Carl Edwards is looking forward to the start of the Crown Royal 400 at the Richmond International Raceway, because if the race follows suit with his weekend so far, it will be a good one. On Friday Edwards announced that he had renewed his contract with Roush Fenway Racing, keeping him behind the wheel of the No. 99 Ford for an additional three years.

 “I signed my contract yesterday, so I’m staying with Roush." Edwards said. "I looked at everything and I talked to everybody and for me, the number one thing is looking into the future and saying, ‘Where can I win the most races and have the most success?’ I was honored at the people who I got to speak with and I just feel like for me personally this is where I want to be for the near future and we got it done."
 
Edwards, who claimed the 2007 Nationwide Series championship for Roush Fenway Racing, was set to see his contract run out at season’s end. He currently leads the Sprint Cup Series with three wins and sits 10th in the point standings.
 
Following the first practice session for the Sprint Cup Series on Friday at Richmond, the Missouri native shared his traditional grin while divulging the details of his renewal, proudly announcing that he worked through the negotiations on his own.
 
“If I was dealing with someone that I didn’t trust or that I felt like I couldn’t just kind of air everything out with, then I’d probably have to have an agent," he said. "But dealing with Geoff (Smith, team president) from day one has been very easy at Roush for me, so it was really pretty simple.  Besides, I feel like I know what I need more than anyone else."
 
The Roush organization is also currently in negotiations with Edwards' teammate Greg Biffle.
 
In addition to his contract extension, Edwards embraced the return of crew chief Bob Osborne to the track this weekend. Osborne spent six weeks on the sidelines after the team suffered an infraction concerning a loose oil reservoir cover following the team’s win in Las Vegas.
 
“It’s good to have Bob back. To have Chris Andrews and Robbie Reiser on the box and have Bob back at the shop working, I think it showed the depth of our team, but its definitely good to have Bob back,” Edwards added. “We won a lot of races together and at least Robbie won’t be calling me Matt (Kenseth) on Sundays, so it’s good.”
 
Edwards will start Saturday night’s 400-miler from the 19th position.

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