1on1: Edwards stays busy working out and tuning in

He entered this Sprint Cup Series season as one of the odds-on favorites to capture his first championship, but there is more to Carl Edwards than going fast on the race track.

He recently answered questions about what he's listening to these days on his I-Pod and what he thinks about the recent news that Dale Earnhardt Jr. and other drivers are beginning to work out more -- something he's been passionate about for a long time.

Q: When you finish a season on the kind of roll you did last season, when you won four races during the Chase and came closer than anyone to dethroning three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson, and then go the first seven races of this season without a victory, does it make you appreciate the way you finished up last season all the more?

Edwards: Definitely. I think back to last season, and the way our car was running at the end of every race we were fighting for the win. That's really special. It's such a precarious place, though. You're right there at the pinnacle, and you really need to hold onto that and understand why it is that way. That's why right now, I don't think we're quite as good as we were then, and we've got to be careful not to get any farther off track.

But I really don't feel like we're bad. I think we're better off in points than we were at this point last year. It just seems like this season is longer. Last year, when it was going so great, it just flew by. But, right now I'm glad there is a long way to go. There is plenty more that can happen.

Q: So now, while most of the Cup guys take this weekend off, it's off to Nashville for you to compete in the Nationwide Series race. Are you a Nashville music fan?

Edwards: Yeah, I got a chance to meet [country-music artist] Jason Aldean the other day. He was really cool. I mean, I like all music. One of my favorite artists is George Strait, you know. And that's as country as it gets. I've got his greatest hits on my I-Pod. I listen to that a lot.

Q: What else do you look forward to when you go to race in Nashville?

Edwards: I think Nashville is just fun for a lot of reasons. The thing I hope about Nashville is that the fans come out there in force and enjoy the race. It's such a racing place. There are so many great racers who come from there. I hope the fans come out there and enjoy it, too.

Carl Edwards is a three-time winner of the Gibson guitar at Nashville, consecutively from 2006-07.

They're letting the fans come down to the cars. They're letting the fans come to the drivers' meeting. I guess they're going to have the drivers' meeting outside and there are going to be thousands of fans there. I think that's cool. I think that's getting back to the roots of racing and letting them see something they might not normally get to see.

Q: We reckon you've heard the recent news that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is working out more. That's always been something from which you've taken pride. How important do you think it is for today's drivers?

Edwards: For me, it's important. I don't know how important it is for racing. I truly don't. I see guys who don't work out and they do great. Then I see guys who try to stay in better shape and some of them do fine, too.

I just know for me, for my life, I feel better being in shape. I guess then I'm better prepared if I have an injury or something like that, but I really just do it for myself and for my general health. I feel better. I like to work out. It's good for me mentally, too, to always have something to work toward, to have a goal. That's the way I try to approach my workouts. If [Junior] is working out more, good for him. I think it's good for everybody to work out.

Q: How much do you work out? Is it more during the season, or less?

Edwards: It depends. It depends on what I'm trying to do. There are times I work out real hard and there are times I sort of just go through the motions, just to be doing something. My trainer kind of keeps me on a schedule, depending on how the season is going.

Q: What are you doing right now?

Edwards: I don't want to say. I like to kind of keep it a company secret.

Q: Really? Come on ...

Edwards (with a smile): OK, I'll admit it. It's been a bunch of Jazzercize, really, and some meditative stuff as well.

Joe Menzer is the author of "The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation." Click here to purchase.