Before that, the Texas-born Edwards raced in the Superbike World Championship (WSBK), taking 31 wins and two world championships in 2000 and 2002. Like last year, he is racing for the NGM Mobile Forward Racing Team.
With his career tipping into its twilight, he's enjoying the sport as much as he ever has.
"When you're young, dumb and full of piss and vinegar, you don't do much more than open the gas and see what happens," he says. "You get to a point where you think you know everything and it gets mundane, but towards the end of your career, it becomes fun again."
Fun, with more focus. "We don't have a speedometer on the bike, though I'd never look at it," Edwards says. "I zone out and nothing else matters except the next 200 meters."
Speed without stupidity. Or so he advises the next generation.
"Don't do anything stupid," he says. "The flash-in-the-pan stuff is good to get noticed, but at the end of the day, it's a long championship and you have to be out there consistently going fast.
And, he adds, not forgetting to have fun. Or as he says, "really absorbing the experience." He's eager to absorb the experience off the racetrack too, hanging out in the paddock and garage with his teammates and other riders.
"I ride motorcycles a little bit faster than the next guy, but I still gotta go to the same toilet as everyone else and put my pants on one leg at a time," he says.
Ben Bostrom raced alongside Edwards in WSBK from 2000 to 2002 and has seen the genuine camaraderie.
"He always created an atmosphere, saying that we should be having fun while we were lucky enough to be out there," Bostrom says. "Colin and I used to sing all night long on the karaoke machine in my motorhome,"
He adds, with a laugh: "We were mostly Hank Williams Jr. fans."
The easy spirit extends to interviews: At last year's pre-race press conference at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Edwards had the entire room laughing with back-and-forth banter with fellow Texan rider Ben Spies. "My bike is a piece of sh**," he joked at one point, "but I have a great press officer."
As a teenager, Edwards thought the podium ceremonies were boring, each post-race chat monotonous. That's changed.
"I only have a few seconds to show people I'm halfway normal," he says. "I use that time for someone to get to know me."
Those paying attention will find an uncommon work ethic: "If you're pushing hard and you feel like you left everything out on the racetrack," he says, "that's how you want the weekend to go."
With that understanding, Edwards finds a homemade sense of Zen. "I used to struggle with letting go of a bad result, but things change when you have three kids and a wife at home," he says. "You did all you can do, and you have to wake up the next day and move on."
Still, the irreverent but earnest balance has made Edwards a fan favorite. His core group will be in full force in Monterey, with more than 50 friends and family - he calls them the "Edwards Army" - trekking out from Texas to support his race this weekend.
"Fans tell me all the time, 'Hey, you're awesome!' and I say, 'Well, I think I'm an awesome... dad.'"
That includes walks in Monterey with his wife and three kids under the age of 12. "I always try to get by Domenico's [Restaurant] and take a walk down [Fisherman's Wharf] there with the kids," he says.
He started racing here in 1992, another landmark over an atypically long run in the sport. "Racing is just what I do," Edwards says. "I've never really looked at it any other way, and I've never let it go to my head."
≈≈≈Edwards admits his kids don't necessarily understand what he does for a living. A different family dynamic happens with Roger Hayden, who has several brothers who also race. Hayden's older brother is current MotoGP Ducati rider and 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden.
Roger, 30, is currently in fourth place in the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Superbike Championship, riding for Michael Jordan Motorsports.
Like Nicky, who has claimed two RedBull U.S. MotoGPs, Roger has a history of success at Laguna Seca. From 2004-2008, he raced in a class of AMA road racing called Supersport and took two wins and two second places. He won the circuit overall championship in 2007, the same year he won the Supersport race and earned a wildcard ride in the MotoGP race, in which he finished 10th.
Hayden says his competitive nature drives his passion for racing, but his upbringing in tiny Owensboro, Ky., is what kept him level-headed.
"When I come home, I'm not Roger the racer, I'm just Roger who got turned down by some girl for a date," he says. "It keeps me humble."
Hayden says many of his close friends are the ones he grew up with. During breaks from the track, they play video games - Tiger Woods PGA Tour right now - and fish and hunt.
But most of the time he's committed to being a student. "I am constantly learning and trying not to make old mistakes," he says. "You just have to stay really focused."
That discipline will help this weekend, on one of his favorite tracks.
"The track has got a lot of ups and downs," he says. "I like turn nine. It's really bank[ed]... it's similar to the all the left-handers I grew up on."
That discipline, over time, should help him extend his career - just like Colin Edwards.
THE 2013 U.S. RED BULL MOTO GRAND PRIX final takes place 2pm Sunday, July 21, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. 1021 Monterey-Salinas Highway. The AMA Superbike races runs at 3:45pm on Sunday, July 21. For tickets and full schedule, visit mazdaraceway.com. Three Contenders to Watch This Weekend
1 ** Cal Crutchlow, 27, Yamaha Tech 3 Team During his third year in MotoGP, the Brit placed fifth or better all season, minus one crash, and made four podiums. At the Dutch TT in June, he became the first British rider in a decade to earn pole position. He currently sits fourth in points.
2 ** Marc Marquez, 20, Repsol Honda Factory Team Impressive is an understatement. The Spaniard has blown through the ranks. He won the small-engine classes of 125cc and Moto2 and finds himself first this year in points during his first season in MotoGP, in front of compatriots Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa. Other than a crash in Italy, Marquez has not been off the podium this season. He took pole position - and his first premier class win - in only his second MotoGP race ever.
3 ** Valentino Rossi, 34, Yamaha Factory Team After two unsuccessful years racing for Ducati, the nine-time world champion is back on Yamaha. At the Dutch Grand Prix this year, Rossi took his first win in more than two seasons. That win marks Rossi's 80th premier class win and makes him the winningest racer in the top class. His first victory was in 2000 in England and the win in the Netherlands came 12 years and 355 days later. Both Rossi and fans would like to see him contend;even as Spain counts the top three racers of the season, this Italian remains the biggest star on the track.
Nic Coury
www.yahootrend.com