Edwards hopes to make his move with 'home-track edge' in Kansas

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carl Edwards has managed to stay under the radar through the first three Chase for the championship races. That should change for him this weekend when he heads to Kansas Speedway -- the closest thing to a hometown track for the Missouri native.

Edwards is expecting a ton of friends and family to make the two-hour trip from Columbia, Mo., to Kansas for Sunday's race. He went home earlier this week to do as much catching up as he can in an effort to free his schedule at the track and allow him to concentrate on racing.

It's a little surreal for the 26-year-old Edwards, who was scraping by just a few years ago as a substitute teacher while trying to pursue a racing career.

"It's crazy, so many awesome things have happened," Edwards said. "Winning a couple of races, being in the Chase, going for this championship -- all of that is just a dream come true and it's really neat to be able to come back home to Missouri and hang out with my friends.

"I guess it reminds me of what things were like just a few years ago and how grateful I am to be in this position."

Edwards is the surprise of the Chase, a driver few expected to make the 10-race title hunt. But he worked his way in by winning two races this year -- his first full season of Cup racing -- and heads into Kansas sixth in the standings and only 100 points out of the lead.

It's a far cry from where he was just three or so years ago, when Edwards placed a personal ad in a trade magazine in hopes of landing a ride.

He was picked up by Roush Racing and placed in the truck series, where he probably still would be if Jeff Burton had not vacated his Cup seat late last year. With no driver to replace him, Roush surprisingly gave the job to Edwards, who finished 10th in his Cup debut.

Edwards drove the final 13 races of last season, getting acclimated to a Cup car and the No. 99 crew. They opened this year hoping to be competitive, and exceeded their goals by winning at Atlanta in the fourth race of the season.

Edwards celebrated by doing his trademark back flip off his window ledge and became an instant star.

A victory at Pocono in June made the Chase a real possibility for Edwards.

"My performance this year was not at all what we expected -- it's what we hoped for," Edwards said. "After that first win at Atlanta, everything kind of changed. It went from, 'Wow, we would just be super happy to run in the top five,' to 'Man, winning felt awfully good. We'd like to do it again every week.'

"So our perspective has changed and our expectations have changed."