Edwards ready for next step in personal journey
DAVID POOLE
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Carl Edwards is working on more than going fast in his No. 99 Fords these days.
For one thing, he's seriously dealing with his chi. Or whatever they call that thing that's supposed to keep you happy.
"I think there was a time last year where all of a sudden I'd wake up on a Monday morning and it was like, `Man, I am not really having that much fun,'" said Edwards, the driver of the No. 99 Fords for Roush Racing.
"`I'm not working on being a better race-car driver, I'm working on my frustration or anger.' …And I think that's been a big step for me forward just in my life.
"This offseason I really focused on trying to just kind of let that go. I think that once you ... can give your energy to positive things and not be worried about exactly what went wrong, that kind of turns your world around. …Confidence is important, but it's bigger than that. It's your state of mind in general."
Like, wow.
Edwards would certainly love to get his mojo working again on the track in 2006. After winning four races in his first full season of Nextel Cup competition in 2005, he didn't win a race in 2006 and missed the Chase for the Nextel Cup after finishing third a year earlier.
It got rough at times last season, Edwards admitted Monday as the second week of Nextel Cup testing opened at Daytona International Speedway.
"There were times last year where I thought, `Man, what am I doing wrong here?'" Edwards said. "For me, once I realized that if I do everything I can and give the best effort I can, that's what I'm to be satisfied with – not the result.
"If I blow a motor or wreck or make a mistake on something, you can't dwell on that," Edwards said. "You have to march forward and do the best you can. That's why it feels so good to say, `Man, I'm not angry at anybody.' I'm letting all of that go. I want to get to the point where I can just show up at the race track with a smile and feel like I'm prepared the best I can be."
The "letting go" part is about his feud with Tony Stewart, which stems from their run-in at Pocono in July. Stewart swerved at Clint Bowyer's car and wound up taking out Edwards in the process, and later that day Edwards turned Stewart's car on pit road. They exchanged barbs afterward and the pot has still been simmering in the run-up to the 2007 season.
"What I did wrong was I got out of the car and made it a personal attack," Edwards said. "I said some things I shouldn't have said and obviously I really upset Tony. And so for that, I apologize. ...I'd do anything in the world for Tony, I think he's a good guy. I hope that's water under the bridge.
"To me, there are a lot of good things in life. I love what I do, and I don't need to come into the Daytona 500, at hopefully my championship season, with a grudge."
Edwards instead is trying to channel his energy toward reclaiming the magic he had with crew chief Bob Osborne in 2005. Osborne was taken from Edwards' team in a Roush Racing shakeup last April, but returned for the end of the 2006 season after a stint as Jamie McMurray's crew chief.
"The 2005 season was such a great season," Edwards said. "Everything was great. And we went into 2006 and didn't change much ... and we slipped just a little bit behind. Other teams had advanced a little more than we had, and that's all it takes. It's amazing.
"I feel like we're headed in the right direction. We've evolved and we're trying a couple of new things and folks in different areas, and it should be pretty good."
And let Carl get his groove back.
DAVID POOLE
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Carl Edwards is working on more than going fast in his No. 99 Fords these days.
For one thing, he's seriously dealing with his chi. Or whatever they call that thing that's supposed to keep you happy.
"I think there was a time last year where all of a sudden I'd wake up on a Monday morning and it was like, `Man, I am not really having that much fun,'" said Edwards, the driver of the No. 99 Fords for Roush Racing.
"`I'm not working on being a better race-car driver, I'm working on my frustration or anger.' …And I think that's been a big step for me forward just in my life.
"This offseason I really focused on trying to just kind of let that go. I think that once you ... can give your energy to positive things and not be worried about exactly what went wrong, that kind of turns your world around. …Confidence is important, but it's bigger than that. It's your state of mind in general."
Like, wow.
Edwards would certainly love to get his mojo working again on the track in 2006. After winning four races in his first full season of Nextel Cup competition in 2005, he didn't win a race in 2006 and missed the Chase for the Nextel Cup after finishing third a year earlier.
It got rough at times last season, Edwards admitted Monday as the second week of Nextel Cup testing opened at Daytona International Speedway.
"There were times last year where I thought, `Man, what am I doing wrong here?'" Edwards said. "For me, once I realized that if I do everything I can and give the best effort I can, that's what I'm to be satisfied with – not the result.
"If I blow a motor or wreck or make a mistake on something, you can't dwell on that," Edwards said. "You have to march forward and do the best you can. That's why it feels so good to say, `Man, I'm not angry at anybody.' I'm letting all of that go. I want to get to the point where I can just show up at the race track with a smile and feel like I'm prepared the best I can be."
The "letting go" part is about his feud with Tony Stewart, which stems from their run-in at Pocono in July. Stewart swerved at Clint Bowyer's car and wound up taking out Edwards in the process, and later that day Edwards turned Stewart's car on pit road. They exchanged barbs afterward and the pot has still been simmering in the run-up to the 2007 season.
"What I did wrong was I got out of the car and made it a personal attack," Edwards said. "I said some things I shouldn't have said and obviously I really upset Tony. And so for that, I apologize. ...I'd do anything in the world for Tony, I think he's a good guy. I hope that's water under the bridge.
"To me, there are a lot of good things in life. I love what I do, and I don't need to come into the Daytona 500, at hopefully my championship season, with a grudge."
Edwards instead is trying to channel his energy toward reclaiming the magic he had with crew chief Bob Osborne in 2005. Osborne was taken from Edwards' team in a Roush Racing shakeup last April, but returned for the end of the 2006 season after a stint as Jamie McMurray's crew chief.
"The 2005 season was such a great season," Edwards said. "Everything was great. And we went into 2006 and didn't change much ... and we slipped just a little bit behind. Other teams had advanced a little more than we had, and that's all it takes. It's amazing.
"I feel like we're headed in the right direction. We've evolved and we're trying a couple of new things and folks in different areas, and it should be pretty good."
And let Carl get his groove back.
