Edwards steps away from NASCAR
In a surprising move this week, Carl Edwards has chosen to leave NASCAR and step away from his racing career.
Edwards announced on Wednesday that he is leaving Joe Gibbs Racing immediately, though never using the word “retirement.”
“It’s a risky sport,” Edwards said. “I am aware of the risks. I don’t like how it feels to take the hits that we take. I’m a sharp guy, and I want to be a sharp guy in 30 years. Those risks are something that I want to minimize. … Like anybody in a contact sport, I realize that there might be long-term consequences to that stuff. That is a piece of the puzzle [on the decision].”
Edwards began his NASCAR Sprint Cup career in 2004 and competed with Roush Fenway Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing over his career. Edwards finished second in the Sprint Cup Series standings twice in his career and ended up one of the four finalists in this year’s Chase. He definitely was nowhere near past his prime, as he won three times in 2016.
Replacing Edwards for Joe Gibbs Racing will be Daniel Suarez, who has yet to compete in a Sprint Cup race in his career. However, he was the 2016 Xfinity Series champion and won three races in the series in 2016.