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RELATED: Full coverage of JGR changes

NASCAR Hall of Fame discussion and debate is typically expected and generally prevalent as talented and high-profile drivers step away from competition. And such is the natural consideration for Carl Edwards, who announced — quite unexpectedly — Wednesday that he was stepping away from competing in the sport.

Edwards, at only age 37, joins former NASCAR multi-time champions Jeff Gordon, 45, and Tony Stewart, 45, in making this career decision in just the last two years. The four-time champion Gordon ended his full-time career in 2015 only to fill-in for injured Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. in eight races last season. Stewart, a three-time champ, stepped away from the NASCAR driver’s seat at the end of 2016, but is still competing in other forms of racing.

For both Gordon, a 93-time winner in NASCAR’s premier series and Stewart, a 49-race winner in what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Hall of Fame induction seems to be a given.

As a contemporary of the two, Edwards’ credentials also will naturally give rise to Hall of Fame discussion even though he competed 12 fewer years than Gordon at the top level and five fewer years than Stewart, an IndyCar champion before he arrived in NASCAR.

CAIN: Edwards exits with focused, sincere class

"I would say that his career, he’ll probably come under strong consideration for everything he did," Edwards team owner Joe Gibbs said of Hall of Fame talk Wednesday following Edwards’ news conference.

Edwards’ NASCAR statistics — highlighted by 28 Cup wins, the 2007 XFINITY Series title to with 38 wins in that series as well as six Camping World Truck Series victories — are certainly impressive even though they don’t include a championship at the Cup level or a Daytona 500 victory.

Three times Edwards came painstakingly close to hoisting the Cup trophy.

He won a season-high nine races in 2008 only to finish runner-up to seven-time winner Jimmie Johnson, who was right in the middle of a five-year championship run. 


RELATED: All of Edwards’ wins | Carl in his own words

Edwards was a season runner-up again in 2011, actually tying Stewart in the points standings for the title but losing on a tie-breaker. Stewart won five of the 10 Chase races, Edwards had only one victory on the year. It remains, obviously, the tightest championship battle in NASCAR history.

And of course, Edwards was leading the final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, poised to perhaps at last claim that oh-so elusive championship. But contact with fellow Championship 4 driver Joey Logano with what turned out to be 12 laps remaining, led to a wreck and a fourth-place finish in the standings.

"It’s ironic for him that in the two championship bids that he was right there, one of them he lost by one point and the other one, 15 laps to go and he had it, he was pulling away from everybody," Gibbs said. "I think that it’s not my place to judge all that, but I think those guys will give strong consideration for him in the future."

Since Edwards began full-time premier series competition in 2005, only the newly-crowned seven-time champion Johnson has bettered Edwards’ nine race wins in a single season (2008). Gordon had a string of double digit wins in 1996 (10), 1997 (10) and 1998 (13).

In 2015 Edwards won two of the series’ most iconic races, Charlotte’s Coca-Cola 600 and Darlington Raceway‘s Bojangles’ Southern 500.

He’s won races at 14 tracks on the Cup circuit and proven himself among the most diverse with multiple victories on short tracks like Bristol, intermediate venues such as Texas and has a win on the Sonoma road course.


MORE: Edwards’ decision caught Kenseth by surprise

There is also immediate precedent that Hall of Fame nominees don’t necessarily need a Daytona 500 trophy or a championship ring.

Mark Martin, who will be inducted in NASCAR’s great Hall later this month, earned 40 Cup victories but none came in the Daytona 500, nor did he win a Cup title. One of Martin’s Daytona near-misses, however, is legendary as he came painfully close in 2007 finishing runner-up to Kevin Harvick in a photo finish. He was a five-time runner-up in the Cup series championship. His 40 wins came in 882 starts, compared to Edwards’ 28 wins in 445 starts.

Fred Lorenzen, a 2015 Hall of Fame inductee, won fewer races than Edwards (26) — the 1965 Daytona 500 among them.

Both Edwards and Martin had similar good fortune in the XFINITY Series. Edwards earned 27 pole positions and won 38 times in 245 starts; Martin had 30 poles and won 49 times in 236 starts. Edwards won the 2007 championship and finished runner-up four times — all while running full time in the Cup ranks too. He finished in the top-10 in 174 of those 245 starts — an incredible 71 percent of the time.

And for all of this, Edwards may be a viable Hall of Fame candidate. And he has left the door open to competing in the future. The one thing that is certain, is whether or not Edwards ends up in the Great Hall, he stepped away this week feeling absolutely fulfilled.

"It’s more than I ever expected," Edwards said. "I’ve accomplished more than I ever dreamed of accomplishing. I have the satisfaction that I don’t know how to express.


MORE: Top quotes from Edwards’ news

"Everybody has worked hard at something and been nervous and insecure but kept digging and leaned all those lessons to get to a point, where you’re like, ‘I’ve done this.’

"This is way more than I ever expected. So yeah, I’m very satisfied with that."

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MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 12, 2017) — Continuing a tradition of running his own JR Motorsports Chevrolets each season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is scheduled to make a pair of starts in the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro this season in races at Bristol Motor Speedway (Aug. 18) and Richmond International Raceway (Sept. 8). Long-time JRM driver Kasey Kahne will drive the car at Daytona International Speedway (Feb. 25) and Talladega Superspeedway (May 6).


Scott Radel, director of engineering at JRM, has been tabbed to crew chief all four races. Radel has been a JRM engineer since 2013, and previously worked for Hendrick Motorsports. He won championships with JRM in 2014 and with two other teams as an engineer.  Radel brings 20-plus years of experience in calling races.


"I am looking forward to the opportunity to be atop the pit box for these four races, with Dale and Kasey behind the wheel," said Radel, a 44-year-old Ohio native. "JRM has had tremendous success over the past three seasons, and the ability to field a fifth entry is one that will help continue building on that momentum in 2017."


Earnhardt Jr., who won for the first time in a JRM Chevrolet last year at Richmond International Raceway, will return to the .75-mile D-shaped oval for one of his two scheduled races, and the other will be in the Bristol night race. Sponsorship for both events will be announced at a later date.


Earnhardt Jr. has made 40 starts in NASCAR XFINITY Series competition for JRM, winning at Richmond. In that span, he’s earned 20 top-five and 28 top-10 finishes. He owns four career NXS victories in six starts at Richmond and grabbed his lone win at Bristol in 2004.


Kahne, as he did last season, will run in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in Hellmann’s colors, and follow that up with Armour backing at Talladega Superspeedway.


The No. 88 "All Star car" has been a full-time car the past two seasons, but with JRM’s expansion to four full-time teams and the addition of new drivers William Byron and Michael Annett, it will be a fifth JRM entry in the four races named.


Kahne has made 24 starts in JRM Chevrolets, with one victory at Daytona in 2014, and added 11 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes.  

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By Peter Intermaggio, Senior Vice President, Marketing Communications, Comcast
(This story was first published on Feb. 16, 2015)

On February 21, a new era begins at Comcast as the green flag drops on both the biggest sports sponsorship in our 50+ year history and the first ever NASCAR XFINITY Series race. We’re extremely proud and excited to be part of this sport. But, I realize not everyone knows our company and our brand, so here’s some quick background.

Comcast is at the intersection of media and technology. Our corporation contains two parts: Comcast Cable, which includes XFINITY — the brand for our television, Internet, voice and home security offerings — and NBC Universal, our media and entertainment company.

XFINITY is the nation’s largest video and high-speed Internet service. We provide the fastest Internet and broadband speeds to the most homes, and offer more than 8 million Wi-Fi hotspots in public areas around the country. Our X1 Entertainment Operating System brings together the best of television and entertainment by transforming the viewing experience. Customers are provided with powerful search tools, voice control and a cloud-based DVR service that lets you take your personal DVR content to go, on any device. Our XFINITY On Demand platform offers the most TV shows and movies and enables you to enjoy your favorite content on your schedule.

Rounding out our product portfolio are XFINITY Voice, our reliable home phone service, and XFINITY Home, our security and automation platform.

We’ve joined with NASCAR as the entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR XFINITY Series because we see an opportunity to use the XFINITY platform to enrich the viewing experience for fans. We are already driving innovation around ways to watch NASCAR on laptops, phones and tablets at home and on-the-go. And, with mobile apps like XFINITY TV Go and X1 with Cloud Technology we’ll help ensure fans never miss a minute of the action.

Alongside the XFINITY brand, Comcast Business offers services to small, mid-market and enterprise businesses. Focused on bringing world class communications services to businesses — like the teams, sponsors, vendors and non-profit organizations that coexist within the dynamic NASCAR ecosystem — this group is no stranger to the sports world. In fact, our Business team already provides service to some of the most storied franchises in American sports like the San Francisco 49ers and Boston Red Sox.

Finally, Comcast is also a media and entertainment company. Through NBC Sports, Comcast is all in on NASCAR with a 10-year deal to broadcast NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series races starting July 4 in Daytona, and air our news program, NASCAR America. Combine that with the awesome storytelling of sister properties like The TODAY Show, NBC News and even Universal Studios, our filmed entertainment division, and you have a powerful platform bringing the sport to millions.

Comcast Corporation is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses.

Here’s a quick visual to help bring our business to life:

When we announced our partnership last year we said technology lives at the heart of NASCAR just as it does at Comcast. We’re already seeing that come to life as the season begins and can’t wait to build upon that together with all of you. We think a mix of XFINITY products, Comcast Business services and NBCUniversal media properties are a natural fit for NASCAR and passionate fans of the sport. As we build relationships and learn more I assure you we will continue to pursue ways to leverage technology to provide unmatched experiences for fans and the industry.

We look forward to working with you to make the next 10 years the greatest the sport has ever seen.

You can learn more about our business by visiting: http://www.comcast.com/ and http://corporate.comcast.com/

Learn more about the series “Where Names Are Made” and those drivers who have made or will make their names in the XFINITY Series by watching the video below.

 

WATCH: Latest
NASCAR video

 

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CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR has its own version of spring training in January, but instead of the drivers or teams, it’s the folks working behind the scenes who are getting in preseason reps.

 

The annual NASCAR Summit Presented by American Medical Response (AMR) concluded its three-day run Tuesday at the Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center, where hundreds of dedicated track services, medical, safety, and security workers prepared for the season ahead.

 

Now in its 16th year, the NASCAR Summit has provided open forums and sessions for those workers to learn about best practices and innovations to help make the sport go from weekend to weekend.

 

"This meeting is really one of the best meetings of the year and it really sets our tone for the season in terms of safety," said John Bobo, NASCAR Managing Director of Racing Operations. "We have operations here, security, we have our medical personnel and we really get to look at what we did in the past season and then we get to look at the season ahead and do everything we need to do to prepare for it, but it’s the special people who run toward the blue light and run toward the siren and toward the fire. These are those people and it’s great to be with them and to figure out everything we need to do to make sure every event is safe and all our competitors are safe."

 

NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton echoed those sentiments before Tuesday’s awards ceremony, where unsung heroes in the medical, security and track services fields were recognized for their outstanding contributions.

 

"One of the most particular reasons that I enjoy saying hello to you and a thanks to you is because in order for NASCAR to do what it does, it has to have a heart and soul of people who are of the character that run toward a situation instead of away from it," Helton said, "and there’s nobody in our organization that is as significant as the group that is in here today for this summit that represents that character of our sport."

 

Attendees of the annual conference gathered information and learned techniques from five general sessions Monday and then chose from 11 breakout sessions Tuesday in their various fields. Subjects ranging from proper jet dryer operation, injury trends among NASCAR pit crews, track painting and preparation and an update on the NASCAR Green Initiative were among the offerings.

 

Summit participants also sampled wares from 26 exhibitors and vendors. Among the presenters was new premier series entitlement sponsor, Monster Energy, handing out stickers and free samples as its relationship with stock-car racing grows.

 

"I think we’re as interested in Monster as the general fan is interested in Monster and what changes that’ll bring and how things are presented, what life is like at-track," Bobo said. "We certainly do appreciate Monster being here at the Summit and all they’ve done to support us. They’ve certainly kept us (going) through some of the sessions late in the afternoon, so it’s been great."

 

During the Summit’s awards ceremony, the NASCAR Foundation announced that $4,845 had been raised from Sunday’s Trivia Night, a charity raffle and other donations over the three-day convention. The honorees for exceptional service from the 2016 season were:

 

Track Services

• Mission Award: Daytona International Speedway

• Teamwork Award: Kentucky Speedway

• Innovation Award: Pocono Raceway

• Excellence in Track Services Award: Jay Donnay, Homestead-Miami Speedway

 

Medical

• Above and Beyond Award: Dr. Angela Fiege, Dr. John Maino, Dr. Brian Nao

• Nursing Director Award: Jackie Coats, Watkins Glen International

• Teamwork Award: Darlington Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway

 

Security

• Security Director’s Award: George Brazzale, Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Jim Hosfelt, Dover International Speedway

 

Contributing: NASCAR Wire Service

Posted on by Staff Report

Carl Edwards shocked the NASCAR world on Wednesday, announcing he’d be stepping away from Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition, effective immediately.


The Joe Gibbs Racing driver came up just short of a title at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, so it was a surprise to see the 37-year-old walk away in his prime.


NASCAR Nation was equally shocked, but wished Edwards well in his future endeavors. Their reaction:


Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: NASCAR Nation reacts to Edwards’ news | Quotes from day

 

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Carl Edwards gave three very detailed reasons why he is stepping away from NASCAR competition, only to circle back to the subject later and put it a bit more succinctly.

“Life is short,” Edwards told a room full of media, sponsor representatives and other assorted team and NASCAR officials Wednesday. “You’ve got to do what your gut tells you.”

And Edwards said his gut told him it was time to move on to something else.

Edwards, 37, officially announced that he will not compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2017, calling a halt to a career that included 28 victories at NASCAR’s top level, 10 Chase appearances and two second-place finishes in the series’ championship points battle.

The 2017 season was to be his third in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, his team since joining JGR in 2015 after an 11-year career at Roush Fenway Racing.

Instead, it will be 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series driver Daniel Suarez who will be at the helm of the team’s No. 19 entry. Suarez, the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR national championship and a product of the sanctioning body’s Drive for Diversity and NASCAR Next programs, will make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut in the season-opening Daytona 500, scheduled for Feb. 26 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).


MORE: Recap Suarez’s title year | Suarez returns home to Mexico a champion

Edwards, wearing a dark suit and gray dress shirt as he walked on stage at the organization’s headquarters here in Huntersville, didn’t entirely rule out a return to racing in some form or fashion, explaining that “If I’m going to get back in a race car, which I’m not saying the R (retirement) word here … I’m calling Coach (Joe) Gibbs first.

“There is no better race team. There is no faster car than a Toyota Camry. There’s no better engine. There’s no better crew chief than Dave Rogers. There’s no better crew.”

Why step away when he is seemingly still at the top of his game? He finished fourth in the 2016 points standings and was in the title picture right up until a crash with 12 laps remaining took him out of contention in the series’ final race.

WATCH: Edwards takes blame for Miami wreck | Edwards’ 2016 in review

He won three times in ’16, captured a series’ best six poles and was regarded as one of the early title favorites heading into the ’17 season.

The reasons for his departure, he said, “are pretty straightforward.”

For starters, he said he is satisfied with his career accomplishments, even though he did not win the series championship. His rewards have been in meeting the challenges and succeeding as he worked his way up the racing ladder.

“You go from that to working up the courage to ask people to drive a car to being put in situations where you know if you drive well and you win, you get sponsorship and everything works,” he said. “Going through that whole process and becoming a better person, a stronger person, a better competitor, a better teammate, a better friend to people, that’s a big deal to me, and I feel accomplished.

“And I know when I sit in that race car that I am the best race car driver I can be. So whether or not I have a championship, I’m really satisfied with that.”

Secondly, there’s the tremendous amount of time required to compete at the sport’s highest level. “And not just the physical time,” he said, “but I wake up in the morning thinking about racing. I think about it all day. I go to bed thinking about it. And I have dreams about racing. And that’s just how it is.

“I’ve been doing that for 20 years and I need to take that time right now and devote it to people and things that are important to me, things I’m really passionate about.”

Finally, he said, he wants to walk away healthy. That he is able to do that, he said, “is a testament after all the racing I’ve done and all the stupid stuff I’ve done in a race car; that is a true testament to NASCAR, to the tracks, to the people who have built my race cars, to my competitors, and to the drivers who have come before me who haven’t been so fortunate.”

There is risk, he acknowledged. It can be a dangerous and painful sport.

“I’m a sharp guy, and I want to be a sharp guy in 30 years,” he said. “So those risks are something that I want to minimize.”

Officially, his last victory came at Texas Motor Speedway in last year’s AAA Texas 500. It was his fourth win at the 1.5-mile track and guaranteed Edwards a berth in the Championship 4.


MORE: Edwards’ Texas win lands him spot in Miami finale

The Columbia, Missouri, native scored his first victories in 2005 in both the XFINITY and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, sweeping races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That same season, Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne also scored their first victories in the sanctioning body’s top series.

Edwards’ resume includes four wins at Bristol, three at Atlanta and two at Pocono, Michigan, Las Vegas, Homestead, Phoenix and Richmond. He scored single wins at Dover, Auto Club, Sonoma, Charlotte and Darlington in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

He also won the 2011 Sprint All-Star Race, a non-points event, at Charlotte.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Edwards steps away from NASCAR | Recap Suarez’s 2016

 

Daniel Suarez received a life-changing conference call from Coach Joe Gibbs during the offseason while he was having lunch with his girlfriend and family.

 

He stepped out to take the call — and did not return for 40 minutes.

 

When he finally reemerged, the 2016 XFINITY Series champion was wearing a huge smile and had a secret playing on his lips: He was going to drive the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2017. It came a little sooner than expected, but Carl Edwards‘ decision to leave full-time racing expedited the move.

 

MORE: Top quotes from Edwards, Suarez

 

"It was just an amazing moment," Suarez said at a press conference Wednesday on the team’s Huntersville, North Carolina, campus. "I wasn’t expecting that at all. I was actually already working with (XFINITY crew chief) Scott (Graves) and the amazing team that I had in 2016 in XFINITY to be ready to open 2017 the same way that we closed in ’16, winning races. And then this came out. Very, very happy for this opportunity."

 

WATCH: Suarez describes getting the news

 

The Mexican-born driver has certainly been one of the young stars on the rise in his short time on the circuit; Suarez cut his teeth in NASCAR’s Mexico Series and K&N Pro Series, moving to the United States in 2012 to pursue racing. He joined the Joe Gibbs Racing fleet in 2015 full-time, earning XFINITY Rookie of the Year honors that season.

 

The next year, Suarez nabbed his first win at Michigan International Speedway, beating out his mentor — and now JGR teammate — Kyle Busch in the final laps. After that came two more wins then a series championship.

 

Suarez’s timeline to NASCAR’s premier series has been rapid, and he becomes the first Mexican-born driver to race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. But "fast" is nothing new for him — after all, he does drive a race car.

 

"If you think about it, my entire career in NASCAR has been very fast," Suarez told NASCAR.com. "I started racing ovals when I was 17, 18 years old … I feel lucky to be with the right team and with good sponsors to help me. The last couple years I feel like I’ve learned a lot in the NASCAR XFINITY Series to help me make this transition as smooth as possible."

 

WATCH: Suarez’s impact in Mexico ‘unbelieveable’

 

Team owner Joe Gibbs also believes in Suarez’s XFINITY experience will serve him well in the top series.

 

"I think the preparation, the good thing about XFINITY, you’re racing against some Cup guys," Gibbs said. "It’s limited — many times, there’ll be five or six, but you’re getting matched up. In other words, his race that he won at Michigan, he beat Kyle (Busch) in that thing. So they have been racing against the Cup guys; I think that’s the good thing about XFINITY.

 

"Now there’s not 40 of them," he continued with a laugh. "So now you go from five or six to 40. I think it’s a big climb, a big jump, and so we’ve got to have patience, but we’re trying to surround him with everything it takes."

 

His surroundings include committed sponsors, top-notch equipment and cars — and of course, veteran teammates Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, whom Suarez has especially leaned on for knowledge.

 

Maybe a little too much.

 

"I told Daniel when he came on board, which I tell all the young guys, ‘Hey, go to the Cup guys, go to the Cup guys, develop a relationship, ask them," Gibbs said. "You be the one that goes forward. And in particular I told him to go to Kyle. 

 

"So after four weeks of this thing, Kyle told me, ‘He’s driving me crazy; he calls me about five times during the week,’ " Gibbs said with a smile. "I think Daniel is kind of the only one that went after that in the right way."

 

That’s Suarez: dedicated and "all over it," Gibbs said. It’s the type of attitude, combined with raw talent that bodes well for the young driver’s future in the sport.

 

That being said, the No. 19 team — led by veteran No. 19 crew chief Dave Rogers, who called the shots for Edwards last season — will aim to keep expectations reasonable for a rookie in the big leagues for the first time.

 

"You have to adapt," Rogers said. "With Carl, your expectation is to win 8-10 races … I think Daniel is the next superstar and I’m excited to work with him. That’s really unfair though, to ask Daniel to win 10 races — it’s just not reasonable. So I think we’ve got to be very methodical about our season.

 

"We want to win, we want to make the Chase, we want to go further in the Chase than you guys are going to give us credit for. We are hungry, we’re committed and we’re competitors. But the game plan to do that with a rookie has to be much different than the game plan to do that with a veteran and I think the more we understand that and accept that, the better opportunities we’re going to create for Daniel."

 

The No. 19 lightning-fast pit crew will also remain with Suarez, Rogers said.

 

"(When I told the team) I just said, ‘Hey guys, here’s the deal: Nothing changes.’ " Rogers said. "We’re going to change some vinyl above the door, we’re going to have a different driver — nothing else changes. We’re going to compete as hard as we can compete."

 

"That’s the great thing about this team. We were down-and-out at Martinsville (in 2016). We were done, Chase is over. We bounced back and won Texas. That’s the team. That same team is going to respond to Daniel."

 

Rogers’ speech was met with some fist pumps, some ‘Heck yeahs’ and ‘Let’s do this’ cheers. They’re ready for Suarez, part of the next generation of young drivers.

 

And he’s ready for them.

 

"We started all this dream 10 years ago with NASCAR, and right now to be in this position, to be in this opportunity is just something amazing for me." Suarez said. "… I know that it won’t be easy. We have a lot to work. I have a lot to learn. But I’m sure that it couldn’t happen in a better situation with Dave Rogers and the entire 19 group … I feel like it’s just a perfect place to be for a rookie like me that is really hungry to learn and to go out there and to perform well."

 

He looks to his shiny-new No. 19 Toyota Camry, his name printed above the door.

 

"I can’t wait to drive that car," he says with a smile. "… I wish I could take it to the street right now."

 

Posted on by Staff Report

WATCH: ‘Not saying the R-word’ | Reasons behind decision


The media center can be a tough place for drivers — or a place to celebrate. Reliving the key moments of a thrilling victory. Hard questions on hard days. 


Carl Edwards‘ decision to leave Joe Gibbs Racing and step aside from competing full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series brought a little of both at Wednesday’s press conference at the team’s shop.


And it was his own quote, published by NBC Sports’ Nate Ryan on Tuesday, that made Edwards choke up and tearfully whisper, "I just want to be a good person."


The quote from Ryan’s story was: "For me, the Midwestern mentality is pretty simple. It’s just do your job, do your work, be kind to people. Your reputation will follow. I’m really proud to be from Missouri."


It’s an accurate self-description, per the lauds from NASCAR writers and broadcasters heaped upon Edwards upon his exit. Here are some of the sentiments shared in print and online.


Tom Jensen of FOX Sports initially broke the story of Edwards’ imminent departure and wrote, "Whatever his next move, Edwards certainly has established an impressive body of work in NASCAR. He owes no one in the racing community anything, and his choice to step away — whether temporarily or permanently — that’s his right. And he’s exercised it. Good luck in the future, Carl. We’ll miss you." | Read more


Ryan added: "You always know what you will get in an interview with Carl Edwards — a professional take on whatever the question is, and answered with the measured intelligence and perspective of a man who once taught high school on the side." | Read more 


Bob Pockrass, ESPN: "(Edwards) likes his business to be handled neatly, and he believes any friction should be handled privately, leading to criticism that he wasn’t as genuine as other drivers. But that also has given him the persona as the ultimate professional publicly, and that is what has attracted fans and has allowed him to be a favorite of talk show hosts looking for a driver who can relate to fans and nonfans alike." | Read more


Jordan Bianchi, SB Nation: "As private as Edwards is, he is also among the more personable drivers in the garage. Any interview with him began with him removing his sunglasses so he could look the interviewee and camera straight in the eye. The gesture became such a trademark, sometimes other drivers would good-naturedly mock it." | Read more


The finish at Homestead repeatedly came up in conversations this week. One of the most illustrative moments in Carl Edwards‘ racing history was the way he left what may be his last race. After a heartbreaking wreck involving the No. 22 Team Penske car with 10 laps to go that cost him the 2016 NASCAR Chase championship, Edwards shook hands with Joey Logano‘s crew chief Todd Gordon and team members, rallied his own family and reached out to fans.


Jeff Gluck of USA Today told the tale on Nov. 20:


"On his way out of the garage, Edwards spotted one of his longtime fans. Rhianne Mitchell was standing silently nearby, with tears in her eyes. Edwards stopped in his tracks, turned around and returned to give her a hug. He pumped his fist at his loyal supporter, as if to try and pick up her spirits.


"This kind of exceptional conduct in the face of deep disappointment was something everyone in all walks of life should cherish. And NASCAR fans should certainly be proud Edwards is one of their own." | Read more


Lee Spencer of Motorsport.com reached farther back in her own memories to share a story that paints a picture of who Edwards was when he entered the sport, and who he remained. It occurred after Edwards’ victory in the 2004 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series opener at Daytona International Speedway.


"But it was after that Daytona win that Edwards would forever endear himself to this writer. After a typical, hectic Speedweeks, I was battling the flu and was forced to leave the track and follow the race on TV. Edwards was kind enough to call me from Victory Lane to offer fresh quotes for my story. Edwards’ graciousness was not lost on me." | Read more