Phoenix: Carl Edwards 200th start notes

Edwards to Become Fifth Driver to Make 200 Cup Starts for Roush Fenway

Roush Fenway driver to make milestone start this weekend at Phoenix

CONCORD, N.C. (April 7, 2010) -- Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards will not only make his 200th-career Sprint Cup start this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, but he will become just the fifth driver in the team's 23-year history in NASCAR's top division to make 200 starts for the organization.

Edwards joins Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle on the prestigious list of drivers to have started 200 or more Cup races for Roush Fenway. Of that list, only Burton won more races in his first 200 starts at RFR, but it is important to note that Burton had two years of full-time Cup experience under his belt when he joined Roush Fenway in 1996, whereas Edwards started his tenure in the No. 99 as a rookie in 2004.

Furthermore, Edwards has scored 20 more top-five finishes in his first 200 races than either Kenseth or Biffle, and his 102 top-10 finishes trail on Martin and Burton.

All in all, Edwards has scored 16 wins, 61 top fives, 102 top 10s and four poles during his first 199 Sprint Cup races. He has led 2599 laps and logged over 76,000 miles during his tenure in the No. 99 Ford Fusion. A win on Saturday night in Phoenix would notch him even with Burton, ironically the driver who preceded him in the No. 99, for the most wins in his first 200 races at Roush Fenway.

Also, Edwards' credentials in his first 199 races, puts him in pretty elite company within the sport in general. Of drivers who have started 200 races from 1972-present, only six have more wins than Edwards on their 200th start: Jeff Gordon (45), Jimmie Johnson (27), Darrell Waltrip (25), Tony Stewart (19), Rusty Wallace (18) and Bill Elliott (17).

-source: rfr