After scoring a season-high nine wins in 2009, Carl Edwards was on the list of many to be a contender for this year's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.
For the first time since 2006, Edwards failed to reach Victory Lane after a season that saw many ups and downs, including a wild ride at Talladega Superspeedway and a Frisbee accident that left him with a broken foot.
Edwards finished the season with seven top fives and 14 top-10 finishes and an 11th-place ranking in the final standings. He finished seventh in the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"We needed two or three more positions to beat Kasey (Kahne) for 10th in the points," Edwards said. "I really wanted to be there at the banquet.
"I know it's been a tough year, but we'll be back next year. We're gonna be alright. It's just frustrating."
Edwards' best shot at a win came at Pocono Raceway in June when he led 103 laps en route to a second-place finish, which was his best of this season.
The Pocono finish came in a streak of four consecutive finishes of seventh or better that started with the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Two top-five finishes at Watkins Glen and Michigan in August helped secure his bid for his fourth career berth in the Chase for the Cup. But, as the Chase closed in this season, Edwards learned more and reached new heights with the team that included not just going to Victory Lane.
"The thing I'm proud of this season is that once we realized and I realized that we were not the same team, and we did not have the same performance as we did last season, we buckled down and got the best we could out of our finishes and we made the Chase, which, at that time, was a huge accomplishment," Edwards said. "I believe, in my mind, that's the way I've been smarter. I wasn't in denial going out here and wrecking my car or making terrible choices because I wanted something that wasn't available — I wanted a finish that wasn't gonna happen.
"I feel like I accepted the facts and did the best with them, and that’s what I'm most proud of is putting ourselves in that position. Performance-wise, I think that is where I did a little better job than I've done in the past and learned something."
Edwards' performance this season might get overlooked, but everyone won't forget his scary accident at Talladega that sent him flying into the catchfence on the last lap. Edwards, who was miraculously uninjured in the spectacular crash, actually ran across the finish line on foot after climbing from his battered car to the wild cheers of the jammed grandstands.
"I look at our season and I saw something the other day that said the highlight was we had the most spectacular 24th-place finish in the history of the sport," Edwards said.
Edwards says that this year was a big wake up call for his team and will look to build in the offseason as 2010 approaches.
"I know for our performance we're gonna do everything we can this winter," Edwards said. "I don't know what's gonna happen next year. I hope we get back on track."
