CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP Edwards is fulfilling his dream

He is driving for the elite Roush team and tied for fourth place in the Chase.
By MIKE HARRIS
AP MOTORSPORTS WRITER
Carl Edwards is just about the perfect NASCAR Nextel Cup driver.
The 26-year-old Edwards is fearless enough and cool enough to drive around the top part of the racetrack, inches from the concrete wall, to mix it up with other drivers in traffic at nearly 200 mph, or to hold off a veteran such as Jimmie Johnson to win his first Cup race by a few feet earlier this season at Atlanta.
He has plenty of talent, as evidenced by his three victories this year in his first full season of racing in NASCAR's top stock car series and the fact that he is one of the 10 drivers who qualified for the season-ending 10-race Chase for the championship.
Edwards also is a well-spoken, good-looking guy with a toothy smile and a glib way with words that goes over well with sponsors, reporters and fans.
Not bad for a guy who four years ago was a part-time teacher just hoping to be given a chance to follow his first love, racing.
People in the stock car sport laughed about the kid who placed personal ads in racing publications and handed out business cards that listed his occupation as "race car driver."
Tied for fourth
But here he is, driving for the elite Roush Racing team and tied with Ryan Newman for fourth, 107 points behind leader Tony Stewart, with three races left in the Chase, beginning with Sunday's Dickie's 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Team owner Jack Roush has an almost unerring eye for talent, bringing both reigning Cup champion Kurt Busch and 2003 champ Matt Kenseth up to the Cup series and promoting Edwards from the Craftsman Truck Series to Cup midway through the 2004 season, when Jeff Burton -- another driver Roush helped turn into a star -- left the team.
Asked after Edwards won another Atlanta race Sunday if he really believes the youngster can win the title this season, Roush's face lit up.
"I wouldn't bet against Carl Edwards," said Roush, who put all five of his Cup entries into the Chase this year. "I bet heavily with the investments that I make, as well as my sponsors, but we think that Carl can be as good in this business as anybody that's been. The sky is the limit."
Since he drove the last 13 races of 2004 -- five more than allowed for a future rookie candidate -- Edwards isn't eligible for first-year honors this season. But neither Roush nor Edwards seems too unhappy about that.
"Once Jeff Burton made his decision not to go forward with us in 2005, we said, 'OK, we'll use the rest of 2004 to get Carl as ready as he can be,' with the dream being that we could make him a championship contender," Roush said.
"Did I think that would happen [this year]? No, not really," the owner added, grinning. "But did I hope it would happen? You bet."
Dominated second half
Edwards, who also won a race at Pocono earlier this season, dominated the second half of Sunday's race at Atlanta despite having four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon trying to chase him down late in the race.
Like Stewart, who holds a 43-point edge over Jimmie Johnson heading into Texas, Edwards paid his dues as a short track racer. So Stewart isn't the least bit surprised how Edwards is handling the pressure, both on and off the track.
"He's a short track driver," said Stewart, making that sound like high praise. "He's not one of those kids who is going to give up."
Edwards has found being in the spotlight a bit uncomfortable at times, but nothing he can't handle.
"My friends and family who come to the races and see me doing interviews and signing autographs laugh because they know who I really am and how funny it is that I'm getting all this attention," Edwards said.
Serious driver
But Edwards is totally serious when it comes to driving a race car. Some drivers in his position might be satisfied just to be in the Chase in their first full season in Cup. Edwards wants more.
"We're going out here and make a run for the championship," he said. "I did not expect to pick up as many points as we did [Sunday] and anything can happen in racing. So we're not going to quit until the last lap of the last race."
As for feeling pressure, forget it.
"There isn't any pressure," Edwards said. "I do this because I really love racing and I want to win this championship. I think, if anything, I might be having just a little bit too much fun, which Jack agrees with.
"But nobody expects us to be here. Nobody expects us to win the championship. We're going to go give it our best and see what happens -- and have some fun doing it."
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