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Edwards Looking Forward to ROC Debut

Losing time is over for 2008 Sprint Cup runner-up Carl Edwards. After losing the chance to win his maiden title in the series this year, the Missourian is looking forward to make his debut in the famous Race of Champions, at Wembley Stadium. He will be representing the most popular racing in North America at the event this weekend, a role previously taken by Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson.

The invitation to the RoC was a sweet consolation for the guy who won the most races in the Sprint Cup Series in 2008 but lost the title by a considerable margin of points to Hendrick Motorsport's Johnson. Edwards was also in contention for a second Nationwide title of career but, once again, despite winning more races than rival Clint Bowyer, was forced to settle for the runner-up spot overall.

“I'm very excited to go to London for the Race of Champions, we're gonna have a good time. Jimmie and Jeff told me it was a really awesome experience and I get to go race with guys like Michael Schumacher, that will be cool. My trainer, Dean, he's a huge Michael Schumacher fan. He wears a Ferrari hat at NASCAR races when he's with me just because he knows he should be wearing one of my hats. If we can keep Dean under control when he sees Michael Schumacher, we'll be fine!” said Edwards.

All drivers invited to the famous event will be competing in both the ROC and the ROC Nations Cup races, following a knock-out format. The cars used in the competition will differ from rally cars to sportscars and will include the Ford Focus WRC 08, KTM X-Bow, Abarth 500 Assetto Corse, the RX 150 and the official ROC car.

“I've seen videos, but I don't really know what it's gonna be like to drive the cars. They look like a lot of fun and it looks like you've got to drive them hard. Those guys, a lot of them, are so good at the road course stuff and grew up racing go-karts and things like that, so I'm sure I've got a lot to learn.”

“I think we get very minimal practice once we get there and supposedly one of the tough parts is that everyone gets only a few laps. I'll really have to focus on those few laps, go back to the hotel and make sure I go through a lap in my head. They say it's real easy to stall the cars on the start, it's really easy to be too aggressive and there's not a lot of room for error,” concluded Edwards.
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