DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- After competing the past seven years for Roush Fenway Racing in the Nationwide Series, all while running a full Cup Series schedule, Carl Edwards has decided not to run any Nationwide races in 2012.

"The way we're approaching this season is, I'm not committing to any races right now," Edwards said. "And as the season goes, if I decide I'm just a nervous ball of energy on Saturdays and I can't function without going and racing -- because that might be the case -- then we'll work to try to go [Nationwide] racing."

Edwards' most ardent racing goal of winning two championships in the same season was blunted on two fronts last season. First, NASCAR issued a rule limiting drivers to racing for only one national series championship in any season.

"Once they said we could not run for the championship, I had already committed and Roush and the sponsors had already committed to running the full season," Edwards said, "so we stuck with it and we did it. But to me, that was really, in my mind, my last real go at it for the whole season."

Edwards' hopes for the Sprint Cup championship ended when Tony Stewart won five of 10 Chase races in 2011. He and Edwards were tied in points following the Ford 400 finale, but Stewart won the championship via the tiebreaker.

Edwards did have the consolation prize of earning the 2011 Nationwide Series owners' championship for RFR, but says he's compelled to do more in 2012.

"I'm hoping this lets me focus more on the Cup car," Edwards said, "lets me be a better Cup racer by maybe having more time during the race weekend to maybe hone the setups in.

"I don't know how it will actually affect our performance but I do know my calendar is a lot more open and I'm able to breathe a little more. And I know my family and everyone will really appreciate that [my schedule is less hectic on Fridays and Saturdays]."

Edwards said there are circumstances that might cause him to reconsider -- although it might take nearly a third of either season for that to occur.

"Truly I learned so many things in that Nationwide car that it's a real toss up whether or not it'll help the [Cup] performance on Sunday," Edwards said. "I've made some big mistakes on Saturday that helped me not to make them on Sunday.

"We could get 10 races in [to the season] and I could say 'Hey, I'm better off racing on Saturdays.' Then, it would be on me to go look for some way to put something together so that we could go race."

Related:
Year in Review: No Cup driver was more consistent than runner-up Edwards
Last season's near-miss bolsters Edwards' confidence for 2012
Edwards not worried about a 'Chase hangover'