Edwards defends winless season as races tick away (cont'd)

That's why Edwards said he isn't about to change a thing in his approach -- something he learned the hard way while going through a winless 2006 Cup season. He entered that season as one of the favorites to challenge for the Cup championship after winning four races the previous season -- much the same way he entered this season as the prohibitive favorite to challenge Johnson.

"If I were to go and change my whole mode of competition based on slight things that I can't control, that would be really foolish," Edwards said. "I don't know what else I'm supposed to do. I do the best I can, you know?

"All you have to do is go back and look and Jeff Gordon went for a while without winning, and everybody had all of these theories. Then all of a sudden he started winning again, and everybody was like, 'Oh, everything is OK.' It's not like he was doing anything differently."

So Edwards is determined not to do anything differently now. He struggled to reach that conclusion while failing to get to Victory Lane in 2006, which has aided him in establishing a more positive mind set this time around.

"I almost was a little panicked (midway through 2006)," Edwards said. "I was like, 'We have all these expectations, all these people and my sponsors now.' And I thought, 'Man, I have to make something work because I have to win, because that's what we did last year and that's what everyone expects.' I realized halfway through the season that that line of thinking was not going to be productive.

"So the thing I value most from the lessons I learned in 2006 was just to remain calm, be confident, to know that, 'Hey, I can do this. I'm not doing anything differently. This is just the way racing works sometimes.' That's the biggest lesson from 2006."

If more recent history offers any other lessons to Edwards, it's that Michigan International Speedway could be the place for him to break into the '09 win column. He has won two Cup events at MIS, including the last year's fall race.

Johnson was asked Friday at MIS if he thinks someone could win a championship without winning a race, and if he still considers the winless Edwards a title threat.

"No, I don't think you can win the title without a win -- and yes, I still do look at Carl as a big threat," said Johnson, who enters this weekend with three victories and second in points, 260 behind leader Tony Stewart. "Carl has been consistent. We all know they haven't had the speed that we're used to seeing, and he's still been able to hang tough in the points.

"Basically we've got three to four months worth of racing left, and a lot can happen over that period of time. Anybody who is in the Chase over a 10-race period of time can get hot and be a threat. I'm not counting him out by any means."

Edwards admitted his cars have to go just a little faster for him to truly have a chance of catching Johnson and Stewart over the long haul. After Sunday's race, only three will be left before the 12-driver field for the Chase is set.

"That is something that I'm just a little concerned about," Edwards said. "I feel like we're getting better. I feel like we're getting close. We still need to be better.

"I feel like Jimmie and the 48 [car] are the guys to beat. Obviously, Tony's really good. He's accumulated a lot more points than anyone else so far this season. I feel like he's right there, neck and neck, with them. And for us to be able to beat those guys, without any luck involved, we're going to have to get just a little bit better."

But if he does, make no mistake about it. Edwards will remember exactly what to do if he gets to revisit Victory Lane at MIS.

"I got to do a couple of backflips in the Nationwide Series [this year], so I feel good. Trust me, if I win a Cup race, it'll be no problem doing a backflip," a smiling Edwards said of his signature post-victory maneuver. "I'll have lots of energy."