2008 Preseason No. 5: Carl Edwards

No. 99 Office Depot Ford

2008 Spin
Twentieth Century author George Fisher once said that when you aim for perfection, you discover that it’s a moving target. During the 2007 season, Carl Edwards discovered just that. With his mistakes laid out for everyone to see, he entered the offseason fresh off a month in front of the firing squad.

While he dominated the Busch Series en route to his first career championship, Edwards found the road a bit bumpier on the Cup side as inconsistency during the Chase kept him from being a true title contender. But perhaps more troubling was a hit to his “good guy” reputation after a surprising outburst toward teammate Matt Kenseth in October. Following the race at Martinsville, Edwards approached Kenseth and at first appeared to be joking with him. Suddenly, the mood changed, and the incident ended with Edwards feigning a punch.

“(Edwards)’ behavior has been real erratic lately,” Kenseth said of the incident, which was seen by millions on YouTube. “You don’t know what to expect with him. One minute, he has so much respect for you, and he’s real friendly and everything’s so much fun. The next minute, he wants to kick your butt and he’s swearing at you.”

Edwards quickly apologized for the Jekyll and Hyde routine and promised to make the first effort to mend fences with Kenseth and all of his Roush Fenway teammates. But the damage was done, as his organization appeared a far cry from the “buddy-buddy” teamwork employed by Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon — a mentality that needs to be corrected if Edwards is to contend for a title again.

Other challenges also lie ahead for the No. 99 bunch for ’08, not the least of which will be correcting engineering problems that left Ford light years behind Chevrolet last season. “The biggest thing for next year is just to get ahead of the curve with this Car of Tomorrow,” Edwards says. “The other thing is, we can’t have any parts failures.” 

Referring to three DNF’s in the last 11 races, mistakes that sidetracked momentum and kept him too many steps behind the Hendrick juggernaut, Edwards does have a point. But he’d be much better off concentrating on fixing his reputation — because one more misstep could leave it permanently tattered.

Opposing Crew Chiefs’ Take
“Edwards is either on or he’s not. The team got a lot better, but he’s not one of my favorites. (Edwards) doesn’t come across to me as having the full package yet as a driver, and when he’s had to step it up, he’s wrecked. I think he’ll falter next year. He needs somebody about 5-foot-5 to whip his ass, and it’d make him a lot better person. … A great talent. I’m just not so sure he’s in an organization (Roush Fenway) that can help him keep his head on straight and keep him going. He’s not stable the way Matt (Kenseth) is. Too many of these young guys don’t have anybody to go to for guidance.”

Fantasy Stall
Looking at Checkers: As a two-time Atlanta winner, he flourishes on the intermediates.
Pretty Solid Pick: He’s picked up the Roush knack for running well at bigger tracks like Fontana.
Good Sleeper Pick: Growing up on Midwest dirt helps him on short tracks, but he has yet to master them.
Runs on Seven Cylinders: Road course racing takes a finesse that he hasn’t quite mastered yet.
Insider Tip: Plate tracks aren’t his forte, but he likes wide-open spaces.

For more in-depth driver news and hard-hitting features, order your 2008 Athlon Sports Racing Annual here.