Carl Edwards reflects on retirement announcement, reveals regrets

When Carl Edwards abruptly stepped away from NASCAR before the 2017 Cup Series season, it was a major shock. A driver stepping away in his prime? It isn’t something that you see very often.

Since his sudden retirement, Carl Edwards has been reclusive. He has been doing the family thing and farming and flying his plane. There have been a ton of rumors about seeing Edwards out and about or what wild thing he was doing now that he wasn’t racing.

After being named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023, Edwards has been coming around more. Now that he is set to enter the Hall of Fame, he could be around even more.

As for his retirement? He doesn’t regret the decision. However, he has other regrets, as he told Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic.

“I don’t regret leaving. I could have probably done it better,” Edwards said. His retirement came on January 9, 2017. “I wasn’t good at it. I never even considered doing something like that. So if I had to do it over again, I probably could have done it in a more gracious way.”

With a chance to do it again, Carl Edwards believes he would have done it differently.

“I really thought that because I left so abruptly, I felt a little bit of guilt around that,” he said to Bianchi. “And I felt like it was totally fair for the sport to hold that against me and keep me at a distance. So I never imagined they would welcome me in this way. It’s the first time I really felt like I understood what the NASCAR family is. It’s so strange for NASCAR to invite me back like this with this honor after I walked away eight years ago.

He didn’t expect the NASCAR world to welcome him back in with a Hall of Fame nomination and induction. But that is what happened.

“It’s unbelievable the level of acceptance and love and respect for me and all that. It’s just been overwhelming.”

Carl Edwards is one of the most talented drivers in NASCAR history. When he was winning at the height of his career, he was electric as any other driver. His rivalries on track, his backflips after wins, and the impact he left on the sport by leaving when he did.

All of that and more make up the story of Carl Edwards. A Hall of Fame story.