The back flip didn't just happen when Carl Edwards became a star in the Cup series. Just five years ago, Carl Edwards was driver of the No. 99 Ford F-150 for Roush Racing in the Truck Series. In 2003, he won the Rookie-of-the-Year award, in addition to winning three races and finishing 8th in the points. The next year in 2004, Edwards had another three-win season, finishing 4th in the points standings. In August 2004, Edwards made his Cup Series debut in the No. 99 Ford Taurus at Michigan, placing 10th and driving in the series the remainder of the year.

By 2005, Edwards had become a full time driver for both Cup and Nationwide series. He had won races in both series, but made history in Atlanta by winning the Nationwide Series race and the next day beating Jimmie Johnson by 2-hundredths of a second for his first Cup Series win. Until this happened, no other driver had won a Nationwide and Cup series race in the same weekend at Atlanta. Also, he became the first driver ever to pick up his first career Nationwide and Cup Series win in the same weekend.

In the 2006 season, Edwards had fallen into a slump and was struggling to keep up with the competition. That year Edwards and the No. 99 Ford Taurus did not visit victory lane. His best finish that season was at Michigan where he finished second.

In 2007, Edwards broke a 52-race winless streak, winning at Michigan. Just a month later, he ended up in an eleven-car pileup in a late model race in Nebraska, where he dislocated his thumb. He earned his second win of the season and sixth career win at Bristol on August 25, 2007. Entering the final 10 races, Edwards was sixth in points and had now made his way to the Chase for the Cup, sitting just 477 points back from leader Jeff Gordon. During the Chase, Edwards won at Dover, but finished 9th in the final standings. Despite the struggles in the Cup Series, Edwards won his first Nationwide Series championship that same year.

Edwards started off the 2008 season with his first back to back wins since 2005 at California and Las Vegas. At this point, Edwards was leading the points standings for the first time in his career. After penalties and other setbacks, Edwards had nine wins and had close the gap on Jimmie Johnson in the points. However, he would come up short by losing to Johnson by only 69 points.