Carl Edwards to join NASCAR on Prime Video broadcast team

Carl Edwards has largely remained lowkey since retiring from NASCAR after the 2016 season. But over the past calendar year Edwards has been more present, notably taking his place in the Hall of Fame in February.

Now, Edwards is returning to NASCAR as a member of the broadcast team. Edwards is joining Amazon Prime Video as a pre- and post-race studio analyst, Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic reported Tuesday. The streaming platform will broadcast five races this season as part of NASCAR’s new media rights deal. The Prime Video schedule begins May 25 with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway — one of NASCAR’s crown jewel events.

“The thing I’m excited about, and I feel like I can hopefully accomplish, is to get to talk a little bit about — especially since I’m not competing anymore, I got nothing to hide — there’s no trade secrets I don’t want to talk about,” Edwards told Bianchi. “I want to share with the fans what might be going on inside of that helmet, inside of that car.

“I want to ask the drivers, before, after, maybe away from the track, ‘What’s going on? What is really driving you? What are your fears? What are your hopes? What are the difficulties? What are the things that you’re so good at that maybe aren’t obvious for someone just watching the racing?’”

Initial discussions between Edwards and Prime Video didn’t lead to an agreement. But then, two Prime Video executives traveled to Missouri to meet with Edwards face-to-face. The executives agreed to attend a jiu-jitsu practice he was attending and afterwards, Edwards knew “these are my people.”

Carl Edwards back in NASCAR, set for studio role with Prime Video

Edwards, 45, will partner in the on-site studio with host Danielle Trotta and fellow analyst Corey LaJoie, currently part-time driver in the Cup Series. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Adam Alexander (play-by-play), and Steve Letarte (booth analyst), will call the race from the booth. Earnhardt and Edwards had a conversation; that played a big role in Edwards’ decision to commit.

“Dale’s involvement in this is key,” Edwards said. “I didn’t get anything out of my mouth and the first thing he said to me was, ‘Hey, l want this to be a good team. We are going to support each other; we will build each other up.’ Hearing this I thought, ‘Man, this is just perfect.’”

Edwards walked away from NASCAR’s premier series at the age of 36. He compiled 28 victories, and though he never claimed a Cup championship, won the Xfinity Series title in 2007. Edwards had some close calls throughout his career, finishing second in the final points standings in 2008 and ’11. He finished in the top 10 of the points standings in eight of his 12 seasons in Cup, including a fourth-place finish in his final campaign in 2016.