For Carl Edwards, this has already been a special week.
Being introduced as the defending champion of the Coca-Cola 600 takes a little getting used to – and the continual references to that fact have made it somewhat difficult for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver to fully grasp exactly how much it means to him.
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"It's different because I run into people inside the sport and outside the sport who have really fond memories of that race at some point in their life or their career," he said. "It's just a special event. It's one of the big ones. For me, it's still kind of sinking in … there's just something special about it."
As he attempts to defend his title, he'll also be honoring a fallen hero as part of the Memorial Day weekend, and sponsor Subway will be working to aid the military as well.
Edwards' car will honor Army Capt. Edmond Jablonsky, "for giving his life in Vietnam and for the man that he was."
We honor & remember CPT Edmond Jablonsky Jr., @USArmy. #CarlEdwards will be racing in his name. #NASCARSalutes pic.twitter.com/j6P82jurQa
— Toyota Racing (@ToyotaRacing) May 26, 2016
It is "humbling to walk through the garage and to think every one of those names on the windshields are the ones that died to protect the freedoms that we all enjoy. I truly believe the freedoms and liberties that we enjoy in this country are what makes it the greatest country on earth," Edwards said.
His sponsor is getting even more involved in supporting the military, both this weekend and over the July 4 holiday. Subway is donating $125,000 to the USO, including 5,000 meals for the troops, "so right off the top, that is pretty amazing," Edwards said. The sponsor is also giving fans a chance to win tickets to the Subway Firecracker 250 in Daytona on July 1 when they purchase a USO collectable cup.
Racing will take center stage Sunday. Edwards admits he'll be watching the other major races as the day progresses. For racing fans, the day begins with a Formula 1 race in Monaco, followed by the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, and then the Coca-Cola 600.
Carl Edwards (Getty Images)
The tripleheader produces a unique atmosphere for fans and racers as they watch the world's best drivers compete in premier, prestigious events.
"To be honest, it's really distracting for me," Edwards said in a light-hearted manner. "I'm trying to prepare for the Coke 600 and here's Monaco and the Indy 500 … it's tough to be pulled away from the TV because it is an amazing day of racing."
Once the race gets under way at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Edwards and his teammates will bear watching.
The Joe Gibbs Racing contingent has been stout, to say the least, this season. Edwards has two wins, eight top 10 finishes and five top fives in the opening 12 races. Kyle Busch has three wins and nine top five finishes. Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth each have a win. That's seven of the 12 wins within this team.
Edwards tangled with Busch, who also already had a win, at Richmond earlier this year, bumping him while battling for the victory, That's one example of how tight the competition between these drivers is.
"It is different," he said. "I think it's tough. We saw that at Richmond. As we talked about how Richmond went with me bumping Kyle out of the way, we talked about it afterward and for me, that was really a unique situation. (Team owner) Coach (Joe Gibbs) put it best; he said, hey, we have to make sure we're prepared for these things because this is likely to happen more because as good as our guys are and as tough as my teammates are, as hard as they compete, we're going to be racing each other.
"At the end of the day, it's a testament to how good all of JGR is and we do, I think it should be pretty obvious we compete hard with each other but we work together as well as any group I've ever been a part of."
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Winning early offers advantages. Edwards now has a chance to think a little more about the Chase. He said the format makes for two separate seasons, and with wins in the early races, "We can have some fun. I've got the best crew chief in the garage and we're really getting along well, getting to know each other, and this just lets us go out and have a little more fun before the pressure starts."
Once the Chase starts, he plans to draw on his experience. Edwards finished in the top 10 in the standings in seven of his 11 full-time Cup seasons.
He was third in 2005, second in 2008 and second again in 2011, losing to Tony Stewart in a tiebreaker.
"I guess I've had three real true opportunities to win the championship," he said. "The first, in 2005, (I) had no clue how fortunate I was to be in that position so I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have. In 2008, we had another shot at it. I tried too hard, I made some mistakes that I shouldn't have made. In 2011, we battled it out and it came down to the wire and I felt like that one, in 2011, was a real test and I was real proud of how we performed and I don't know that we could have done any better.
"Those experiences, for me … I cannot wait to go into Homestead to compete for a championship, I really hope we get that opportunity."