After years away from NASCAR, Hall of Famer Carl Edwards is stepping back into the sport as a broadcaster. Prior to his return, however, Edwards took part in perhaps the most anticipated episode of the Dale Jr Download to date. The interview was honest and covered several question fans had about Edwards career. So here are three takeaways from the conversation between these NASCAR two legends.
While any driver who has raced in NASCAR has had their fair share of words and on-track issues with other drivers, Earnhardt and Edwards have had issues with each other on and off track throughout their careers.
This episode mentions a few run-ins and arguments between the two drivers. However, one that some fans were curious about was the the two drivers run in at Atlanta in 2004.
Prior to touching on Atlanta, the two spoke about their Xfinity Series battle at Michigan in 2006. During a Green White Checkered attempt, Earnhardt spun Edwards on the backstretch. This was not intentional, as Edwards got loose off turn two, and Earnhardt did not lift enough for Edwards to correct himself in time.
Following this incident, Edwards had his team put four fresh tires on his car. He then drove off pit road right into the side of Earnhardt under caution.
Edwards then transitioned into the story of the two drivers Fall 2004 incident at in Atlanta.
That afternoon, Earnhardt, pursuing his first NASCAR Cup Series title, attempted to slide in front of Edwards on the backstretch with 15 to go. For this bold move to work, Edwards would have to lift and let Earnhardt have his spot and ultimately, Edwards did not lift, spinning the No. 8 to the inside wall.
Edwards shows regret for not lifting that day in this episode, stating, “I made a decision. Screw it. He’s coming up, and I’m going to stay right here, and I’m going to let him suffer his consequences, and looking back, that wasn’t given you one inch, and I shouldn’t have done that.”
The incidents both in Atlanta and Michigan mirror each other, as each driver had a chance to help one another. However, most fans consider the wreck in Atlanta the moment Earnhardt lost out on his only real title shot.
Of all the shocking things Edwards did during his 15-year NASCAR career, one that could have changed the sport for years to come was his transition to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015.
Edwards had raced for Jack Roush from 2004 to 2014. During that time, he went from rookie to veteran to star driver for Roush-Fenway Racing. As the years went on at Roush, his teammates, such as Jamie McMurray, Mark Martin, and Matt Kenseth, either retired or left Roush for better opportunities.
Some of these departures were better than others, with rumors that Roush was lacking in certain technical aspects or underpaying drivers. As Earnhardt says in the podcast, “The rumor or the perspective was that they [Roush] underpaid. They would typically lock in a guy like yourself [Edwards] that was dying to become a race car driver into a long contract on very minimal pay.”
Edwards says that aspect wasn’t necessarily true, claiming that as far as pay goes, “they were more generous than they should.” Furthermore, his departure was not as dramatic of a decision as it may seem at face value; rather, it was because the cars were not driving how Edwards felt they should.
“I never really talked about this, but it’s just that the cars we couldn’t get them to turn in the center of the corner,” Edwards said. ”We just could not get the cars to do what we needed to do, and we did that for a long time, and I thought… I just wanted to try something different.”
Following Edwards’s departure, Roush-Fenway Racing slipped from its pedestal and fell down the ladder of top teams in NASCAR. Ultimately, the team has recovered since the addition of owner-driver Brad Keselowski in 2022.
For Carl Edwards, a championship was always his main goal. Edwards came close to winning a title more times than most drivers even dream of. However, most of these dreams would turn into nightmares. Some of these nightmare title campaigns include falling short after a stellar 2008 season and a tie-breaker loss in 2011 with Tony Stewart.
Edwards’s final shot at a title came in 2016. After locking himself into the Championship Four, Edwards found himself in the catbird’s seat, sitting in second place behind non-playoff driver Kyle Larson. With 15 to go, Dylan Lupton blew a tire, and NASCAR’s race director opted to throw what is now considered a controversial caution.
This put Edwards’s season in the hands of a what would hopefully be a clean restart with 10 to go. On that restart, fellow contender Joey Logano ran Edwards low, very low, and ultimately wrecked the No. 19 headfirst into the inside wall. This wreck ended Edwards’ season and, ultimately, his career.
Shortly after this incident, Edwards retired from NASCAR. At that time, he did not give an exact reason why; most suspected that it was due to compiling factors, such as his struggles to win a title, frustration with the sport, and his family.
Throughout this episode, Edwards confirmed these suspicions, reflecting on all the odd moments throughout that race weekend that told him “I did not belong in a race car.” However, one great quote from this episode shows how Carl weighed out his options for the future after 2016.
“I’m gonna get to Homestead at the end of 2017, I’m gonna do everything just right, and they’re gonna throw a caution with five to go and we’re gonna put all this on a restart? And I thought, damn, I don’t know if spending a whole year of my life and all the things you give up and possibly give up for, you know, one restart, I don’t know… Yes, that’s that’s a big deal. You have to weigh that.” — Carl Edwards
Most suspected that the end of his championship hopes in 2016 would end Edwards’s career. However, the thought of having another season end like 2016 was too much for Edwards.
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