Edwards hopes home cooking provides spark

When times are challenging, it's always comforting to go home and recharge your batteries before tackling your troubles head on. For Carl Edwards, a trip to his home track, Gateway International Raceway in suburban St. Louis, couldn't have come at a better time.

Edwards and the No. 60 Ford team had a rough outing last weekend in Chicago, finishing a lap down and falling one position -- to fourth -- in the Nationwide Series point standings. The defending champion is 254 points behind current leader Clint Bowyer after 20 of the series' 35 races.


Actually, 2008 as a whole has been an obstacle for Edwards. At this time last season, Edwards had four wins and a colossal 716-point lead over Kevin Harvick in the series standings.

Edwards has one win this season, last month at Milwaukee. It was his first race with new crew chief Drew Blickensderfer after Roush Fenway Racing opted to move his championship-winning partner, Pierre Kuettel, to the No. 17 car.

"We struggled a bit last week, so we need to have a solid run to stay in championship contention," Blickensderfer said in advance of Saturday's Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250. "Our goal is to win a championship. Anything less would be a major disappointment for this team."

Fast facts
What: Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250.
Where: Gateway International Raceway; Madison, Ill.
When: 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
TV: ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET.
Radio: MRN/Sirius Satellite Ch. 128.
Track layout: 1.25-mile oval.
Race distance: 200 laps/250 miles.
2007 winner: Reed Sorenson.
2007 polesitter: Scott Wimmer.
Points leaders: 1. Clint Bowyer, 2,965; 2. Brad Keselowski, 2,782; 3. David Reutimann, 2,748; 4. Carl Edwards, 2,711; 5. Kyle Busch, 2,633; 6. David Ragan, 2,613; 7. Mike Bliss, 2,603; 8. Mike Wallace, 2,376 9. David Stremme, 2,325; 10. Jason Keller, 2,278.
Edwards has high expectations at the 1.25-mile track in Madison, Ill. In four starts, he has three top-10 finishes, including a win in 2006.

"It's going to be great racing at Gateway. I consider it my home track, and I will have a lot of family and friends there," said Edwards, a native of Columbia, Mo.

"I won a race there a few years ago, and it was one of my greatest accomplishments. (Sponsor) Save-A-Lot's headquarters are nearby, so I am going to try my best to get them into victory lane this weekend."

Notes: Reed Sorenson won last year's race, his second victory at Gateway. In his other start at the track, he finished fourth in 2006. ... Sorenson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick have two wins at Gateway. ... Landon Cassill made his NASCAR debut at Gateway last year, two weeks after turning 18. He has two top 10s in 10 starts this year, including last week at Chicagoland. ... Joey Logano, 18, returns to the series for the first time since finishing second at Milwaukee last month. Logano will be in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota, which he took to victory lane last month at Kentucky.