwards at bay for so long.

"He called every week, every other week," said Mittler, whose modest operation also helped launch the careers of Jamie McMurray and the late Kenny Irwin and Tony Roper. "He had a total drive and a total focus about him, even when I first met him. When he came to my office, he was focused. He knew what he wanted to do. He said, 'Man, I'm going to drive your truck.' So I said, well, OK, that sounds like a pretty good deal to me. The focus really made a big impression on me."

Edwards wasn't wasting any time, even arranging a test session at his home track in Moberly, Mo. While Mittler saw promise, he also saw a local dirt-track driver without enough experience to make the jump directly into NASCAR's national divisions. At Mittler's urging, Edwards bought a silver crown car, which the Truck team owner helped him prepare. Soon afterward he began angling for another test, so Mittler trekked back up to Moberly, this time with Tony Roper, his driver on the Craftsman Truck Series at the time, in tow. (Continued)