One of the most physically fit and active drivers in the sport, when news emerged that Carl Edwards broke his foot playing Frisbee earlier in the week few could believe it. The driver of the No. 99 Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the No. 60 in the Nationwide Series broke two bones in his right foot and has been navigating the Atlanta Motor Speedway garages with the aid of crutches. While he is forced to nurse the injury out of the car, Edwards does not expect the broken bones to hurt his performance behind the wheel.

Dealing with the injury, Edwards opted to wear a boot on his foot when walking as opposed to wearing a cast. “They said they could put a cast on it, but that I couldn’t remove it,” Edwards explained Saturday. “What they did was they gave me a boot, a walking-type boot that I’ll wear all the time, except when I’m in the car. Mid Mo Orthotics made a carbon piece for the bottom of my shoe and then a form fitting piece that goes over the top so my sole is rigid and they say as long as I keep my shoe laced up tight, as long as that stays rigid I should be alright.”

If all goes according to plan, Edwards will be able to walk without the boot in about eight weeks – just in time for Martinsville.

“My big thing is I just hope this heals up where it is zero issue in the race car, with where I don’t feel anything in the next couple weeks,” Edwards said following Saturday’s final Cup Series practice. “That would be really nice. Right now it’s pretty good, it’s not perfect though.”

With four practice sessions, two qualifying sessions and a Nationwide Series event on the schedule for the day, Edwards was constantly on the move on Saturday. Despite the injury and walking around on crutches, the Roush Fenway Racing driver explained his biggest issues were in the first Nationwide Series practice.

“You spend so much time wide open in that car,” Edwards described. “In the past I’ve had habit of bending pedals, because I feel like the harder I push on the pedal the faster the car goes. Now I have to really, really push on it softly. That’s been a little bit tough."

"The pain isn’t that bad unless I push too hard on the pedal and, trust me, I definitely know when I push too hard on the pedal.”

Pulling double-duty this weekend and competing for the title in both series, Edwards will have quite the workload while recovering from this break. Despite that fact, last year’s runner-up in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series standings made it clear he has no intentions of giving up his Nationwide Series schedule.

"I'm gonna race every lap I can,” Edwards said with confidence. “If I can physically do it I'm gonna do it."

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