Ford Dover Truck Advance -- Edwards

FORD RACING NOTES AND QUOTES                   AAA Insurance 200
   


June 1, 2006                        Dover International Speedway        


 

Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford Fusion in the Nextel Cup Series
and No. 60 Ford Fusion in the Busch Series, is slated to make his return
to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on Friday in the AAA Insurance 200.
Edwards, who has six career truck series wins to his credit, will pilot
the No. 50 Ford F-150 as part of a triple-duty weekend at the one-mile
Dover International Speedway.  Edwards, who captured the pole position
for the Dover truck series race in 2004, spoke about returning to the
series and how he hopes it will improve his overall performance this
weekend.  

 

CARL EDWARDS-50-Ortho Ford F-150 - HOW DID THE OPPORTUNITY TO DRIVE THE
NO. 50 TRUCK DEVELOP, AND WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE WEEKEND?  "Jack
asked me to do this and I thought it'd be a blast to get back in the
truck.  With this being a one-race deal, there's a lot less pressure.
I'm out here just to have a good time and run as good as we can.  This
is a new truck, and I honestly don't know the status of everything.  It
all kind of happened real quick.  I just met everybody an hour ago.
Matt Puccia is the crew chief, which is pretty cool.  I worked at
Schrader's with him the summer I was in North Carolina nine years ago.
I've got a story about him that's kind of funny.  He said he didn't do
it, but I think he did.  I was under the truck one morning, working on
one of Schrader's trucks, and he let the lift down and crushed me.  I
had to go to the emergency room after that.  He tried to kill me, so I
won't be getting under the truck this weekend.  I think we're just going
to try to have a good time.  Ortho is going to be on the truck, which is
great.  I just want to win the race, and it'd be fun if I can keep up
and race these guys for the win tomorrow."

 

DO YOU HAVE ANY RESERVATIONS ABOUT PULLING TRIPLE-DUTY THIS WEEKEND?  "I
think this is the first time that I've run all three. It's just racing.
I think it will help me.  Just getting these laps today will help me
when I get in the car tomorrow morning.  Plus, I really like this race
track.  It's a track that I've struggled with a lot in the Cup Series.
I think my best finish here is a ninth (9/05), so I look at it as an
opportunity to get more laps and learn more and be better for the Busch
race Saturday and the Cup race on Sunday.  It's not bad running three
races in one weekend when they're all at the same track."

 

DISCUSS THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DRIVING A CAR AND A TRUCK.  "It's
different.  It's just like I remember, though.  It's a lot of fun.  To
me, you can be a little more aggressive with them and that makes them a
lot of fun.  And, you don't use the brakes as much because they stop
real easy in the corner, and you use a lot of throttle because they have
a lot of drag, so it's a lot of fun to drive."

 

THERE A NUMBER OF NEW FACES TO THE SERIES SINCE YOU LAST COMPETED.  WILL
IT TAKE SOME TIME GETTING RE-ACCLIMATED?  "I don't know who's in every
truck, which is kind of wild.  I saw the 46 truck go by and I had no
clue who was in that truck.  The last time I raced in the series it was
Dennis Setzer, and I had to look on the board to see it was (Kraig)
Kinser.  It's going to be fun racing with some new guys and some guys I
haven't competed against since 2004."

 

ARE THERE ANY CONCERNS COMPETING AGAINST A NEW GROUP OF DRIVERS?  "I
watch these races on TV and they're some of the best racers in the
world.  It's a lot of fun watching the truck races, and I just hope that
they don't beat up on me too bad.  We're eighth on the sheet after first
practice, so we're not out here whooping everybody right now, but it's
fun."