Spotter's Stand: Carl Edwards Has Offseason Momentum in His Back Pocket

He may have won the two races that dole out the least amount of recognition of the entire season, but Carl Edwards doesn't much care.

"For our team, to finish like this and to be on the upswing that we are, this is as good as it gets," Edwards said after winning Sunday at Homestead, his second in a row.

Of course, Edwards was overshadowed by an incredibly dramatic championship fight that he watched from the outside looking in Sunday, largely in his rear-view mirror.

Jimmie Johnson overcame Denny Hamlin and held off Kevin Harvick to win the 2010 title, and proceeded to spin through a burnout as Edwards celebrated with his traditional backflip.

"I tell you, it's a lot more frustrating to not be in victory lane and watching somebody out there doing their donuts and all that stuff," Edwards said.

In fact, the feeling of frustration -- one he felt early and often this season as his team had a sluggish start -- may be completely gone from driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford.

Edwards finished fourth in the point standings this year, some 229 points behind Johnson.

"If you would have told me 10 races into the season that this is how we were going to wrap this thing up, I would not have believed you," Edwards said. "This is beyond the comeback that I expected or it's really beyond what I hoped for."

Edwards wrapped up the season with 19 total top-10s and nine top-5s -- both more than he had last season.

The Columbia, Mo., driver has been a threat for the title before, stalking Johnson all the way to Homestead in 2008 before falling off in the 2009 campaign. He feels that his comeback this season -- and the ensuing offseason confidence -- will allow the team to be more productive than ever before.

"I feel a lot better right now going into 2011 than I did going into 2009, and that's because I feel we have a lot of momentum and things are getting better," Edwards said. "We have a new engine that we are working on that just keeps getting better."

WHO'S HOT: It'd be a sportswriting sin to not commend Jimmie Johnson on his fifth consecutive Sprint Cup title. Impressive, and historic.

WHO'S NOT:How shocking is it that Jeff Gordon managed just one top-10 finish in the season's last six races? The No. 24 simply fell off the map after issues at Charlotte in October. He finished the season in miserable fashion on Sunday, blowing an engine with 68 laps to go. Two of his four DNFs this year came in the Chase.