KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Maybe it's maturity. Maybe it's the ability to view the big picture. Maybe it's just 20-20 hindsight. But if you're expecting Carl Edwards to duplicate his last-lap desperation slide job from two years ago at Kansas Speedway, you might wind up disappointed at the end of Sunday's race.

Edwards hasn't visited Victory Lane in a Cup Series event since winning three of the final four races in 2008, just a few weeks after he tried and failed to pass Jimmie Johnson in do-or-die fashion here. However, even though he's gone 64 races since his most recent win, he said Friday he wouldn't be willing to trade a possible victory in exchange for irreparable damage to his championship hopes.

“

If I had to pick a race to win, this would be the one I would pick, over the Daytona 500 or the Brickyard 400. It would be that special to me.

”

-- CARL EDWARDS

"I really want to win a race," Edwards said. "Winning races is why we all started racing. To go drive fast and have the trophy. That is the fun part. I've won a bunch of races and the way I explain it is that I know what that feels like.

"To me, if there was a giant risk to win this race this weekend that I could take that might cost us the championship, I would have to go for the championship, at least right now. At this point in my career I want that championship trophy and see what that feels like. If I felt we weren't in a position to win it, I would probably go take some pretty big risks. I feel like we are in a position to do it, so right now I am focused on that."

Two years ago, Edwards was able to drive his heavily-damaged Ford to a second-place finish and eventually wound up 69 points in arrears to Johnson at season's end. But he slumped to 11th a year ago and is currently sixth in the standings, and still looking for that elusive win.

Perhaps that victory could come in Sunday's Price Chopper 400 at a track which Edwards calls home, as it's the closest Cup event to his hometown of Columbia, Mo.

"There is a little extra pressure," Edwards said. "It isn't really pressure though, it is more desire. I think you guys saw that a couple years ago racing with Jimmie driving it in there and using the fence. I never thought of that as a reasonable thing to do until that moment. The idea of being able to win here was big. For drivers that race around this area and local dirt tracks and stuff, this place is very special and a win here would be huge."

How huge? For Edwards, celebrating at Kansas would only be exceeded by taking home the Sprint Cup. However, he'll have to do it from the 31st starting position, since that's where he qualified Friday. That would be 10 positions further back than where Tony Stewart started and won the 2006 edition of this race.

"Yeah, it would be as big as any race on the circuit," Edwards said. "If I had to pick a race to win, this would be the one I would pick, over the Daytona 500 or the Brickyard 400. It would be that special to me. I am not saying that because I am sitting here, that is the truth." (Continued)