Carl Edwards

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Carl Edwards bigraphy, stories - American stock car racing driver

Carl Edwards : biography

August 15, 1979 –

Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #99 Ford Fusion in the Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing. He won the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series championship and nearly won the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title, but lost by a tiebreaker to Tony Stewart. Edwards is best known for stopping his car at the finish line and doing a back flip off of it after winning a race.

Personal life

Edwards is a first cousin once removed to fellow NASCAR driver Ken Schrader, who told Edwards early in his racing career to get dirt track experience before going to Cup; he would later take the advice. In light of this relationship, Edwards is often referred to as "Cousin Carl." Edwards would give a business card to other teams for his services before getting a ride with Roush Racing. Off the track, Edwards has been busy promoting his new record label, Back40 Records, a company he started with a high school friend back in Columbia, Missouri.Siska, Ellen. , The York Dispatch December 11, 2006. During the week of the Auto Club 500, Edwards participated in taping of the Fox television series 24, where he played Homeland Security Agent Jim Hill.

A rumor emerged that Edwards is also a cousin of quarterback Trent Edwards. During an interview with Dave Hollander of AOL Sports, Hollander asked if Carl’s cousin Trent Edwards had the same allergies as he did. After Carl replied that, "My old cousin Trent … he probably has the same kind of stuff I do", Roush Fenway Racing Senior Account Manager Randy Fuller said he did not know that Trent Edwards was Carl’s cousin. In response to Fuller, Carl Edwards said, "He’s not. I’m just rollin’ with it."

Edwards appeared on The Price Is Right, where he presented both showcases on the episode which aired on November 10, 2009. The Showcases were NASCAR-themed, with a trip to the Coca-Cola 600 and a Camping World trailer featured in one Showcase, while the other featured the debut of a new garage door prop for the "ultimate garage" Showcase that featured tools and a hybrid version of his Ford Fusion racer.

He played in the annual Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game in 2009 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. During the game he sported a Boston Red Sox cap because of the affiliation his race team Roush Fenway Racing has to the owners of the Boston Red Sox.

Family

Edwards and Katherine "Kate" Downey were married January 3, 2009. The couple has two children.

Athleticism

Edwards has appeared on the covers of ESPN The Magazine and Men’s Health shirtless, displaying his muscular body. He appeared in an Under Armour commercial during Super Bowl XLII. For a NASCAR driver, Edwards spends a lot of time developing his body, as photos of his abdominal and pectoral muscles have shown. Edwards made an appearance on the February 22, 2006, episode of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Ferguson produced the cover of the February issue of ESPN The Magazine which featured a bare-chested photo of Edwards. Joking that Edwards’ nipples seemed far apart, Ferguson suggested this was due to the high rates of speed at which Edwards often traveled.

Edwards is popular among fans for celebrating his wins by doing a backflip off his car (or truck), a style of celebration he took from sprint car driver Tyler Walker. Seizing on the popularity of Edwards’ trademark celebrations, Ford has recently run several "Overactive Adrenaline Disorder" commercials featuring a "young Carl" performing backflips in his baby crib, off of a couch, and off a doctors exam table. Edwards also performed his signature backflip not once, but twice in a recent This is SportsCenter commercial when he tried to cheer up anchor Neil Everett following a bad show. He has recently appeared in Aflac Commercials with the Aflac duck driving the #99 car and doing Carl’s trademark backflip which causes Carl Edwards to utter "I taught him that!".