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Edwards Feels Being Elected into NASCAR Hall of Fame 'Starting to Soak In'

Toby Christie

David Yeazell-Imagn Images

Carl Edwards captured 28 NASCAR Cup Series wins over an impactful 13-year career in NASCAR's top series. On Friday night, the 45-year-old driver, who was known for his patented backflip victory celebration, will take his place, along with Ricky Rudd and Ralph Moody, in NASCAR's Hall of Fame on Friday night as he'll be enshrined as part of the Class of 2025.

For Edwards, who was quite reclusive following his unexpected retirement at the conclusion of the 2016 NASCAR Cup Series season, says being named to the NASCAR Hall of Fame is finally starting to feel like a real thing.

"Got up this morning, and went and walked down the street with my daughter and came back and my picture was on the big screen thing out in the street. She just thought that was the coolest thing in the world. So, yeah, that was cool. Just being here at the Hall, and I guess this is real. You know, it's happening. It has been kind of surreal for a while. Seeing Ricky [Rudd] was cool, and it's kind of starting to soak in that this is real," Edwards said in a media availability on Thursday.

As Edwards takes the Stage on Friday night, he'll be limited to an eight-minute acceptance speech. But Edwards, who has a lot of thanks to give, says he feels he'll be exceeding his time limit on Friday night at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

"So, there's no way I'm sticking to the eight minutes. It's impossible," Edwards chuckled. "I mean, how am I going to do that? I've got so many people to thank, and I've got it down to maybe like 13 minutes, but I ramble. So, there's no telling what is going to happen. It's going to be hard."

What was also hard for Edwards was returning to the sport after many years away. The driver recalls being nervous to make an appearance at Darlington Raceway after being invited by NASCAR to the event. Despite putting up 28 wins, and finishing runner-up in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings twice, Edwards felt he wouldn't be welcomed back after walking away after the 2016 season.

He was pleasantly surprised.

"This is something my wife and I have talked about so much. Last year, I guess it was last year, the 75th anniversary. When NASCAR invited me back to Darlington, I was actually nervous to go back," Edwards admitted. "And I'm going to talk about this a little bit tomorrow night, but I walked away. And I thought I was giving all of this up, including the relationships. I was shocked, I mean, accurate word was shocked that people welcomed me back like they did. To answer your question, I am blown away, and when I found out that I had been voted into the Hall of Fame, it was a feeling, a true feeling of understanding what the NASCAR family is. I guess that's how I feel about all of that, but it did, it shocked me. I never expected it."

Hall of Fame inductions are a chance for athletes to reflect on the great accomplishments that they had personally over their career in their respective sport, but they are also a chance to give their fans one last reason to cheer on their favorite. Edwards says he has already bumped into several of his long-time fans in Charlotte this week, and over the last year, he's truly started to understand and appreciate what it means to be a fan following the sport of NASCAR.

"So, we just ran into a group of the Ed-Heads. Which, these folks have had my back, hell or high water for my whole career," Edwards said. "They're here. So, I guess so. I guess I do recognize that this sport has put a bunch of us guys and girls in a position to really get to show our joy and passion for something, and we get to live out our dreams in these racecars, and that's fun for people to watch. I think in a way, it gives them something that is really special. And I have been around that a lot, I didn't understand it completely until I saw the Wood Brothers' 100th win at Daytona."

Edwards continued, "It was me, my son, and my wife sitting there watching the end of this race. And when it was over, I'm watching Jeff Burton celebrate his son's win. I'm sitting there with my son. I look over, Kate's got tears running down her cheek, I'm welling up, and I thought, 'Man, this is unbelievable. Racing is awesome.' So, for me to see myself in that light, as someone that people followed and cared about and enjoyed watching the journey, it is really special."

And was Edwards' journey special. The driver started off his career walking the NASCAR garage with business cards that he would hand out to literally anyone he encountered in hopes that he could land a ride as a driver in the NASCAR National Series ranks.

In 2002, Mike Mittler gave Edwards his big break in the No. 63 Ford F-150 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ranks. Edwards would impress as he snagged an eighth-place finish at Kansas Speedway in the underdog equipment.

Jack Roush would swoop in, and by 2003, Edwards was a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor for Roush. After six wins between 2003 and 2004, Edwards was elevated to full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series for Roush Racing in 2005. In his first full-time season, Edwards recorded four wins.

Edwards would move to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015, and he would finish out his racing career as the driver of the team's No. 19 Toyota in 2016.

In the years since his retirement, people have rumored that Edwards would seek political office or even make a triumphant return to racing in NASCAR, or elsewhere. Edwards says for now, he's still content with taking care of his family at home.

"There are a number of things, but the thing that I am focusing on right now is just trying to be the best husband and father that I can be," Edwards explained. "And so, I was blessed to be raised by a mother, who chose to be a mom. She chose to be the best mom that she could be. And it set me on a trajectory that is better than I ever deserved. For me, the time I was in the car, it felt like that was what I needed to be doing, it was what was more important to me than anything in the world. I gave my life to it. But right now, I'm just trying to make sure I take care of the things at home that nobody is going to take care of for me."

In a preseason interview with Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, Kyle Larson stated that he would like to have Carl Edwards slide behind the wheel of his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for NASCAR All-Star Race practice at North Wilkesboro Speedway, while he is away at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Last season, Larson had Kevin Harvick practice his car for the All-Star Race.

Edwards addressed Larson's invitation during his availability and said that he was floored that Larson spoke so highly of him. However, Edwards says nobody has officially reached out to him, and that he would like to have a test run in the sim to make sure he is familiar with the Next Gen car at Wilkesboro before committing to anything.

"Really, it's an honor. He's one of the fastest guys to ever drive one of these cars. And for him to say that, I don't know if he's messing with me. I'm very likely to crash a car if I were to get in one right now," Edwards stated. "But that is interesting. But I'd have to go run the sim or something like that to see if I can even get around North Wilkesboro, but nobody has officially talked to me about it, no."

That being said, Edwards definitely didn't rule out getting back behind the wheel to test out Larson's No. 5 car at North Wilkesboro.

"No, it's never a total no. I like options, but I don't know. I'd say it's no for now, but I'd drive a sim and check it out," Edwards said.

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Toby Christie
TOBY CHRISTIE

Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.

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