Carl Edwards through the years

Carl Edwards turns 42 on Sunday. As a way to celebrate, let's look back on his career highlights.

Carl Edwards got his start in what is now known as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He has six career wins in the series, including this victory in 2004 at Daytona.

In 2004, Carl Edwards made his debut in the sport's top series. The Roush Fenway Racing driver is seen chatting with Jamie McMurray.

A backflip has long been a part of Carl Edwards' victory celebration. Here he is performing one after his first premier series victory at Atlanta.

Carl Edwards has some Hollywood experience having appeared on 'The Biggest Loser' as well as 'Chicago Fire' and 'The Grinder.' Here he poses with several stars of 'Prison Break' in 2006.

For much of his NASCAR career, Carl Edwards drove for team owner Jack Roush. That changed in 2015 with a move to Joe Gibbs Racing, but here the two are seen celebrating a victory in 2007 at Michigan for one of three victories that season.

In his NASCAR career, Carl Edwards has one national series title, which came in 2007 when he won the championship in what is now known as the Xfinity Series.

The 2008 season was a big one for Carl Edwards as he posted a career-high nine wins en route to a runner-up finish in the standings. One of Edwards' strongest performances that year came in the season finale at Homestead, where he led 157 laps to win the race.

The 2009 season was a trying one for Carl Edwards and was one of only three full Cup seasons in which he did not record a win.

The 2010 season saw a nice bounce back for Carl Edwards after an 11th-place finish the season before. He won two races, including one from the pole at Phoenix, and finished fourth in the final standings.

Carl Edwards scored a $1 million victory in the 2011 All-Star Race at Charlotte. It is his lone win in the All-Star event at the 1.5-mile track.

Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards were locked in a tight battle for the 2011 championship. Edwards entered the final race of the season with a three-point lead on Stewart in the standings. He finished second in the race as Stewart won the race and took the championship on a wins tiebreaker. The runner-up finish in the standings was the second of Edwards' career.

Driver Carl Edwards and his wife Kate Edwards attended the 2011 NASCAR Champion's Week Awards Ceremony at Wynn Las Vegas. The two married in 2009 and have two kids.

The 2012 season saw Carl Edwards have his lowest career finish in the final standings. The Roush Fenway Racing driver tallied just three top fives en route to a 15th-place finish on the season.

Carl Edwards took the checkered flag at Richmond in the regular-season finale in 2013. The win was his second of the season and is one of eight multi-win seasons for the driver.

Carl Edwards' 2014 win at Sonoma Raceway was his final victory with owner Jack Roush before Edwards moved to Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2015 season. During his time with Roush over 11 seasons, Edwards notched 23 premier series wins.

Carl Edwards moved to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015 to drive the team's newly formed fourth car. His teammates were Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and 2015 champion Kyle Busch. Edwards and Kenseth had previously been teammates at Roush Fenway Racing.

The 2015 season got off to a rough start for Carl Edwards, but a fuel-mileage play at Charlotte helped the veteran driver find Victory Lane for the first time with Joe Gibbs Racing in the Coca-Cola 600.

A clutch pit stop just before the final restart of the race put Carl Edwards in the lead at Darlington with 11 laps to go, a position he would maintain for the win. The victory gave Edwards wins in two of the sport's biggest events in 2015: the Coca-Cola 600 and the Southern 500.

Using a bump-and-run move on the last lap at Richmond in the spring 2016 race, Carl Edwards moved race-leading teammate Kyle Busch to score the victory. Having won the previous week at Bristol, it marked the sixth time in Edwards' career that he won back-to-back races.

In 2016, Carl Edwards set a career-best in poles for one season with six to give him 22 poles for his career. Included in those was a sweep of the pole positions on the two road courses.

Edwards advanced to his first Championship 4 thanks to a rain-shortened win in November at Texas. Edwards took the lead on Lap 258 of an eventual 293 and benefited from a super fast pit stop late to close the deal. The victory came on the heels of a 36th-place finish at Martinsville, so the veteran was in need of a win to advance to the Championship 4.

With 10 laps to go in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Edwards restarted second alongside race leader Kyle Larson. But when Joey Logano went for an inside move, Edwards went to block him and the contact between the two championship-contending cars sent Edwards' No. 19 Toyota into the inside wall and out of the race. Edwards went from championship leader to a 34th-place finish. To his credit, Edwards got out of his car and walked toward pit road, climbed up the pit box of Joey Logano's team and offered his side of the story. Logano's crew chief, Todd Gordon, called Edwards a stand-up guy for coming over and having the talk.

To the surprise of much of the NASCAR world, Carl Edwards announced on Jan. 11, 2017 -- less than two months after competing for a championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway -- that we was stepping away from the sport. The 37-year-old spent much of his career with Roush Fenway Racing, but drove his final two seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing. In 445 premier series starts, Edwards has 28 wins and two runner-up finishes in the standings in the NASCAR Cup Series. He also posted 38 NASCAR Xfinity Series wins, six Camping World Truck Series wins and took home the 2007 Xfinity Series title.

Edwards returned to the track in early 2017, joining the new driver of the No. 19, Daniel Suarez, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Edwards was there to offer support and feedback.

Carl Edwards and Eddie Gossage pose for a picture during the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame ceremony in November 2018. Edwards was inducted for his career performance at the 1.5-mile facility.