Edwards' big break came in
2002, when he competed in 7 NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series events for
MB Motorsports. His best finish in the seven races was 8th at
Kansas Speedway. He also ran one
Busch Series race for
Bost Motorsports, finishing 38th at
Gateway International Raceway. However, it was enough to impress
Jack Roush, and Edwards became a full-time Truck Series competitor in
2003, driving the #99 Ford F-150 sponsored by
Superchips. He won Rookie-of-the-Year honors in addition to three race wins, eventually finishing 8th in the points standings at the end of the season. In
2004, he notched three more race wins, including the season-opening
Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at the
Daytona International Speedway. At season's end, Edwards finished 4th in the points. In
August 2004, he made his NEXTEL Cup Series debut, replacing
Jeff Burton, who left the team, in the No. 99 Ford Taurus for Roush Racing, at the
Michigan International Speedway. He finished 10th. He drove the #99 Ford for the remainder of the 2004 NEXTEL Cup. He also once again ran one
Busch Series race; this time for
Robby Benton Racing at
Bristol Motor Speedway with sponsorship from
Mac Tools.
In
2005, Edwards became a full-time driver in both the NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series. He has already won races in each, and he made history in the process of winning. On
March 19, 2005, Edwards won the
Aaron's 312 at the
Atlanta Motor Speedway in
Hampton, Georgia, recording his first Busch Series win. The next day, he beat
Jimmie Johnson by 2-hundredths of a second to win the
Golden Corral 500 at the same track for his first NEXTEL Cup Series win. Until this took place, no driver had ever won both the Busch and NEXTEL Cup Series races in the same weekend at Atlanta, although the feat had been pulled off numerous times before at other tracks by other drivers. Also, Edwards became the first driver in NASCAR history to pick up his first career Busch and NEXTEL Cup Series wins in the same weekend.
On
June 12, 2005, Edwards picked up his second NEXTEL Cup win by taking the checkered flag at the
Pocono 500 at the
Pocono Raceway in
Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The weekend was somewhat bittersweet for Edwards, as the Busch Series race at the
Nashville Superspeedway in
Lebanon, Tennessee had been rained out the night before, and rescheduled for the same day. Even worse, qualifying for that race had been rained out, too, and in NASCAR, when qualifying is rained out, the starting grid is set by owner points. Through this process, Edwards was awarded pole, but
Hank Parker Jr. ended up driving the car to a 20th place finish.
Edwards got his third win of 2005 on
October 30 in the
Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at
Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Edwards got his fourth win at Texas and became the tenth different driver to win at that track, and the fifth to win there for Roush Racing. By finishing the remainder of the 2004 season in the NEXTEL #99 car, he was not eligible to compete for the 2005 Rookie of the Year in NEXTEL Cup, but did win the 2005 Busch Series Rookie of the Year. In
2006, Carl Edwards' best finish was at
Michigan Speedway where he finished 2nd.
On
May 18, 2007, Edwards won the pole for the
2007 NEXTEL Open, and while he lead almost the entire 40 lap race, he faded to third in the last few laps, just missing the feature event. On
June 17, 2007 Carl Edwards broke his 52 race winless streak in the Nextel Cup by winning the
Citizens Bank 400. Shortly thereafter, on
July 23, he dislocated his thumb in an eleven car pileup at a late model race at
Nebraska Raceway Park (formerly I-80 Speedway) near
Lincoln, Nebraska. Carl won his second race of the 2007 season, and sixth career Cup race, at the
Sharpie 500 at
Bristol Motor Speedway on
August 25. During the post-race interview on Victory Lane, Edwards commented on the race, saying, "This is the biggest win of my career". At the conclusion of the first 26 races, the 2007 "regular season", Edwards ranked 6th in overall standings, with 3372 points, 477 points behind overall points leader
Jeff Gordon. Edwards entered the
2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup in 4th place, with 5020 points, based on his two wins in the 2007 season, clinching a spot in the Chase after his win at the
Sharpie 500 at
Bristol.
On
November 3, 2007, Edwards clinched his first
NASCAR Busch Series Championship by finishing 11th at the
O'Reilly Challenge. This came despite struggling in the second half of the Busch Series season. Edwards became the 19th different Busch Series Champion in the 26 years of the modern-era series.
