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As Carl Edwards emerged from his No. 99 Ford Fusion at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, he couldn't decide whom to thank first.

His primary sponsor? His associate sponsors? His manufacturer? His Roush-Fenway Racing team?

Although Edwards didn't win the race 2 ½ weeks ago at New Hampshire, site of the first leg of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, his third-place finish behind teammates Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth was good enough to put him atop the Chase standings.

And, just as important, it gave him a platform to salute his multitude of sponsors.

"My guys did awesome," Edwards exclaimed. "Everything worked. The Vitamin Water even tastes good right now. It's cool to be leading the points. It's awesome for Greg Biffle and great for Office Depot, Ford, Aflac, everybody."

Everybody, indeed.

After taking a swig of the Vitamin Water, Edwards might have chomped down on a Subway sandwich and Ritz crackers. The next morning, he could have shaved with his Gillette razor, put on his Wiley X sunglasses, driven his Ford to the CitiFinancial ATM, gone to the Save-A-Lot and picked up some Claritin, Planters peanuts and Scott s lawn products.

Then, he could have checked his portfolio with World Financial Group, stopped at Office Depot for business supplies and watched a replay of the race_and his commercials_on Dish Network.

All those sponsors, and some others, contribute to the $20 million to $25 million a year it takes to put a Sprint Cup driver on the track, especially a title contender like Edwards, who at 29, and in his fifth season, is smoking hot.

Next to Dale Earnhardt Jr., Edwards may be NASCAR's most marketable and recognizable driver_though former champions Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart still have their star power. But maybe not for much longer.

Edwards' charisma, his dimpled smile, boy-next-door looks, chiseled body and signature backflip that has punctuated 13 career Sprint Cup victories (six this season) have sponsors beating down his garage door.

He might have dropped to second in the Chase standings after finishing second to Jimmy Johnson in Sunday's Camping World RV 400, but he's a leading man in commercials with the Aflac duck.

"With Carl, he's clean-cut, looks good and he's very into promoting his sponsors," said Steve Steinhauer, Motor Sports Business Manager for Aflac. "He's a perfect prototype. He's a PR magnet."

That's why Aflac will pay $26 million to Roush over the next three years and supplant Office Depot as the primary sponsor of Edwards' ride. And it's why health-conscious Subway will pay $2.25 million in 2009 as an associate sponsor that will include personal services from Edwards, considered by many the fittest athlete in NASCAR.

"You can't get through a NASCAR broadcast now without seeing Carl pitching two or three different products," said Michael Smith, who covers the business of motorsports for Sports Business Journal . "It might be an Office Depot, it might be Aflac, Claritin. ...

"Subway is one of the biggest spenders out there on sports broadcasts. You think of some of their other associations, like Reggie Bush. Those are some elite athletes in their sport. Tony Stewart has been in that position before, but it looks like Carl is going to be the guy for Subway going forward."

Edwards not only pitches products, but he also believes in them. It's well-known that before Edwards got his big break with Roush-Fenway Racing, he solicited race teams by giving them business cards and resumes printed at the Office Depot in his hometown of Columbia, where he was a substitute schoolteacher.

"All the stuff I would put together for my local race team when I was starting out_my marketing packet_I would go to Office Depot for printer cartridges and ink," Edwards recalled. "So yes, I shopped at Office Depot, and now it's cool to go in any Office Depot in the country, and I've got a big cardboard cutout.

"I drink a lot of Vitamin Water when I work out, traveling and things like that. I already eat Subway all the time, so that is a great fit. Aflac is perfect for my employees. ... So I feel like all the partners I have are all people that I believe in their products, and I use them and enjoy them."

Office Depot annually sponsors the Chamber of Commerce Day each year at Kansas Speedway, and Edwards was on hand Friday for the culmination of its Official Small Business of NASCAR campaign.

He greeted contest winner Julie Catalano of Boise, Idaho, proprietor of Mystique Salon and Spa, who received a $10,000 small-business makeover from Office Depot, and whose company logo_a stiletto-heel shoe— was awarded a spot Sunday on the back of Edwards' Cup car.

The companies think they get a bang for their buck in Edwards. Last week, Ford Motor Co. launched the "I'm Driving One" ad campaign, using Roush-Fenway drivers Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth and NHRA stars John and Ashley Force.

"When Carl Edwards speaks, his fans listen," said Tim Duerr, NASCAR marketing manager for Ford Racing. "We consider him one of our best salespeople, with his large fan following.

"We can appreciate the efforts he gives Ford by giving testimonials and also the mentions he gives us for helping him win races. It's very vital to us. He's a pro at that. He never misses a beat without mentioning Ford in his victory lane speeches and postrace interviews."

Every mention of a sponsor or camera shot of a sponsor's logo means money to the company. Joyce Julius & Associates, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based research company, keeps track of in-broadcast exposures and sponsorship mentions and calculates their worth.

Through the Sept. 6 race at Richmond, Edwards' 66 brands seen by viewers and 174 sponsor mentions translated to $270,501,025 for his sponsors, which ranked fourth in the series behind Earnhardt, two-time series defending champion Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch.

There's little doubt Edwards has moved near the top of that list after his fast start in the Chase.

"Everybody gets in line behind Dale Jr.," said Smith of the Business Journal . "But I would say there's a pretty fierce competition for that No. 2 slot. You've had Jeff Gordon in that position; you've had Tony Stewart in that position. Right now, I would say Carl is in that position, when you look at the deals he's got going and how attractive he's become - everything from Gillette Young Guns to the new Aflac deal."

Edwards is especially excited about his association with Aflac. He just finished filming a commercial titled "Feathers" in which he rides shotgun with the Aflac duck, who pilots the car to victory and then lands on his head while trying to duplicate Edwards' back flip.

Edwards laughs when he says he had never done a commercial with a duck.

"No joke, at the commercial shoot, the duck had more people with him than I had with me, so the duck is kind of a big deal," Edwards said. "It is one of the most recognizable marketing brands or identities in the world. It's kind of fun to be a part of that. They showed me the ideas for next year's duck commercials with Aflac. It should be entertaining for sure."

Edwards' visibility with the Aflac duck and an Office Depot commercial in which he nearly leaves his computer on the top of his car should boost his name recognition beyond NASCAR and put him among the most well-known athletes in sports.

Edwards scores high in The Davie Brown Index, an independent measure for brand marketers that determines a celebrity's ability to influence brand affinity and consumer purchases. Edwards' attribute average measuring awareness, appeal, influence and trust, among other characteristics, is 75.49, which is tops in NASCAR and better than golfing legend Tiger Woods (74.28), NFL quarterback Peyton Manning (71.63), cycling veteran Lance Armstrong (65.43), and baseball star Derek Jeter (64.28).

However, his overall awareness by consumers is just 10.29, compared with Woods' 99.36, Armstrong's 95.65, Manning's 82.54, Jeter's 75.33 and Earnhardt's 65.68. So what's that mean? Edwards may be a household name in NASCAR, but he could walk through a mall in California and not be recognized.

"While the general U.S. population is not fully aware of Carl, to know Carl Edwards, to be aware of Carl Edwards is to find him appealing and influential," said Ken Cohn of Millsport, a sports sponsorship consultant.

"He scores high in appeal. The problem is: As a brand, there is some work to do to get the general population to get to know about him. The more he is deployed in national advertising, the more people are aware of him."

That's where Aflac comes in.

"Carl, we believe, is not only an up-and-coming leader in the sport, he is the leader and doing a phenomenal job," Paul Amos II, president and CEO of Aflac, said at the debut of the "Feathers" commercial.

"The duck has given us a chance to go from 13 percent name recognition to 94 percent among Americans. You add the duck and Carl Edwards, and we believe this combination will be something America will take hold of."

It's humbling to Edwards, who earns an estimated $10 million a year, to be mentioned in the same breath as Woods, Manning and Armstrong.

"It's amazing," he said. "Someday I'll write a book about all my sponsorship efforts when I was really just starting out and that will make it seem even more amazing.

"For a local racer, if I could go out and get $500 for the season for a decal or I could get free parts from a salvage yard or something like that, it was huge. To be on a Claritin promotion or Wal-Mart or a Scott's billboard or something like that, it's crazy."