Carl Edwards, the 2003 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year, manned the controls of the NASCAR Cup Series No. 99 Roush Racing Ford for the first time at Michigan International Speedway on August 22, 2004. Edwards replaced Jeff Burton, who terminated a nine-year relationship with Roush Racing when he joined Richard Childress Racing.
While racing in the Cup Series in 2004, Edwards completed the truck series schedule in the No. 99 Superchips Ford and finished fourth in the final standings. In his first 13 Cup Series races that season, he captured five top-10 finishes including a third-place run at Atlanta.<
Fresh off his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory, Edwards was able to pull off a last lap pass and nip Jimmie Johnson at the finish line by .028 seconds in the 2005 Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to win his first career Cup Series race.
The victory came in the 17th career start for Edwards, who also became the first to win his first career Nationwide and Cup races in one weekend.
Edwards went on to add three more victories for a total of 13 top-fives and two poles to his impressive young Cup resume and came within 35 points of eventual champ Tony Stewart in the final point standings.
He would go winless in the Cup Series in 2006, with 10 top fives and 20 top 10s to finish 12th in the standings.
In 2007, continuing to drive for Roush in the No. 99 Office Depot Ford, Edwards concluded the Cup season in the top 10. Taking ninth place in points, Edwards finished the 2007 Cup season with three wins, 11 top-fives, 15 top-10s and one Bud pole award, earning a remarkable $4,583,673. This was in addition to winning his first NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship in his fifth year competing in the Series.
In 2008, Edwards was the runner-up in the championship battles in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series. He recorded a series-leading nine wins in Sprint Cup competition, and backed that up with seven wins in the Nationwide Series. Edwards closed out a remarkable year by sweeping both races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In 2009, Edwards was backed by new sponsor Aflac in the Cup Series. For the first time since 2006, he failed to reach Victory Lane after a season that saw many ups and downs, including a wild ride at Talladega Superspeedway where he crossed the finish line on foot, and a Frisbee accident that left him with a broken foot.
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 secured his bid for his fourth career berth in the Chase for the Cup.
Edwards finished the season with seven top fives and 14 top-10 finishes and an 11th-place ranking in the final standings.
