This season, 26-year-old Carl Edwards is getting more track time than most NASCAR drivers, speeding through full schedules in the Busch and Cup series, the sport's two pre-eminent leagues. The Columbia, Missouri, native owes much of that success to good showings in front of his hometown crowd at the Kansas International Speedway. In 2002, Edwards was running in the third-tier Craftsman Truck division when Jack Roush, owner of Roush Racing, noticed him and signed him. The little-known driver went on to take second at the Speedway's O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 before earning 2003 Craftsman Truck Rookie of the Year. Racing trucks last year, he won the event outright. This year, Edwards drove cars exclusively, showcasing his signature victory back flip twice after winning Busch and Cup races on the same weekend in Atlanta and staking his claim that the future of the sport will come from the heartland.
