Photos and story by Dwight Drum
Web work by Gary Larsen

Mark Martin & Carl Edwards

"It's not my final lap."

"I never thought I'd be here. "

Teammates Mark Martin and Carl Edwards are a generation apart, but they share a bond of mutual respect garnered by their close association in the Roush Racing camp. Bonds in racing are elusive and unpredictable. Yet, once established garage friendships are often lasting. It seems Martin and Edwards may have built a camaraderie that transfers from the garage to the track.

The grand veteran and the youthful journeyman have recently had impressive seasons. The future looks bright for Edwards as Martin will navigate one more final season in NEXTEL Cup.

The competitive spirit of Mark Martin is at legend levels, yet when approached for help, Martin seems generous with his advice. Maybe it's that good father in him, that he is accustomed to helping son Matt, but he also discovered Joey Logano and helped gain attention at age 14. Logano will be only 16 this season but has a promising future with Joe Gibbs Racing as he learns in the Hooters Pro Cup Series. Martin aided teammate Carl Edwards who had a stellar rookie year.

Help is probably more scant than present in the competitive environment at top levels of motorsports. One doesn't have to step very deep beyond the garage fence in NASCAR to sense that.

A competitive spirit, the fire within, seems to have as many facets as personalities. Not all drivers are helpful owing to their competitive nature. A prime example is the recent spirited response to Dwight's question, 'What advice would you give the seven rookies coming to NEXTEL Cup this year?' by veteran Joe Nemechek. "I don't think I'd give them any," Nemechek said. "It's a fair game. Go out there and learn, right?"

Perhaps in the words spoken about each other by Martin and Edwards, fans can view more about competition and compatibility.

Mark Martin

"I would expect great enthusiasm and incredible intensity. That's what I would expect and I guarantee you you'll get that. I don't want to go into great detail. Carl and I did actually get crossways with one another a couple of times last year along the way in his development and that's OK. We both learned a little something through all that. At the time we had different philosophies on a few things and I respect that. He certainly respects me, so that's just part of moving along. Carl has worked harder, he's paid more attention than any driver that I've ever had contact with. Carl Edwards is paying attention, that's for sure. He's asked more questions than anyone ever has of me and there were a couple of times when he didn't get praise from me. Most of the time he does, but he's a lot of fun to be around and be a part of certainly."

Carl Edwards

"Someday if I ever write a book there's gonna be a chapter about Mark Martin and his advice. He's an unbelievable guy. He has amazing character. He treats people exactly how they treat him. He doesn't waver. He's always as good to you as you are to him and he does the same thing on the racetrack. I think that's been a big thing that he's taught me, but there's just the experience level. I think my 50th Cup start will be the Daytona 500. Mark has something like 500 or 700 starts, I don't know, so there are a lot of experiences and a lot of things those guys have gone through, and anytime they're willing to share it with me I like to listen."

"Watching tapes and talking to Mark and talking to Matt and Greg and these guys that have been around for a while and done this is an amazing resource for me. I guess I'm like a sponge, but I just try to be efficient in learning. If I can go and talk to them and not go out and struggle, I'd much rather talk to them."

Dwight asked Mark Martin:

"It's not my final lap. I couldn't quit racing. Racing is my life. It's been my life since I was 15 years old and I'm certainly not ready to give up racing, so, for me, it's not that difficult to walk away from Nextel Cup because I realize where I am in my career. If I was 26, I wouldn't walk away. It's time for me for a lot of reasons. I went over those reasons last year and all, but I'm gonna continue to race. It's my whole life. Climbing in that race car today and going out there, I'm just wishing that we could be drafting because that's the real deal. That's what I live for. I'll continue to race. It's my expectation to be in the 6 truck full-time, and then do some other appearances and what have. If something were to work out that I wasn't in that truck, you'd catch me at the Saturday night short tracks across the country. I am not done racing by any means."

Dwight asked Carl Edwards:

"I remember having arguments with my mom because I spent all my mom's money. We would have some - not arguments but serious heart to hearts - like almost to tears. We didn't have a lot of money and I was racing and I was like, 'I swear mom, some day I'll make millions of dollars and I will pay you back. I swear.' I felt bad for lying to her because I thought the chances of this happening are like zero, but it was all fun. I did not expect to be in this position. I'm very fortunate. I am not a religious person to speak of or anything, but I feel like there were some incidents and coincidences and some really good luck along the way that really were just amazing and I feel very fortunate to be here. But I did not expect it - not at all. I expected to be working my tail off right now and still chasing it. I never thought I'd be here."

"I'm working on paying her back. She's an amazing lady and an amazing person, and she's very involved. I feel kind of bad because sometimes I only call her when I have like real tough questions or things are really bothering me and stuff. I ought to call her just to say hi more often, but she helps me a ton. She's really involved. I'm really excited about what she's doing for me this year. We've got Carl Edwards.com, my website, and we're gonna try to make it a really, really neat website for the fans. She's running that whole thing. She's setting it up and taking charge of it."