Over 3000 worldwide racing industry members attended the PRI Grand Opening Breakfast, a spectacular event featuring Carl Edwards, one of the hottest racers of 2007 in both the NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Series. The event kicked off the 20th Annual Performance Racing Industry Trade Show on Thursday, December 6, 2007, at the Northwest Corner of the Orange County Convention Center Exhibit Hall.
Edwards, famous for his victory back flips, shared his colorful racing stories during a slideshow presentation that spanned his early career in Missouri to the present. He shared many light-hearted moments, from securing a fake ID at the age of 15 to race cars, to towing cars with a Toyota Camry in college for extra cash.
At a young age, Edwards used to do work for famous racer Ken Schrader in North Carolina, who encouraged him to follow his racing dreams. “He told me, ‘You need to go back home, you need to go racing,’” Edwards said.
Edwards passed out business cards, looking for a ride, and placed ads early on. As for his signature victory back flips, he said he got the idea from Tyler Walker. “The fans have enjoyed that. One day I’m going to fall down and it’s going to be a huge hit on TV,” Edwards said.
Darrell Waltrip had been originally scheduled to address the racing industry at the Breakfast; however, new commitments at Fox Sports prevented him from appearing. Waltrip appeared on video screen and introduced Edwards.
During the 2007 race season, Edwards, driving for Roush Fenway Racing, competed in the No. 99 Office Depot Ford in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the No. 60 Scotts Winterguard Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Busch Series. Edwards won the 2007 Busch Series Championship and placed ninth the ’07 Chase for the Nextel Cup.
In the first 10 years of his career, Edwards accumulated two NASCAR sanctioned track championships, and 79 feature wins while racing on both dirt and pavement tracks across the country. He was Rookie-of-the-Year in both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the NASCAR Busch Series. Edwards made a big impression on fans, media and competitors alike when he took to the track in 2005 in the Nextel Cup Series. He accrued four wins, 13 top five and 18 top 10 finishes while finishing third in the overall point standings and giving champion Tony Stewart a run for his money.
This year’s Grand Opening Breakfast began with the magical stylings of Kalin and Jinger, magicians from Reno, Nevada. The act included special appearances from USAC Midget driver Dave Darland, as well as sports car racers Joey Hand and Michael Valiante. Darland promoted Friday’s 3rd Annual MOPAR-PRI Sprint & Midget Classic, while Hand and Valiante raced go-karts into the exhibit hall to prepare the crowd for Thursday night’s Snap-on Stars of Karting race.
Other special moments included Mrs. Cox’s 4th Grade Class reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as an appearance by Ken Schrader.
The Grand Opening Breakfast is an annual tradition at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show that has featured the likes of Humpy Wheeler, Rick Hendrick, John Force, Buddy Baker, Bobby Unser, Al Unser, Robert Yates, Ray Envernham, and last year’s Grand Opening Breakfast Speaker Tony Stewart.
