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Enter the Mind of Edwards

By DAVE HOLLANDER,

AOL

Posted: 2008-03-24 19:03:56

Filed Under: NASCAR

Carl Edwards: Gazoontite!

Ranked inside the top 20 in the NASCAR standings, one of the sports most telegenic stars openly discusses his private medical history, his recent penalty and the evolving state of his nipples.

Carl Edwards celebrates his Auto Club 500 victory

Jeff Gross, Getty Images

DAVE HOLLANDER: You’ve said recently: “When I’m driving at 180 miles per hour, I can’t risk taking a medicine that makes me drowsy. That’s why I only use non-drowsy CLARITIN to treat my worst allergy symptoms.” What allergies do you have?

CARL EDWARDS: I’ve got whatever allergies give you the itchy eyes, the runny nose and the sneezing. I don’t know exactly what I’m allergic to, but it’s bad. CLARITIN helps me.

DH: So technically, would you say CLARITIN is a performance enhancing drug for you?

CE: Yes, it is. But let’s just keep that between us.

DH: Since we’re sharing secrets, tell me how likely it is you’d do your famous back-flip if it wasn’t for the extra boost you got from CLARITIN?

CE: (long pause) Honesty I don’t know. There are days when I don’t think could muster a back flip if it weren’t for the CLARITIN. I’d be keeled over sneezing instead of doing a back flip.

DH: Jose Canseco says steroid use in MLB is close to 80%. How many NASCAR drivers use steroids?

CE: Oh boy. I don’t think there are any NASCAR drivers on steroids. We’re just getting NASCAR drivers in the gym working out, so I think we’re a long way from steroids.

DH: How many drivers would you estimate are on CLARITIN?

CE: It’s hard to tell. (pauses) You can tell the guys that aren’t. It’s easier to go that route. But it could be rampant in the garage.

DH: What are drivers taking to stay alert? What is the NASCAR drug of choice?

CE: The drug of choice is probably caffeine. I know the crew guys, for sure, they got some long hours. I see a lot coffee going down in the morning.

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DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 15: Singer Keith Urban performs during pre-race prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2009 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

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DH: As part of the “Clear to Drive” CLARITIN safety campaign to combat drowsy driving there’ll be a sweepstakes awarding five lucky NASCAR fans the opportunity to win a trip around the track with you. Is driving around a track at 180 mph with you safer than driving with the wrong allergy medicine?

CE: That’s a tough one to call. Driving with a medicine that could make you drowsy is definitely dangerous. But riding in the passenger side of car at 180 mph is pretty bad. First thing is you're closer to the wall. So that’s not good. The second thing is the guys at the shop are busy. They don’t spend as much time building those two-seaters as they do on the race cars. I mean, when they’re building those two-seaters all bets are off.

DH: That sounds pretty scary.

CE: Oh yeah, there’s been many times when people have shown up very excited about taking the ride and then afterwards wanted no part of the second ride.

DH: You can’t use Mothers Against Drowsy Driving (MADD) because that’s already taken. What organization name would you suggest?

CE: How about BREMD? “Be ready to Eat My Dust.” That’s the best one I can come up with off the top of my head. Or it could be like CICC: “Carl is CLARITIN Clear.” Or how ‘bout AWAKE. You gotta just roll with it. First pick a word you like, then work it from there to make it an acronym that make sense.

DH: I heard that you are cousins with Buffalo Bills Quarterback Trent Edwards. What allergies does he have?

CE: My old cousin Trent, he probably – considering we’re so closely related – he probably has the same kind of stuff I do. I can’t speak for which medication he uses but I can tell you that if CLARITIN works for me it’ll probably work for him, considering our relationship.

Roush Fenway Racing Senior Account Manager Randy Fuller: (looking up from his grilled cheese sandwich) I didn’t know Trent Edwards was your cousin.

CE: He isn’t. I’m just rollin’ with it.

DH: Here’s a little story: I took a job pumping gas one day. This was in the ‘80s when gas cap weren’t attached to the gas tank. A couple hours into the shift a women came screeching back into the station, got out of her car and berated me: “You idiot! You forgot put my gas cap back on!” Calmly I replied by pointing to several gas caps I had amassed atop the pump, “Relax, lady. Take your pick.” I didn’t last the full day. The point is whether its gas caps or a lid on your oil tank, why can’t people understand that sometimes you forget things?

CE: I don’t know. I don’t know why people can’t understand that. But it seems like that one bolt being loose stirred up a lot. So it was very interesting to read all the speculation as to what we were doing. By the end of it was borderline comical, some of the ideas people had. But, that’s racing. That’s competition. And we just go with it. Sometimes, you gotta stand back and just watch.

DH: You’re well known for his physical fitness. LeBron James is on April cover of Vogue, which features athletes and models in an annual issue devoted to size and shape. How come you’re not in there?

CE: They called me and I just said, you know, I got some other things to do. Plus I wanted to give LeBron some exposure. He's just not getting enough. And I really do think LeBron can carry the thing. He did a really good job with it from what I’ve heard. I’ve haven’t really seen it yet. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever read Vogue.

DH: You have appeared shirtless before on covers of ESPN The Magazine and Men's Health in 2006. On the February 22, 2006 episode of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Ferguson referred to the cover of the February ESPN The Magazine cover joking that your nipples seemed too far apart. Has that discouraged you from doing more topless magazine covers?

CE: No I’m comfortable with where my nipples are at on my body. But I have been driving very fast lately so they’ve been spreading further and further apart. It started out with like this nipple Pangaea right in the middle of my chest and considerable drift has happened since. But those covers were really fun to do.

DH: You have a record label, Back40 records. And there's a nine-time Grammy winner out there called “Asleep at the Wheel.” Maybe there’s a hip, ironic way of getting them involved in the CLARITIN “Clear to Drive” campaign?

CE: (laughing) You know, I haven't heard any "Asleep at the Wheel," that I’m aware of. But then again I haven’t really gotten into the whole Country/Americana/Western Swing band thing yet. I guess I’m kinda behind on that. They’re probably great. And, they’re probably a little big for us.

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Dave Hollander is the author of 52 WEEKS: Interviews with Champions! Info at: www.davehollander.com

2008-03-22 04:41:09