Carl Edwards: Transition to Joe Gibbs Racing has been smooth

CHARLOTTE — Carl Edwards is the self-described "low guy on the totem pole" entering his first season at Joe Gibbs Racing.

But the 35-year-old, two-time Sprint Cup runner-up brings more than a pattern of success — 23 wins since replacing Jeff Burton midway through the 2004 season — as he attempts to slide as seamlessly as possible in the No. 19 Toyota. Joining a driver lineup that features former Cup champion and Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth, along with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, Edwards brings more experience working in a four-car team, something JGR will finally undertake after past abortive starts.

Though senior vice president of racing operations Jimmy Makar said the transition to four cars will be "exponentially harder" than previous expansions, he could be encouraged by the fact that three of his drivers have experience in packed lineups, Kyle Busch at Hendrick Motorsports and Kenseth and Edwards at RFR.

A brilliantly planned hedge?

"I hadn't even thought of that," team owner Joe Gibbs admitted. "That's a pretty good thought. I hope it works.

"From the meetings we've had, they all get along well but bring up serious points, too."

Still, Edwards said, the integration likely won't be as seamless.

"I'm not the logistics guy or the manufacturing guy, but there's no reason it shouldn't work," he told USA Today Sports. "But for some reason, there always seems to be growing pains."

JGR has increased personnel to nearly 500 and is undergoing an infrastructure expansion. Stairways teem with new employees during meetings and empty spaces have suddenly become occupied.

"The thing that I see is there's people everywhere," Busch said. "I don't know what some of them do, but they're all there."

Edwards who made his Cup debut in 2004, raced as part of a powerhouse fleet of at least four at Roush through 2011, when the team contracted. Most of those years included Kenseth, until the 2003 Cup champion left for JGR in following the 2012 season.

And Stewart-Haas Racing's ability to win a championship with Kevin Harvick last season, while adding a fourth car for Kurt Busch, heartens him.

"They didn't have any trouble last year, so that bodes well for us, but I expect there to be some stumbling blocks," Edwards said. "I expect there to be some problems we didn't think of, but man, Coach (team owner Joe Gibbs), (president) J.D. (Gibbs), (chief operating officer) Todd Meredith, (chief operating officer) Dave Alpern, all the guys that run JGR, they've really put a lot of thought into this. It is amazing the effort they have put into this fourth team.

"It's taken them a number of years to get to this point. This was not a decision made lightly. I think it's going to be really good."

Edwards said his transition has been made smooth and the fact he is being integrated into another program is helpful.

"The part that makes me the most confident is having (crew chief) Darian (Grubb) in that group heading up the car, because it's not like a new car, new driver and a new crew chief," Edwards said. "It's basically the (Hamlin) shop team and road crew and me just being plugged in as a driver, so there is less change."