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BUSCH: St. Louis: Edwards - Ford Friday interview

Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 60 Dish Network Ford Fusion seeks to defend his 2006 Gateway 250 championship title tomorrow night. NASCAR Busch Series points leader, Edwards talks about racing in his home state. CARL EDWARDS -- No. 60 Dish ...

Edited: Apr 16, 2008, 12:40 AM

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Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 60 Dish Network Ford Fusion seeks to defend his 2006 Gateway 250 championship title tomorrow night. NASCAR Busch Series points leader, Edwards talks about racing in his home state.

CARL EDWARDS -- No. 60 Dish Network Ford Fusion

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BIKE RIDE FROM YOUR COLUMBIA (Mo.) HOME TO THE RACE TRACK. "It's only a two hour drive and we got here earlier than we thought we were going to. We thought we were going to be here last night and we got here at 3:30 in the afternoon. The guy who rode with me had to go back anyway, so it was kind of silly, but I went back and slept in my own bed. I woke up this morning and drove here. We thought it was going to take a little bit longer; we gave it cushion. I didn't want to be stuck somewhere. We started on Tuesday night, got about 30 miles. Wednesday we biked about 85 miles and then however many was left yesterday, about 80, a total 185 miles. It was fun. It was awesome."

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE GATEWAY TRACK AS PAST RACE CHAMPION? "It's a really fun race track. Last year I got to have a great race with Denny Hamlin and he was stronger in certain points and I was pretty strong on other points and it makes it really fun to race here. This is definitely a unique race track, both ends are different. Plus the crowd is really enthusiastic."

DID YOU RACE HERE GROWING UP? "No, I drove by this race track here dreamed of racing. I raced short dirt tracks around this area. One of my first races was up the road in Godfrey, but I never got to race at this track, so it's really fun."

HOW SPECIAL IS THIS RACE AND AREA TO YOU? "This is kind of a home track for me, so it's a lot fun. Logistically, there's less to do, my schedule is a lot more open. Internally, as far as the pressure that I put on myself, it's almost a more stressful weekend because I want to win here so badly. To me, this feels just as big as the Daytona 500." REALLY? WHY? "Yes, this is a big one for me. This area has done so much for my career. I ran at St. Charles, Pevely, Macomb and Godfrey. Mike Mittler's shop is right down the road. A lot of my family, my Grandma still lives here in Kirkwood, Missouri a suburb of St. Louis. I feel like this is my home track. That win last year was so huge. It was by far the biggest thing that happened last year. It might have been the best I've ever done in a race car, period, to win that race. It means a lot to race here in the St. Louis area. The big thing here is that I'm really close to home."

HAS THIS YEAR BEEN MORE FUN THAT LAST YEAR IN THE CUP SERIES? "Yes, last year we performed really well in the Cup Series, we just had a lot of crazy things happen. It definitely feels good to have won a race in the Cup Series at this point in the season. And to know that we have a car that can win every week. It seems that we have a fast car; that is nice. I have been enjoying it more this year than last year, for sure."

-credit: ford racing

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