FORT WORTH, Texas — Carl Edwards traded his No. 99 Fastenal Ford for a SWAT armored vehicle on Wednesday.
The NASCAR driver arrived at a promotional event in the armored vehicle on Wednesday and got an up-close look at what members of the Fort Worth SWAT team do.
Instead of getting behind the wheel of his race car, Edwards rappelled down a six-story
building at the Fort Worth Police & Fire Training Center. But the rush he felt was the same.
"When I was taking that first step rappelling, taking that first step
out the window," Edwards said, "that's a
lot like driving that car 205 miles per hour down in the corner for the first time
of the weekend in Texas. You're like, 'Man I hope all this works out. I
hope all the nuts and bolts are tight.'"
And instead of reacting quickly to a car in front of him, an armed
Edwards had seconds to react to hostile situations on video monitors in a simulation room. He had less than two
seconds to assess an armed robber before he decided to shoot him twice. During the next simulation, he shot a man coming at him with a knife during a
domestic assault.
Edwards watched members of the SWAT team in action during Operation
Gossage. In the drill, Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage was being held hostage by an assailant, played by defending Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart. By the time the smoke had cleared and the drill was over, Stewart had been shot and Gossage had been freed.
Edwards said he came away with a deeper appreciation for the 32 members of the SWAT team who are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"I can't really imagine what it's like knowing your phone can ring and you have to go to a situation," Edwards said. "It could be very, very difficult or impossible, and they're still going, no matter what the odds are. That's a different way of living your life, and it's one that when you need that help, we're fortunate they're there."
Edwards is 15th in points after getting caught up in an accident at Bristol that relegated him to a 39th-place finish. The Daytona 500 pole sitter has a pair of top-10 finishes this season.
While Edwards isn't exactly where he wants to be as the series heads to Fontana this weekend, he knows it's too early to panic.
"The season's been a little bit frustrating," Edwards said. "Last weekend was frustrating. I'm excited to go to some of these tracks coming up. We enjoy going to California this weekend. This Texas race is awesome. Our 99 team is the only three-time winner here."
Edwards, who led the points for most of the 2011 season, believes he can get back to the top of the standings quickly. His Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle is the leader.
"It is tough to start off the year a little bit slow, but we've been running pretty well," Edwards said. "This thing is always a challenge. This sport is tough. It doesn't matter what you did yesterday. It doesn't matter what you did last week. It's about what you're doing today to make yourself and your team the best they can be and put yourself in a position to win. Our mission this year — our Fastenal team is going to win the championship. That is it. Our mission is to get every point we can, every win we can."
