Driver #60: Carl Edwards
Birth Date: August 15, 1979
Hometown: Columbia, MO
Residence: Columbia, MO
Noted For: Signature back flip after winning a race
Carl Edwards is one of NASCAR's superstars. In just seven years, Edwards has moved up from the Camping World Truck Series* to the NASCAR Sprint Cup, winning a Nationwide Series Championship along the way.
Edwards - who picked up the racing spirit from his father, Carl Edwards Sr., who had raced modified stock cars and USAC midgets for 40 years - joined the racing world in 1993, at the age of 13, racing four-cylinder cars. Four years later, he entered the NASCAR Dirt Modified division in which he won 13 featured races over a three-year period.
In 2000, Edwards found success in the NASCAR Weekly Racing series, a Pro-Modified division, and was named Rookie-of-the-Year thanks to his 13 wins in this division. Then, in 2003, he signed with Roush Racing (now Roush Fenway Racing), where he slid behind the wheel of the No. 99 Ford F-150 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck series. Edwards earned Rookie of the Year and ended the series eighth overall in the point standings.
Edwards entered the Sprint Cup Series in August of 2004 driving the No. 99 Ford Taurus, placing tenth in his Cup debut race - one of only five drivers to place in the top ten in their first career Cup start. Overall that year he had five Top 10 finishes in 13 starts, including a 3rd-place finish in the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway driving the No. 99 WFG Ford Taurus.
2005 saw Edwards racing in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series full time. He earned Rookie of the Year honors for the Nationwide Series with five wins and he raced well in the Sprint Series with four wins. He also won both the Sprint and Nationwide Cup Series races in Atlanta of that year, making him the first and - to date -only racer to do so.
Edwards had even a better year in the Nationwide Series in 2006, winning four times, and finishing second overall and, in 2007, Carl won the Nationwide Series with four wins, 15 top-five and 21 top-ten finishes. That year he led the Nationwide Series in points for 33 consecutive weeks.
Edwards had an amazing run in 2008, finishing second in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, and earning honors from Tag Heuer as Racecar Driver of the Year, the National Motorsports Press Association as Richard Petty Driver of the Year and NASCAR.COM as Driver of the Year. 2009 and 2010 also saw Edwards as a dominant force in both series, placing in the top-15 in points in each season.
On November 12, 2011, World Financial Group (WFG) will sponsor Edwards in the No. 60 WFG Ford Mustang at the WYPALL 200 Nationwide Race at Phoenix International Raceway.
When not racing, Edwards spends time in his hometown of Columbia, Mo., with his wife Kate and daughter Anne. He enjoys riding bicycles, working out and reading in his spare time. He is also involved in several charitable organizations, including the Speedway Children's Charities, Dream Factory and Victory Junction Gang Camp.
*The Camping World Truck series was previously known as the Craftsman Truck Series, the Nationwide Series was previously known as the Busch Series and the Sprint Cup Series was previously known as the Nextel Cup series.
In more than 15 years of racing on both dirt and pavement tracks, Carl Edwards has:
3 NASCAR-sanctioned track championships - 3 Rookie of the Year awards - More than 75 Wins - Won races in all three NASCAR Series: Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series and Truck series - Ranked fourth in all Nascar drivers' for total Nationwide Series victories - First driver to win his first NEXTEL Cup series and first Busch series race on the same weekend (Atlanta Motor Speedway, March 2005)
