Races [6] that ScottsMiracle-Gro is scheduled to be the primary sponsor in 2010:
Daytona - Shootout, 2/6
Atlanta - 3/7
Bristol - 3/21
Texas - 4/18
Richmond - 5/1
Charlotte - 5/30
Races [3] that Subway is scheduled to be the primary sponsor in 2009:
Phoenix - 4/18
Daytona - 7/4
Talladega - 11/1
Races [1] that Claritin is scheduled to be the primary sponsor in 2009:
Talladega - 4/26
Contracts: Sponsor: 2011; Driver: 2011; Manufacturer: 2013
#99 Team Past News and Rumors
(NOTE: some older links may not work)
Edwards going for win, had 9 wins in 2008: #99-Carl Edwards, who won a Sprint Cup Series-high nine races in 2008, is still looking for his first Cup win in 2009 heading into Sunday's season finale at Homestead. Only once in series history has a driver won more races one season and been shut out the next. Ned Jarrett won 13 times in 1965, but was winless in 1966. He ran only half the season in 1966 and still finished 13th in the points.(Roanoke Times)(11-18-2009)
Roush's Smith not retiring: Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith has decided to delay his retirement. Smith said because of tough economic times and the merger between partner Yates Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports that he will stay on at least through the 2010 season. Smith is handling a lot of the paperwork in the merger that he said is agreed to on all major issues and should be announced soon. He also plays a major role in bringing sponsors to the cars for the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. Smith has yet to wrap up a full season of sponsorship for the #17 of Matt Kenseth.(see more at ESPN Insiders)(11-17-2009)
Aflac Partners with ScottsMiracle-Gro on the #99: Aflac, primary sponsor of Roush Fenway Racing the #99 Aflac Ford that Carl Edwards drive, has announced a partnership with ScottsMiracle-Gro, giving the company primary sponsorship for six Sprint Cup races in the 2010 season. The partnership extends Scotts relationship with Carl Edwards, who earned his first Sprint Cup victory in 2005 in the Scotts-sponsored car. Scotts currently is the co-primary sponsor of Carl Edwards in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The Scotts paint schemes will appear on the #99 Ford for the following races: Daytona Shootout (February), Atlanta (March), Bristol (March), Texas (April), Richmond (May), and Charlotte (May). The 2010 season will mark the sixth consecutive season that Edwards will compete full time in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series.(RFR)(11-4-2009)
150 Talladega starts for Roush: Roush Fenway will make its 150th Sprint Cup start at Talladega this weekend. Talladega is the eighth track in 2009 that the team has accomplished this feat. The first seven were Bristol, Charlotte, Daytona, Dover, Martinsville, Michigan, Pocono and Richmond.(Roush Fenway PR)(11-1-2009)
Subway returns for Edwards: The #99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford of Carl Edwards will carry the Subway paint scheme this weekend. The Subway crew will be unloading chassis RK-650 this weekend. This is the same Ford Fusion that Edwards raced at Daytona in July. He started that race fifth and finished fourth. In his previous 10 starts, Edwards has one top-five and three top-10 finishes at Talladega with an average start of 16.2 and average finish of 24.5. Edwards has completed 83.5% of his laps attempted at Talladega.(RFR), see images of the scheme on my #99 Team Schemes page.(10-30-2009)
Edwards hopes to meet with injured fan: #99-Carl Edwards is looking forward to one aspect of returning to Talladega Superspeedway one week from this Sunday. He hopes to be able to meet in person with Blake Bobbitt, the young woman whose jaw was broken when a piece of Edwards' #99 Ford flew into the frontstretch grandstands as the Aaron's 499 Sprint Cup race reached its wild and controversial conclusion this past April. "We text back and forth," Edwards said. "And I think she's going to come down and say hey at Talladega, so that's cool." Bobbitt had to be helped to a local hospital after the incident. Then 17 (she since has celebrated her 18th birthday and graduated from high school), Bobbitt underwent reconstructive surgery where two plates had to be inserted in her jaw, which was then wired shut for six weeks. Edwards said he called Bobbitt recently and had a "really positive conversation" with her. "A piece of my car hit her in the face. I just felt bad. I wanted to talk to her about it," Edwards said. "I just wanted her to know that everybody on my team was behind her and wanted to help her. She's doing OK. She had a broken jaw. We didn't talk at length about her injuries -- but the way I understand it, it broke her jaw and knocked [some of] her teeth out. So it was a bad deal. It was right before she graduated high school, so that was tough. From what I can tell, she handled it well." Edwards said when he discovered Bobbitt and seven other fans had been injured (the rest were relatively minor injuries) as a result of his airborne car slamming into the catch fence, it was a horrible feeling. "That's the worst feeling I've had in racing," Edwards said. "When I landed in my airplane in Washington [D.C.] after that race -- I was going to a Ford appearance -- Randy [Fuller], my PR guy, told me, 'Look, there were some people injured.' That was a really bad feeling." Edwards said he looks forward to meeting in person with Bobbitt -- even if he's not all that pumped about participating in the upcoming race at Talladega. "She's really nice and she's a pretty cool chick," Edwards said. "We've been talking a little bit and I think she's gonna come out to the race. Hopefully, we'll be able to meet up, but that was crazy. I hope nothing like that happens again."
Rick Humphrey, the president of Talladega Superspeedway, hired an outside engineering firm to examine what could be done to his track's infrastructure to improve safety in the aftermath of Edwards' accident. Humphrey recently announced that the catch fence along the frontstretch has been raised an additional eight feet, from 14 to 22 feet.(in part from NASCAR.com)(10-27-2009)
Stork heading Edwards way: #99-Carl Edwards says he'll become a first-time father at the start of next NASCAR season. Edwards' wife, Kate, is due in mid-February. The couple is having a girl, and Edwards joked they'll name her "Daytona" because her birth is projected around the season-opening Daytona 500. Edwards says they went for the ultrasound this week to learn the gender, and the nervous dad-to-be "almost passed out" when he saw the baby move.(Associated Press)(10-16-2009)
Roush to visit RPM: Jack Roush is scheduled to take a tour of the Richard Petty Motorsports facility on Wednesday.
Other managers from Roush Fenway Racing will join Rosuh on the tour of the Statesville, N.C., shop. There have been ongoing talks since before September of a merger between Yates Racing, a sister organization of Roush Fenway, and RPM. Regardless of whether RPM merges with Yates, majority team owner George Gillett has said his team will be running Fords in 2010. Given that Roush is the principal supplier of Ford engines, RPM will be working directly with RFR in one form or another.(FoxSports), see an image of a real #9 Budweiser Ford for 2010 on my #9 Team Schemes page.(10-14-2009)
Edwards off crutches: #99-Carl Edwards showed up at Auto Club Speedway on Friday without the use of crutches. He said his doctor has allowed him to start walking on his heel without the crutches. “It feels great to be off my crutches. I’m not in the clear yet. As long as I don’t mess this thing up, I’m good. I’m allowed to walk on my heel. So, that’s good.” (10-9-2009)
Carl Edwards on cover of ESPN The Magazine 'Body Issue': #60-Carl Edwards is one of six cover athletes who will appear on ESPN The Magazine's cover for its inaugural "Body Issue". The Body Issue, on newsstands Friday, Oct. 9, will feature nearly 80 athletes from a variety of sports in a celebration and exploration of the athletic form. The issue honors athletes of diverse shapes, sizes, genders and races within the boundaries of taste and frontiers of creativity upon which ESPN The Magazine and ESPN have built their reputations. It is a testament to the work the athletes do, the effort they exert and the price they sometimes pay in reliance on their most important asset - their bodies.(ESPN PR)(10-8-2009)
Are NASCAR Drivers smarter than a 5th grader?: Comedian Jeff Foxworthy hosts the all-new half-hour version of "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" The fast-paced game show, where knowledge of grade-school level questions is tested, welcomes NASCAR drivers #55-Michael Waltrip, #6-David Ragan, #99-Carl Edwards, #2-Kurt Busch and #11-Denny Hamlin. On October 6, Michael Waltrip will be in the classroom to play the game to raise money for the Victory Junction Gang Camp. He’ll also be joined by Roush Racing’s David Ragan. The special back-to-back episodes will premiere on MyNetworkTV (8:00pm/et/pt). On October 26, NASCAR week kicks off on the new nationally-syndicated edition of "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" Michael Waltrip, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, and Denny Hamlin are among the contestants playing the game for their charities. Check your local listings for exact air time.(10-5-2009)
Roush keeping an eye on the Henrick cars in question: Car owner Jack Roush [#'s 6,16,17,26,99 Ford's] says he understands that the two cars in question [Hendrick Motorsports #5 and #48 Chevy's] were in fact slightly "out of tolerance," in being off-set a bit to the right (which would help in aerodynamics in corner handling), although Roush said the specific 'miss' was probably too slight to be of any significant advantage. "I've been fined a lot of times for a lot of different things…and if the cars were out of tolerance by a quarter of an inch, which is what I've heard…well, the rest of the garage is held to a much tighter tolerance than that," Roush said. "So we'll see what NASCAR ultimately does about it."(mikemulhern.net)(10-5-2009)
Edwards, Bowyer to compete in support of Victory Junction in Kansas: NASCAR drivers #99-Carl Edwards and #33-Clint Bowyer will contest a race within a race when they compete in next Sunday's Price Chopper 400 Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway. Sprint announced a Stateline Challenge between Edwards, of Columbia, Missouri and Bowyer, of Emporia, Kansas. Sprint will present a check for $100,000 to Victory Junction Midwest in the name of the driver who finishes higher in the race. A $25,000 donation will be made in honor of the other driver. All proceeds from the race will help fund construction efforts for Victory Junction, a year-round camp for chronically ill children. The $35 million facility will be built on 71 acres in Wyandotte County, KS.(Kansas City Star)(9-29-2009)
Crew chief changes at Roush? UPDATE: There is supposedly a meeting planned at Roush Fenway Racing featuring General Manager Robbie Reiser and representatives from Ford. Could crew chief changes be in RFR's future? One rumor circulating NHMS Sunday morning had veteran crew chief Jimmy Fennig connecting with former Roush racer Jeff Burton at RCR. Not so, Fennig said. "After 13 years with Jack, my goal is to retire from Roush Racing," Fennig said. "But I'm getting too old to be on the road." Another scenario places Fennig in a research and development role. Fennig says testing suits him just fine.(FoxSports)(9-21-2009)
UPDATE: Car owner Jack Roush says that any personnel moves among his non-Chase teams will be made after the season since he's focused on the championship with Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle. "I will re-evaluate every person and every position on every team this winter as I do every year,'' Roush said. He said he would make a change on a Chase team immediately if it could help that team contend for the championship.(Roanoke Times)(9-27-2009)
13-Year-Old Girl from Aflac Cancer Center Designs Carl Edwards’ Car: On September 6th, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the #99 Aflac Ford Fusion will sport a colorful new look inspired by a 13-year-old patient at the Aflac Cancer Center. Aflac invited children at the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service to “Color Carl’s Car” for the Labor Day weekend race. The chosen paint scheme, submitted by Jody Lawrence of Greensboro, Georgia, was selected among 54 other entries as part of Aflac’s month-long effort to generate awareness for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. All of the children’s drawings will be featured on the pit wall banner for the #99 race team. Edwards will wear a matching fire suit and a white helmet signed by children at the Aflac Cancer Center. People can join the fight against pediatric cancer by donating to the Aflac Cancer Center (ACC) through the Aflac Cancer Center causes page which can be accessed on Facebook.com or at aflac.com/aflaccancercenter. Aflac will contribute one dollar for anyone who joins the ACC causes page and will match donations up to $1 million.
Aflac Chairman and CEO Dan Amos kicked off the campaign by making a personal donation of $100,000 and challenged others to contribute to the fight against childhood cancer. Carl Edwards responded to this challenge by announcing on Facebook that he will donate his portion of the winnings from Sunday’s race to the Aflac Cancer Center.
Aflac is also engaging NASCAR fans in the fight against childhood cancer through a text donation program which will run throughout the month of September. The NASCAR community can simply text “GoCarl” to 90999 using any carrier, to donate $5 per text, with charges appearing on customers’ wireless bill. The NASCAR Foundation will match texted donations up to $10,000.
Childhood cancer is Aflac’s primary philanthropic commitment and the number one cause of death by disease for young people under the age of 15. However, due to increased and improved research and treatment, since the 1980s, childhood cancer survival rates have improved from less than 20% to over 80% today.
“This is a wonderful campaign and a great example of how Aflac continues to support childhood cancer treatment and research,” said Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Aflac Ford Fusion. “I am proud to be a part of this effort.”
“Aflac is combining our passion for fighting childhood cancer with our NASCAR sponsorship of Carl Edwards to raise money and awareness for a great cause,” said Paul Amos II, Aflac President and Chief Operating Officer. “By showcasing Jody’s compelling story we hope to inspire NASCAR fans to help raise funds and support the research and treatment that takes place everyday at the Aflac Cancer Center.”
As an additional program element, Aflac has teamed up with Motorsports Authentics to create a special die cast car, featuring the special paint scheme, which was sold on QVC and is still available online at nascarsuperstore.com. As part of the initiative, five percent of all profits from the die cast sales will be donated to the Aflac Cancer Center.(RFR/Aflac), see images of thew scheme on my #99 Team Schemes page.(9-6-2009)
Edwards breaks foot, will race UPDATE: #99-Carl Edwards, who is currently fifth in points and winner of the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, fractured his right foot the gas pedal foot] playing Frisbee Wednesday. Edwards will race this weekend and is expected to see a specialist in his hometown of Columbia, Mo., Thursday afternoon.(FoxSports)(9-3-2009)
UPDATE: Roush Fenway Racing confirmed that Carl Edwards fractured his right foot yesterday. He is working with doctors at the University of Missouri who have cleared him to drive for this weekend’s Sprint Cup and Nationwide events at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He is currently on crutches to assist with walking but will race the #99 Aflac Ford and #60 Save-A-Lot Ford in the Sprint Cup
and Nationwide races respectively this weekend. “I know this probably sounds ridiculous to a lot of people and I could hardly believe it myself,” said Edwards from his home in Columbia, Mo. “I was playing Frisbee with a couple of buddies and we both went for the Frisbee at the same time. I put my foot on it, my friend dove for it, and the next thing you know…we all heard a pop. I knew it was broken and we all kind of looked at each other in disbelief that of all things, I would break my foot playing Frisbee. I immediately went to the doctor and have been working with a great team of people at the University of Missouri who work with all the college teams here. They have me on crutches to help me walk but said I could race in both races this weekend and shouldn’t have a problem using the accelerator."(Roush Fenway Racing)(9-3-2009)
Special scheme for Edwards at Atlanta: At the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the #99 Aflac Ford will sport a colorful new look inspired by the creative imagination of a 13-year-old cancer patient from the Aflac Cancer Center. In support of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Aflac invited children at the Aflac Cancer Center to “Color Carl’s Car,” inspiring the design of the car Carl Edwards will drive at the NASCAR Sprint Cup race on September 6. It will also mark the beginning of a month-long fundraising campaign whereby Aflac is asking NASCAR fans to help in the fight against childhood cancer.
The paint scheme, inspired by 13 year old Jody Lawrence of Greensboro, Georgia, will feature an array of colors and a crayon-sketched look. Edwards will wear a matching fire suit and a white helmet signed by patients of the Aflac Cancer Center. The remaining 54 paint scheme submissions will be featured throughout the concourse of Atlanta Motor Speedway for viewing by race attendees and will adorn the pit wall banner for the #99 race team. Jody, who is battling neuroblastoma cancer, receives treatment at the Aflac Cancer Center. To extend the program beyond the track, Aflac has created a text donation program to coincide with the paint scheme launch. Running throughout the month of September, the donation program gives the NASCAR community an easy method to contribute to the Aflac Cancer Center. Fans can simply text “GoCarl” to 90999 using any carrier, to donate $5 per text, with charges appearing on customers’ wireless bill.
As an additional program element, Aflac has teamed up with Motorsports Authentics to create a special die cast car, featuring the special paint scheme, to sell through QVC. As part of the initiative, five percent of all profits from the die cast sales will be donated to the Aflac Cancer Center. All cars sold through QVC will be personally autographed by Edwards (Aflac Racing). See images of the scheme on my #99 Team Schemes page.(8-30-2009)
Edwards wrecks in Grand Am race: Carl Edwards’ first foray into the Grand-Am Rolex Series ranks ended before it could hardly begin. Edwards was circling Canada’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course on the warmup lap for Saturday’s Montreal 200 sports-car race when a combination of rain and cold, slick tires caused his No. 77 Doran Racing Dallara to lose grip and slide off the track. The incident ended the day early for Edwards and fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Marcos Ambrose, who had teamed up for the event and qualified eighth.(SceneDaily)(8-29-2009)
Edwards & Ambrose testing sports cars: UPDATE: #99-Carl Edwards and #47-Marcos Ambrose will make their Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Daytona Prototype testing debut Tuesday, driving the Doran Racing #77 McDonald's Ford Dallara on the North Course at Virginia International Raceway. The next action for the Grand-Am Rolex Series will be the Aug. 29 Montreal 200 in Canada (SPEED Live, 2 p.m. ET), sharing Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.(VIR)(8-18-2009)
UPDATE: NASCAR stars Carl Edwards and Marcos Ambrose will team up in Montreal for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal on August 29. Edwards and Ambrose will co-drive the #77 Ford DP car owned by Doran Enterprises, Inc. in the two-hour race. Aflac is the primary sponsor with Subway as a secondary sponsor for Edwards and iRacing.com and Aussie wines as secondary sponsors for Ambrose. The Montreal 200 at Circuit Gille Villeneuve will precede the Nationwide race next week and marks the duo's debut in the series.(Roush Fenway PR)(8-20-2009)
Roush's Smith talks about 2010 plans: Sunday on "The SIRIUS NASCAR Radio Pre-Race Show", SIRIUS XM's Claire B. Lang spoke with Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith about the possible changes to the team's roster of drivers before next season.
Geoff Smith: "If you're asking about our team plans for 2010, we're settled that Carl Edwards and Aflac, Greg Biffle with 3M, and David Ragan with UPS will be staying put and that sponsorship is going to kind of determine whether or not the #17 or the #26 are going to have to be the teams we shut down and move, if we can."
Smith: "There are difficulties. You just can't assume that a team can transfer intact just because you want it to. There are sponsors that get to vote as to what organization they're going to sponsor. So we have to work through that, which is what I've been saying. I expect, now that the DeWalt cloud has been removed, we're going to move very quickly to lock in the sponsorship and then that sponsorship will determine [whether] the #17 stays or goes."
Host, Claire B. Lang: "Meaning that we could see a past champion, Matt Kenseth, moving?"
Smith: "It all depends on the sponsorships. Our objective is to keep both of those teams (the #17 and the #26) in the Ford Motor Company community. We're hoping that we don't have to keep one and then lose one out of the Ford community entirely. So if we can keep them both in the [Ford] community by shuffling the #17 we would do that. Pretty unlikely that Matt Kenseth or the #17 will move at this point."
(SIRIUS NASCAR Radio)(7-27-2009)
Testing at Road Atlanta: Hearing that drivers testing at Road Atlanta today include #99-Carl Edwards, #6-David Ragan, #16-Colin Braun (subbing for Greg Biffle), #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, #47-Marcos Ambrose, #2-Kurt Busch, #77-Sam Hornish Jr., #12-David Stremme, #13-Max Papis and Boris Said (in John Wes Townley's #09 Nationwide Series Ford which he will run at Watkins Glen).(7-21-2009)
AND: told #7-Robby Gordon was also at the track.(7-21-2009)
- Roush looking for first Chicago win: Chicagoland is one of two tracks on the current Sprint Cup schedule that a Roush Fenway entry has not won at. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the other.(Roush Fenway PR(7-9-2009)
- Special silver scheme for Edwards at night races: #99-Carl Edwards is scheduled to drive the Aflac Silver Special scheme in the Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland on July 11, 2009 and in all the remaining night races during the 2009 season. See the scheme on my #99 Team Scheme page.(6-30-2009)
- Latest on Roush Fenway Racing having to trim a team: The five-car stable of Roush Fenway Racing (#16-Greg Biffle, #99-Carl Edwards, #17-Matt Kenseth, #6-David Ragan, #26-Jamie McMurray) must be trimmed to four vehicles for the 2010 season. According to Brian Corcoran, executive vice president of Fenway Sports Group, a decision should take place by August because of sponsorship obligations. An alternative is for one of the drivers (most likely Ragan or McMurray) to switch to Yates Racing, the current home of #96-Bobby Labonte and #98-Paul Menard. Roush has an existing partnership with Yates. “Should be an interesting 45 days,’’ Corcoran said. Corcoran also noted that Roush is still in discussions with DeWalt, the primary sponsor of Kenseth’s #17 Ford. Currently, DeWalt may not have the funds to continue primary sponsorship of the #17 next season.(Boston Globe)(6-29-2009)
- What's up with Roush's five teams? Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith on the team cutting from five teams to four after this season (as mandated by NASCAR to meet its four-car limit): “We’re still messing with the sponsorship pieces,’’ Smith said. “We’re still not sure how it’s going to lay out. We thought we’d be done by now but we’re not.’’ One of the teams will move to Yates next year, Smith said. Smith also was asked about the status of signing Jamie McMurray to a contract extension: “Jamie wants to stay. We’d like him to stay. We’re hoping we can have sponsorship around Jamie before he has to decide how much longer he can wait. We’ve been working together. Hopefully we’ll have that worked out pretty quickly before he has to turn his attention to the marketplace.’’(Virginia Pilot)(6-22-2009)
- Danica to Roush? Danica Patrick will be in a Jack Roush NASCAR Ford next season, bank on it. Well, don't bet the ranch, but there is a growing sense that that is the momentum on the issue, if the sexy Indy-car star does make the leap into stock car racing, as she has hinted. And in the NASCAR garage here at Infineon Raceway Roush himself pondered the Danica option Friday. Patrick herself has been talking around the NASCAR possibility for several weeks now but insists she won't be making any announcement of where she'll be racing next season until this fall [after the IRL's finale in Oct]. Last weekend Geoff Smith, head of Roush Fenway Racing, talked about the Danica Patrick option. What does Roush himself think about her as NASCAR stocker? "I don't know enough about her to know how much time she'd have to spend in the Nationwide series or Truck series," Roush said. "I'd say, as a minimum, two years in the Nationwide series would be required…and at the same time she could run six or seven Cup races, to maintain her rookie status. It just depends on how badly she wants it," Roush says of any Patrick move into NASCAR. Patrick has some big advantages, Roush points out: "I don't know of any problems with Danica Patrick. If a female is going to make it in NASCAR in the foreseeable future, it will be Danica Patrick.(mikemulhern.net)(6-20-2009)
- Fired crew member sues Roush Fenway: A former employee of Roush Fenway Racing is suing the organization for firing him shortly after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Jason Myers says his February termination is in violation of the Family Medical Leave Act. He has filed a civil complaint in Cabarrus County Superior Court that seeks more than $10,000 in damages. Myers spent three seasons as car chief for Carl Edwards but was demoted to mechanic this year. According to the lawsuit, he attempted suicide by overdosing on Tylenol and insulin on Feb. 10 - six days before the season-opening Daytona 500. He says Roush officials fired him the next week because he did not report to work following his discharge from the hospital.(Associated Press)(6-11-2009)
- Edwards wins Budweiser Celebrity Billiards Shootout: Hundreds of race fans gathered on race weekend inside of the Rollins Center at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino to be a part of the “Budweiser Celebrity Billiards Shootout,” a nine-ball billiards contest won by #99-Carl Edwards. Edwards topped NASCAR on ESPN pit reporter Shannon Spake to win the $10,000 prize for his charity of choice, Speedway Children’s Charities. After sinking the clinching shot, Edwards wowed the crowd in attendance by performing his trademark back flip off of the pool table. The Friday, May 29 tournament featured some of the biggest names in the sport, including defending champion Casey Mears, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman and Brad Keselowski and other familiar names such as NASCAR on ESPN pit reporter Jamie Little, NFL legend Herschel Walker, SPEED reporter Hermie Sadler and American Builder host Brian Gurry. The Budweiser Celebrity Billiards Shootout is expected to return as part of the Sept. 25-27, 2009 Dover race weekend. More details will be posted on DoverSpeedway.com.(6-1-2009)
- Carl Edwards to guest star on TV show: #99-Carl Edwards will be a guest star on one of cable television's most popular situation comedies, The Bill Engvall Show, on TBS this summer. In an episode entitled The Way We Were, Edwards will co-star as what the network describes as "the smug, hip manager of a 20-something nightclub." He gets into a run-in with the stars of the show, Engvall's character and his character's wife, Susan, when they attempt to get past the velvet rope and bouncer to get into the club.(NASCAR.com)(5-17-2009)
- Special scheme for Edwards in All-Star race: #99-Carl Edwards will carry a special silver and black Aflac paint scheme Saturday night in honor of the All-Star race. The #99 Aflac crew will be unloading chassis RK-639 for this weekend’s events. Edwards raced this Ford Fusion at Texas in April of this year. He started 13th, led 40 laps and finished 10th. Aflac will auction off the fire suit worn by Edwards in this weekend’s All-Star Race. The proceeds from the auction will benefit the Aflac Cancer Center.(RFR), see an image of the car on my #99 Team Schemes page.(5-14-2009)
- Special scheme for #99 at Darlington: The #99 Aflac Ford of Carl Edwards will take on a different look at Darlington Raceway. The #99 Ford will sport a special paint scheme in support of Disney Pixar’s upcoming release, “Up”. “Up” is a comedy adventure about 78 year old balloon salesman Carl Fredrickson and his lifelong dream of taking a fantastic adventure.(Roush Racing PR)(5-5-2009)
- Edwards meets with NASCAR about Talladega accident: #99-Carl Edwards and team owner Jack Roush have met with NASCAR officials in Daytona Beach, Fla., to discuss how to prevent another incident such as the one that sent Edwards' car flying into the catch fence at Talladega Superspeedway. "I'm not an engineer so I didn't tell them, 'This is how it has to be,' " Edwards said on Friday at Richmond International Raceway. "But the bottom line is unless you take the banking out of that racetrack or we don't go race there you've got this big problem trying to keep the cars apart, keep them slow, and that's the battle." Edwards hopes the Thursday meeting leads to a solution, although NASCAR and track officials have said they have no plans to reconfigure the track. "They said they would talk to some other drivers, which, that would be really good," Edwards said.(ESPN.com)(5-2-2009)
- Edwards joins up ro help fight hunger: #99-Carl Edwards is scheduled to announce four GroGood edible gardens planted at the Richmond International Raceway. The gardens, a part of the GroGood Campaign, created in partnership with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, Plant a Row for the Hungry and Feeding America, will provide fresh produce to those at risk for hunger in the Richmond area. Fans can also take the GroGood pledge during race weekend at the ScottsMiracle-Gro display adjacent to the hospitality pavilion to "grow a garden for the greater good." Each person who takes the pledge will receive a reusable GroGood grocery bag (while supplies last). To launch the GroGood pledge campaign, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will donate 1 million pounds of produce to Feeding America and call on Americans to help double that donation by pledging to grow and donate an additional 1 million pounds of fresh produce to help feed those at risk for hunger. For more information or to take the pledge, please visit www.GroGood.com.(PR)(5-1-2009)
- Edwards helps drive Hybrid more then 1,000 miles: A team of seven dedicated drivers, including #99-Carl Edwards, attempted and succeeded at driving the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid more than 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas this past weekend in Washington, DC in a challenge event to support JDRF. The Fusion Hybrid was driven for 69 hours, reaching 1,445.7 miles and an 81.5-mpg average. Wayne Gerdes, world record breaking hypermiling champion and founder of cleanmpg.com, was part of the team and was there to coach Carl Edwards as he took the Fusion Hybrid past the 1,000 mile mark Monday morning.(Ford Racing PR)(4-29-2009)
- Edwards to appear on 'Ellen": On Wednesday, April 29th talk show host Ellen DeGeneres welcomes NASCAR sensation #99-Carl Edwards on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Edwards joins Ellen just days after his car flipped 15 feet in the air after colliding with other cars during a race at the Talladega Speedway, this past weekend. Fortunately, after getting out of the car, Edwards safely jogged across the finish line. During his appearance, Ellen tells Carl he should take it easy so she gives a new ride of a "Cruzin Cooler" (a cooler on wheels.) Tune in to "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (check ellentv.com for syndicated/local listings) on Wednesday, April 29th to catch Carl's recap his spectacular wreck in Talladega.(The Ellen DeGeneres Show PR)(4-29-2009)
- Edwards part of drivers group to run Ford Fusion Hybrid a 1,000 miles: This weekend, the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is being put to the ultimate fuel-efficiency test. A team of drivers, including NASCAR star Carl Edwards and world-record breaking hypermiler Wayne Gerdes, will attempt to drive more than 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas, raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in the process. The 1,000-Mile Challenge starts at around 8:00am on Saturday, April 25, from Mount Vernon, VA, and ends the morning of Monday, April 27, in Washington, D.C. The team will drive for more than 43 hours continuously to reach the 1,000-mile goal. The drivers will do stints of between two and three hours each and will have regular breaks to ensure safe driving is maintained.(ford.com)(4-25-2009)
- Different colors for Edwards at 'Dega: The #99 team of Carl Edwards will carry the Claritin paint scheme this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. This is the first and only time in 2009 Edwards’ Ford Fusion will don the Claritin design. The Claritin crew will be unloading chassis RK-629 this weekend. This is the same Ford Fusion that Edwards raced in this year’s Daytona 500. He started that race 16th and was relegated to an 18th-place finish after rain shortened the event.(RFR PR)(4-22-2009)
- Roush Fenway Racing increases pledge to be more sustainable: It’s been 40 years since Senator Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day and on this day of ecological awareness, Roush Fenway Racing is upping their pledge to promote more sustainable operations and better environmental management. Always a leader in the sport of NASCAR on and off track, Roush Fenway has been working with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to reinforce its position as a leader in environmental stewardship in the industry.
Through the team’s current efforts, they recycle almost 96% of every race car. In 2008, the team recycled over 66 tons of waste
(plastic, paper and metal); reduced the overall amount of waste produced by more than 11 tons; reduced storm water run off by 1.51M gallons; and saved 2.10M gallons of water by not using potable water for irrigation.
As a next step, Roush Fenway Racing pledges to meet or exceed its corporate environmental target of an overall 10% improvement in indoor air quality; reduction of water consumption; increase in waste reduction and recycling; and improvement in energy usage over the next 18 months. The team has commissioned an independent energy audit through Electricities and the Carolina Consulting Group in cooperation with the City of Concord (N.C.) to further identify opportunities to reduce its power consumption. These efforts are applauded by the NRDC.(Roush Fenway Racing PR)(4-22-2009)
- Subway on the #99: The Sprint Cup race at Phoenix will mark the first time Subway appears on the #99 Ford of Carl Edwards. See an image of the scheme on the #99 Team Schemes page.(4-14-2009)
- Pit road shakeups for Roush? Could there be a few shakeups in the pit crews at Roush Fenway Racing? Officials haven't said anything, but co-owner Jack Roush spent a lot of time in meetings this past week trying to figure out why his teams are having so much trouble on pit road. That usually means changes for the man known as "Cat in the Hat." Carl Edwards went from first to 11th after a crucial mistake on his final pit stop with about 30 laps remaining in Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway. Greg Biffle believes pit road mistakes, at least one by him, has cost him a shot at two wins this season. Even Matt Kenseth had problems at Texas. He was second coming onto pit road on lap 252, but left in 15th after a lug nut problem on the right rear tire. Nobody is publicly blaming anybody as Kyle Busch did in a Nationwide Series race last month when a pit road mistake cost him a victory. But there are concerns.(ESPN Insider)(4-10-2009)
UPDATE: Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards said small changes made this week to his Sprint Cup pit crew were designed to help his #99 team be able to compete for the Cup title this year. Edwards said Friday at Nashville Superspeedway that one crew member was replaced, and a team spokesman said it was front tire changer Corey Quick.(Scene Daily)(4-11-2009)
- Edwards in NYC to race cars with Howard Stern's wife: #99-Carl Edwards spent about 15 quality minutes racing remote controlled cars with Beth Stern, radio host Howard Stern's model wife, who interviewed Edwards for the TV show "Extra." "It's really kind of fun," Edwards said after racing Stern. "We try to get all of this stuff out of the way. That's good." This stuff, for Edwards, was some media appearances and filming a commercial for sponsor Claritin in New York, before flying his own jet to Bristol, Tenn., for Sunday's race.(New York Daily News)(3-20-2009)
- Roush Fenway looking for sponsors: Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith should only be negotiating to renew the one NASCAR Sprint Cup sponsorship he has open – the #17 Ford and DeWalt – for 2010. But Smith’s organization is working on helping nearly all of its Cup sponsors (#26-Crown Royal, #16-3M and #99-Aflac) find other companies willing to pony up the money to buy some races for 2010 and beyond even though they have contracts obligating them for the entire season. Smith said the companies have requested help, and it’s imperative in these economic times that the organization find more sponsors willing to share some of the costs. DeWalt, whose contract is up after the 2009 season, has also indicated it wants a partner. The only sponsor that has not requested a partner is UPS [for #6 David Ragan]. A new sponsor could be on one of those cars by the end of 2009 if there is a commitment for future years, Smith said.
Even though Roush Fenway can have only four Cup teams next year, it also is responsible for sponsorship for Yates Racing, so it is continuing to court companies to sponsor Cup teams. On an initial call, Smith said the organization will offer anything open in its portfolio. The one thing his company won’t do is to stagger sponsorships on a car because the organization has to commit to a salary for the driver and needs the sponsorship to back it up. Smith said that car owners must realize that they need to spend money on sales. He said he has “a whole team” making cold calls about sponsorship.(SceneDaily)(3-9-2009)
- Edwards to run Claritin scheme: Schering-Plough SGP, maker of the top-selling allergy medicine, Claritin, announced its second Sprint Cup racing season as a sponsor of NASCAR star and long-time allergy sufferer Carl Edwards. Edwards, who takes non-drowsy Claritin to treat his allergy symptoms, will drive the #99 Claritin Ford during the April Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.(MSN Money)(3-5-2009)
- Roush could tie record: Even if #17-Matt Kenseth fails to win Sunday, his four Roush Fenway Racing teammates could help match another Cup Series record. Only two owners / teams have won the first three races of a season. Owner Peter DePaolo's team won the first three races of 1957 (two wins by Marvin Panch, one by Fireball Roberts) and Petty Enterprises won the first three races in 1963 (two wins by Jim Paschal, one by Richard Petty).(NASCAR.com)(2-28-2009)
- Aflac won't likely sell off as many races as planned: Aflac will likely be the primary sponsor of Roush Fenway Racing’s #99 Ford driven by Carl Edwards for more NASCAR Sprint Cup races this year than originally announced. When Aflac announced it would become the primary sponsor in 2009, a company official had indicated that it hoped to keep only 20-25 races as the primary sponsor and sell off the remaining 11-16. That was back in May when the contract, reportedly a three-year deal with Roush Fenway worth $26 million a year, was inked. The economy has changed since then, as has Edwards’ stature as he challenged for last year’s Sprint Cup title and won a series-high nine races. Aflac currently has sold off four races – three to Subway and one to Claritin – and a company executive says it won’t sell off additional races unless the potential sponsor fits with Aflac’s business model. “Our strategy is right now we feel like we have the hottest driver in NASCAR,” Keith Farley, Aflac’s corporate sponsorship manager, said last week at Daytona. “We feel like since originally working with him last May and working on the contract, his value has gone up. Our strategy is to make sure we do what’s right for the Aflac brand and for Carl. We might sell to other sponsors. We’ve turned other sponsors down that want to be on the car because we want to make sure it makes business sense for us, not just from a branding standpoint.” As a supplemental insurance company, Aflac wants only partners that can increase its insurance business. “When we look at a company like Subway that has 30,000 franchises, that is the perfect example of small business owners,” Farley said. “Does that make good sense for Aflac, to sell these products to employees to be involved with? Yes. It’s got to fit there because that’s the main reason we’re in the sport.”(SceneDaily)(2-20-2009)
- Kyle Busch joins Gillette Young Guns: With the NASCAR season ready to roll, Gillette announced that Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota will be the newest member to its star-studded Gillette Young Guns lineup, which includes Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman [Kyle replaces his brother Kurt]. During the off-season, Busch was welcomed to the Gillette Young Guns team when he participated in a two-day ad shoot to support the launch of the gaming-inspired Gillette Fusion Power Gamer, which features Fusion’s 5-bladed shaving surface for unsurpassed comfort and a sleek new look. The spot, titled “Jumbotron,” was created by BBDO NY, features all six Gillette Young Guns. Airing for the first time during the FOX telecast of the Daytona 500, “Jumbotron” follows the Gillette Young Guns as they attempt to sneak into the race track and play video games from atop a motorcoach.(Gillette Young Guns PR)(2-7-2009)
- Subway to sponsor Edwards in 2009 UPDATE Subway is completing a deal with #99-Carl Edwards that will make the ultra-fit NASCAR driver a spokesman for the big-spending restaurant chain, industry sources said. Subway is expected to be the primary sponsor for Edwards' #99 Ford in three Sprint Cup races next year and sign him to a personal-services agreement to use him in its advertising. The three-race primary sponsorship will run Subway about $2.25 million. Terms on the personal services agreement were not available. Subway will be an associate sponsor on the #99 car the rest of the season.(Sporting News/SportsBusiness Journal.)(8-19-2008)
UPDATE - Subway for 3 races: Subway Restaurants will serve as the primary sponsor of Carl Edwards and the #99 Sprint Cup Series Ford for three races in 2009, which includes the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway in April [18th]. Edwards will also pilot the car in the Coke Zero 400 [July 4th] at Daytona International Speedway and then a to be announced race.(RacingOne), see image of the scheme on my #99 Team Schemes page.(2-7-2009)
- Roush Fenway Racing Pledges 'Green': With the country under new leadership and the start of a new race season upon us, Roush Fenway Racing announces their pledge to sustainability and environmental protection. Always a leader in the sport of NASCAR on and off track, Roush Fenway Racing will continue current environmental initiatives and look into new initiatives to “go green” in 2009. There are many aspects of the sport which will not change in the immediate future when it comes to environmental impact. However, the environment is a topic that’s important to many of our sponsor partners as well as the world, so in an effort to be good stewards of the planet, Roush Fenway Racing continues to seek ways to be environmentally conscious from materials in their daily operations, to the expansion and construction of facilities. Roush Fenway Racing currently recycles oil, solvent, steel, tires, aluminum, paper and plastic bottles and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Ian Prince, Roush Fenway’s LEED certified person on staff, oversees the operations of Roush Fenway’s 25-acre campus with three buildings totaling over 190,000 Sq. ft. All the building have innovated LEED building design features including (but not limited to) solar shades on southern exposure to reduce solar heat gain and glare, reducing the amount of artificial building cooling required; interior lighting controlled by individual occupancy and photoelectric sensors to reduce electrical usage; motion activated plumbing fixtures to reduce potable water use; and rain and storm water run off captured and contained for landscape irrigation reducing the need for potable water. As a point of interest, Roush Fenway uses no city water they have their own wells and storm water reclamation. In addition, Roush Fenway has proposed an emission reduction program to LED retrofit the shop Metal Halide lighting resulting in a 530 Megawatt savings of electricity each year. The use of Building Integrated
Photovoltaic laminates that will produce 13,710kWh per year of electricity for 20 years to be sold back to the utilities companies is also being proposed. But that’s not where the effort ends. Roush Fenway Racing Sprint Cup standouts Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle
are purchasing Renewable Energy Credits (REC’s) as part of their commitment to sustainability and environmental protection.(Roush Fenway Racing PR)(1-25-2009)
- New Car Chief for Edwards: from the 2009 NASCAR Preseason Thunder Daytona Fan Fest: Saturday news conference transcripts:
Q. It's hard to imagine your team being much stronger than it was at the end of last year, but you said you've added a couple people.
CARL EDWARDS: Right. Yeah, one person in particular sorry, go ahead and finish. Pierre Kuettel is going to be the car chief on the 99. Jason Myers was the car chief. He's, I think, a really good example of guys really rallying for the team. Pierre came out and we won a championship in the Nationwide series together, and then Drew became my crew chief, P.K. looked at his options and said, hey, I'd like to be the car chief. When it was offered to him, he said, hey, I'll do that, I'll be the car chief on the Cup car again. We had so much success with P.K. on that team in 2005, I think having him come back and do this job is going to be a huge addition. At the same time we didn't lose Jason Myers. He's going to stay there, and I think for two guys to do that and make moves in a sport that from the outside would appear like downward moves so that we can go achieve a championship in the Cup Series, I'm so proud of those guys, so I'm so excited about it. I feel like we're right back where we were in 2005 except we gained a championship level crew chief to car chief on my Cup car, and that's cool.(NASCAR PR)(1-18-2009)
- New look for the #99 in 2009: Aflac unveiled its sleek new look for Roush Fenway Racing's #99 Aflac Ford driven by Carl Edwards. Beginning next season, Edwards, who has a multi-year primary sponsorship with Aflac, will race in one of the most formidable-looking cars in 2009. With the main color jet black and the secondary colors shades of green and blue, this ride will be
hard to miss -- even at speeds of 200 mph. Aflac revealed the new color scheme during a circuit stop in Indiana with Edwards present. The new paint scheme will debut in February 2009 at Daytona International Speedway. The current scheme [which can be seen on my #99 Team Schemes page] will run at Indy this weekend [July 27th]. at the Auto Club Speedway [Calif] on August 31st and at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Oct 11th.(PRN Newswire), see images of the car on my new 2009 #99 Team Schemes page.(7-25-2008)
- AFLAC to be primary for #99 in 2009: Aflac Incorporated announced its signing of a full-season multi-year primary sponsorship of Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards and the #99 Ford Fusion. Additionally, Aflac continues its relationship as the official supplemental insurance company for Roush Fenway Racing and Carl Edwards. Racing fans can visit AflacRacing.com for exclusive videos, track analysis, merchandise, promotions, screen savers and other features. Racing fans can also watch Edwards and the #99 Aflac Ford Fusion at the remaining 2008 races, including: June 8 at Pocono; July 5 at Daytona; July 27 at Indy; Aug. 31 at Auto Club Speedway; Oct. 11 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.(PR Newswire)(5-21-2008)
AND Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal estimated the deal at $78 million over three years ($26 million per year). Edwards had recently signed a reported three-year deal that will keep him at Roush Fenway at least through 2011.(5-21-2008)
- Edwards re-signs with Roush UPDATE 2: Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing has signed a multi-year stay with the team on Thursday. His old contract was thru the end of 2008.(PRN's Garage Pass)
UPDATE: Carl Edwards said Friday he signed a multiple-year contract extension to continue driving the #99 Ford, a decision that takes NASCAR's most sought-after free agent off the market. "I'm staying with Roush," Edwards said. "I looked at everything and I talked to everybody and, for me, the number one thing is looking into the future and saying, 'Where can I win the most races and have the most success?' I just feel like for me, personally, this is where I want to be for the near future." He negotiated the contract himself with Geoff Smith, president of Roush. "It took us about a week and a half of going back and forth with just little things and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world for the contract I got," he said. "If I was dealing with someone that I didn't trust or that I felt like I couldn't just kind of air everything out with, then I'd probably have to have an agent, but dealing with Geoff from day one has been very easy at Roush for me, so it was really pretty simple. Besides, I feel like I know what I need more than anyone else. I know what I want to make me happy and this is cool." It's not clear if sponsor Office Depot will remain on the car. A spokeswoman for the company said only they are continuing their negotiations with Roush.(ESPN.com/AP)(5-2-2008)
UPDATE 2: Roush said he was battling two rival car owners for Edwards' services. One of the men in the running for Edwards was apparently Chevy kingpin Rick Hendrick. The other was apparently Joe Gibbs, with backer Toyota; Joe and J. D. Gibbs and Toyota executives may well be resigned to the distinct possibility that Tony Stewart could be leaving their team at the end of this season and thus made a quick -- and high-priced -- run at Edwards to fill that seat. Whether that means the Gibbs and Toyota will play hardball to keep Stewart or will look for another championship-caliber driver is unclear.(Winston Salem Journal)(5-3-2008)
UPDATE 3: On Friday Edwards announced that he had renewed his contract with Roush Fenway Racing, keeping him behind the wheel of the # 99 Ford for an additional three years.(Athlon Sports)(5-3-2008)
