Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: NASCAR Nation reacts to Edwards’ announcement

 

Carl Edwards walked onto the stage all alone at the Joe Gibbs Racing shop Wednesday morning then briefly took the fixed microphone into his hand and began interacting — smiling and joking — with the large crowd gathered to hear this popular driver’s big news.

 

After putting his audience at ease, Edwards delivered one of the most stunning announcements in recent NASCAR history. This fantastically talented, fiercely driven 37-year-old championship contender is stepping away from NASCAR competition — effectively immediately, a little more than a month before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500.

 

As other NASCAR greats Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart have done in the past two years, Edwards was also careful to reiterate he was not "retiring" — and went so far as to leave the door open to NASCAR competition should the right situation arise.

 

Still, Edwards’ decision not to compete is both gripping and grappling.

 

Edwards is in the prime of his career, seven weeks removed from coming within a few laps of securing his first premier series title. So to quite suddenly announce he is climbing out of the car is relatively unprecedented. No one saw this coming.


RELATED: Lasting image of Edwards is all class

 

He has certainly not "aged out," assuring the masses Wednesday that he is not injured. And although the well-spoken Edwards said he’s absolutely open to doing some television work, NASCAR’s broadcast partners were as stunned with his news as everyone else. They say no plans currently exist to use him on air. Yet.

 

Edwards reiterated frequently that he has no formal "Plan B" after hanging up his helmet, saying only, "I’m not sure and that’s OK."

 

He confirmed politics was something he was interested in, reminding us that he enjoys driving tractors on his Missouri property and stressed that family is his No. 1 priority.

 

The former substitute teacher-turned-NASCAR star gave the gathered press three distinct reasons for stepping away.

 

First, he said, he was absolutely satisfied with his career, insisting "I don’t race just for the trophies."

 

Secondly, he said he wanted to "devote time to the people and things that are important to me, things I’m passionate about," such as his family (his wife, Katherine, and young children, Anne and Michael).

 

And third, he said, "I can stand here healthy," — insisting this move is not a result of injury but of introspection.

 

His team owner Joe Gibbs said he was as surprised by Edwards’ decision as anyone.

 

"Honestly, it was a total shock," Gibbs said. "I could really tell in his face that it was something he’d really thought about, but he was kind of emotional and it was something he really felt like he needed to do. So I sat there and looked at him and said let’s take some time here because if we start down this path, there’s not a turning back on this. When you start visiting sponsors and stuff, it’s going to be huge.

 

"We did that. We spent four days, but I could tell. I think Carl’s very much — out of anybody in our NASCAR world — he’s his own man, and you could tell he’d thought through it."

 

Throughout Wednesday’s nearly 35-minute press conference, Edwards quoted the movie Forrest Gump, dropped sponsor references and thanked a literal lifetime of people from his earliest supporters in the Midwest to his current Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.


MORE: Edwards’ 2016 season in review

 

Most touching, an emotional Edwards had to step back from the podium at one point when asked about how he thinks he will be remembered. He wiped away tears as his voice cracked, finally offering up a joke while composing himself.

 

His absolute sincerity throughout was both telling and compelling. Edwards was at ease — introspective and wide-open at varying times.

 

"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," Edwards said of his 15 total years of NASCAR competition.


"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."

 

As he should be — Edwards‘ is a popular and admirable tale of determination and grit, earning entry into the NASCAR garage by working on a truck series team before getting the chance to drive himself. And he wasted no time making good.

 

Edwards won six times in the Camping World Truck Series and 38 times in the XFINITY Series, including the 2007 championship sandwiched among four championship runner-up years.

 

His ascension in the Cup ranks — first driving for Jack Roush and then Gibbs — included 28 wins highlighted by an amazing nine-win 2008 season when he finished runner-up in the championship. He lost the 2011 Cup title in a heart-wrenching tiebreaker with Tony Stewart and this year led 47 laps and was challenging for the trophy when he crashed out in the season finale, nine laps from the checkered flag.


WATCH: Classy Edwards takes blame for Homestead wreck

 

"This is the same way people looked at me 20 years ago when I said, ‘Hey, I’m going to drive a race car for a living,’ like, you’re crazy," Edwards recalled. "Literally, people laughed at me. 

 

"But that same way of thinking applies now. I really believe this is the right thing. It’s a personal thing. I feel strongly about it. I’m very confident in it.

 

"I’m sure it’s the right direction for my life."

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Edwards steps away from racing, Suarez to wheel No. 19

On Wednesday, Jan. 11 Carl Edwards announced he was stepping down from Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition. Joe Gibbs Racing revealed that 2016 XFINITY Series champion Daniel Suarez would wheel Edwards’ No. 19 Toyota Camry in NASCAR’s top series. Here’s a step-by-step account of the breaking news, and its impact, with the most recent stories at the top. 

Where could Suarez win first?
Pat DeCola breaks down the numbers to assess where Daniel Suarez may grab his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win. | Full story

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR executives and team owners stood together on Feb. 9, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina, to announce a landmark long-term agreement on an owner Charter system.

The agreement provided teams with an increased business certainty and the ability to work more closely with NASCAR to continue to produce best-in-class racing.

Below are fast facts about the comprehensive agreement.

• This was announced in 2016 as a long-term agreement. Earlier this year, NASCAR President Steve Phelps announced an extension of the Charter system through 2024. “The Charter agreement is delivering stability and long-term value to existing team owners while providing a clear path for ownership in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Phelps said.  ” … A healthy ownership structure ensures strong, competitive racing for our fans, which is a goal the industry collectively shares.”

• There are 36 Charter teams. The number 36 was not pre-determined — back in 2016, NASCAR analyzed which teams showed a long-term commitment to the sport by attempting to qualify every week for the past three years. That criteria yielded 36 Charters. 

• A Charter guarantees entry (and therefore, a portion of the purse) into the field of every NASCAR Cup Series points race.

• Teams may sell their Charters on the open market.

• Charter owners may transfer their Charter to another team, for one full season, once over the first five years of the agreement.

• Charter teams are held to a minimum performance standard. If a Charter team finishes in the bottom three of the owner standings among all 36 Charter teams for three consecutive years, NASCAR has a right to remove the charter.

• Organizations now have a hard cap of four cars; there no longer is a the ability to run a fifth car for rookie drivers.

• NASCAR Cup Series fields consist of 40 cars — a change made, from 43 cars previously, when the Charter system was initially announced. That means 36 Charter teams are guaranteed to make every points race, and four non-Charter (or “open”) teams will complete the rest of the field.

 

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Clemson took down perennial powerhouse Alabama on Monday night in the College Football Playoff national championship game in stunning fashion, defeating the Crimson Tide 35-31.


Drivers across NASCAR were paying attention, and took to Twitter to offer their thoughts on an instant classic.


Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Learn more about the Class of 2017
MORE: Photos from Voting Day

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As one of early stock car racing’s most successful car owners, it is appropriate that Raymond Parks captured the first two championships offered by the fledgling National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, an organization Parks helped form in 1947.


Parks and his driver, Red Byron, won NASCAR’s modified title in 1948. The pair, along with mechanic Red Vogt, became the sanctioning body’s 1949 Strictly Stock champions — the initial season of what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.


The Dawson County, Georgia, native and his racing team were gone from NASCAR after 1955, winning just twice. But Parks, who died in 2010 at the age of 96, was seen as one of the sport’s seminal figures and a visionary.


"He set the standard. Mr. Parks brought the sport class," said NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty in a speedwaymedia.com interview shortly after Parks’ death. "It took people like Mr. Parks to lay the foundation we’re living off of.


"And without him, we wouldn’t have the history we have and we wouldn’t be where we are today."


Parks’ contributions will be celebrated Jan. 20 in Charlotte, North Carolina, when he will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN). His fellow inductees among the Hall’s Class of 2017 are Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Mark Martin and Benny Parsons.


Parks was born in the north Georgia mountains in 1914, the eldest of his father’s 16 children. By age 14, Parks had run away from home, landing in Atlanta where he worked at a still and later went into business for himself, bringing liquor from Dawsonville to Atlanta restaurants. He later branched out into legitimate enterprises supplying businesses with vending machines and jukeboxes.


"He always kept his dignity and his kindness, always behaved more like one of Atlanta’s most sophisticated businessmen, always was dapper in his finest hats and tailored suits," wrote Ed Hinton for ESPN.com in June 2010, shortly after Parks’ passing.


In the 1930s, Parks added stock car racing to his resume, fielding some of the region’s fastest cars with a driver’s roster that included Byron, Lloyd Seay, Roy Hall, Bob and Fonty Flock and NASCAR Hall of Famer Curtis Turner. He was instantly visible at the track, always dressed in wool suit, tie and fedora hat.


A famous photograph shows Park changing tires on one of his cars during the inaugural Southern 500 at Darlington, South Carolina, still wearing his white shirt and tie.


Parks served with the U.S. Army’s 99th Infantry Division during World War II, fighting in the 1944-45 Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. Returning home, Parks resumed racing, frequently fielding two and three cars. His team won all five Daytona Beach beach-road course races in 1945 and 1946.


"He came back with a vengeance, more determined to do and accomplish things he felt like he already should have done," said Ray Fox, a master mechanic, engine builder and NASCAR official.


Parks was among some three dozen racing figures who gathered in December 1947 at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach to create NASCAR, under direction of fellow driver and race promoter William "Big Bill" France.


Like France, Parks believed that a rough and tumble, frequently disorganized activity could become a nationally recognized sport like baseball or football. Parks financially supported the organization during its early years and boosted NASCAR’s image apart from jalopy racing.


"He kept his cars clean and neat like they do today," said NASCAR Hall of Famer Glen Wood in 2010. "The rest of us just kind of beat them out if they got banged up. He would have still been around today if he had kept on until the factories got into it.


"He opened a lot of doors and windows to how to do things and taught a lot of racers how to do it better."


Fellow NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Junior Johnson concurred.


"Anywhere he showed up, he had the best cars," said Johnson in the ESPN.com obituary. "He’s been an asset (to the sport) all his life to it."


Parks left NASCAR to become a successful developer and owner of service stations and convenience stores.


Parks was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009. He also was part of the inaugural class inducted into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Click here to bookmark the live-stream link

 

Joe Gibbs Racing will hold two separate news conferences starting at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, from its headquarters in Huntersville, North Carolina.

 

Both press conferences will be live-streamed on NASCAR.com. Check back tomorrow to watch the events and for full coverage.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: See all of last year’s paint schemes

 

DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA (Jan. 10, 2017) — It’s now official! Darlington Raceway and its Labor Day race weekend are now being recognized as “The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR."

 

The designation ensures that the official historical celebration of the sport will continue to take place at the famed 1.366-mile superspeedway in Darlington, South Carolina.

 

"We have worked closely with NASCAR to ensure that Darlington Raceway now has the exclusive rights to the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR for promotions and advertising of our event," said Kerry Tharp, Darlington Raceway president. "Our return to Labor Day weekend, coupled with the Throwback theme has elevated our event across the entire sport and this move only solidifies that among our fans, race teams, sponsors, broadcast partners and media, among others."

 

The track’s award-winning throwback campaign has earned rave reviews throughout the industry since its inception in 2015. The campaign has aligned all key stakeholders in the sport and provided a historical celebration that has earned much praise from fans and corporate partners.

 

It was because of this collaboration over the past two seasons that NASCAR recognized the importance of the track’s throwback weekend and in turn will now celebrate The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR at the sport’s original paved superspeedway, which opened and began hosting NASCAR events in 1950.

 

The track’s 2016 throwback campaign last season featured a celebration of 1975-84 including the following highlights:

 

• Over 35 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race teams competed with throwback paint schemes for the Bojangles’ Southern 500, the most in any single NASCAR event in the sport’s history.

 

• Over 18 NASCAR XFINITY Series teams competed with throwback paint schemes.

 

• Use of NASCAR’s famed "NASCAR International" logo for the second consecutive year.

 

• For the second straight year, Goodyear put the original white lettering on its race tires specifically for the Bojangles’ Southern 500.

 

• NBC did another throwback broadcast of the race featuring old station logos and graphics. NASCAR legends Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett and Dale Jarrett did a special throwback broadcast during the race for the second straight year.

 

• Honored 14 NASCAR Hall of Fame members at the Bojangles’ Legends Breakfast.

 

• 2017 NHOF inductees Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress and Mark Martin served as the Bojangles’ Southern 500 grand marshals.

 

• Unique food offerings from the 1975-84 time period, including the pimento cheese sandwich.

 

• Pre-race concert by rock legends KANSAS and national anthem performance by Barry Williams (of Brady Bunch fame).

 

The Tradition Continues on Labor Day weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500® is set for Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017. The NASCAR XFINITY Series VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 will race on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017. You can keep up with all of the latest news from Darlington Raceway at DarlingtonRaceway.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DarlingtonRaceway and on Twitter at Twitter.com/TooToughToTame.

Posted on by Staff Report

TUNE IN: JGR press conference, 10 a.m. ET Wednesday

 

Carl Edwards will step out of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and the team will put reigning NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Daniel Suarez in the car, according to multiple reports.

 

FOXSports.com initially reported the news.

 

Joe Gibbs Racing has scheduled a press conference for Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET. The event will be live-streamed on NASCAR.com.

 

RELATED: Carl Edwards’ 2016 season in review

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Changes for 2017 NASCAR season

 

HUNTERSVILLE, NC — Chris Larsen and Stewart Friesen have announced the formation of Halmar Friesen Racing (HFR). HFR will compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) running a full schedule for 2017 with Friesen as the driver. Halmar International will serve as primary sponsor on the No. 52 Chevrolet Silverado.


Managing the day-to-day operations of HFR will be NASCAR veteran Tommy Baldwin Jr.

 

Friesen, a native of Niagara-on-the-Lake Ontario, is a well decorated Modified and Sprint Car competitor. Making his NCWTS debut in 2016 at Eldora Speedway, Friesen ran a six-race schedule with a best finish of 13th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.


“I’m super excited to be part of the Halmar Friesen Racing team,”said Friesen. “We did a bit of racing last year to get our feet wet on asphalt, and we were pleased with our success. Everything we have going on with Tommy is exciting. It’s great to have his experience guiding our team so we can hit the ground running in Daytona.”


Friesen’s crew chief will be Trip Bruce, who most recently worked with Baldwin in the K&N Pro Series East. Bruce has a championship with driver Johnny Benson and a total of ten wins in the NCWTS.


Larsen, owner of Halmar International, said of the new venture with Friesen, “We got our feet wet at Eldora last season mostly because we wanted to have some fun. After that, we ran several more races to get a sense of where we were. When an opportunity came to work with Tommy (Baldwin) and it was a no brainer for us. Because of the relationship with Tommy we have committed to running the whole season. We know we will be prepared, we have good equipment and a great driver.”

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full 2017 schedule

The start of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season is more than one month away but four competitors will be back behind the wheel much sooner.


Jamie McMurray (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates No. 1 Chevrolet), Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet), Joey Logano (Team Penske No. 22 Ford) and Matt Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota) are scheduled to take part in the season’s first Goodyear tire test Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 10-11 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.


The test will mark the first time that the new Toyota Camry, which was unveiled on Monday at the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit, will be on track. Kenseth will be the first Toyota driver to take to the track in the new race car.

RELATED: New-look Toyota Camry unveiled

Las Vegas, a 1.5-mile tri-oval, will host the season’s third points race, the Kobalt 400, Sunday, March 12 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Ford for Team Penske, is the defending race winner.


The 2017 racing season officially gets underway Feb. 18 with the running of The Clash (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), a non-points event at Daytona International Speedway. The first points event, the Daytona 500, is scheduled for Feb. 26 (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Format set for ‘The Clash’ | Bowman to run in non-points event


The two-day Las Vegas tire test is the first of seven on the 2017 schedule. Other Goodyear tire tests for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams are on tap for Michigan International Speedway (April 4-5), Indianapolis Motor Speedway (April 25-26), Kentucky Speedway (May 9-10), Chicagoland Speedway (June 6-7) and Atlanta Motor Speedway (Aug. 8-9).


All are for 2017 races with the exception of AMS, which will be focused on 2018. Track officials there recently announced that the 1.54-mile track will be repaved following this year’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (March 5, 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).


NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams will participate in a Goodyear tire test at Eldora Speedway May 16-17. Eldora is the only dirt track hosting a race among NASCAR’s three national series.


Also, with news of a repaving and reconfiguration at Texas Motor Speedway, Goodyear could add a test there as well.

RELATED: Texas set for major track project


The season’s first organizational test, open to all but limited to one team per organization, will take place at Phoenix International Raceway Jan. 31-Feb. 1. Additional organizational tests for the series are scheduled for May 30-31 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Aug. 15-16 at Chicagoland Speedway, Oct. 10-11 at Martinsville Speedway and Oct. 24-25 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.


An organizational test for NASCAR XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series teams is set for Charlotte Motor Speedway May 2.


One change of note in the 2017 testing schedule is the addition of separate tests for the manufacturers’ wheel force transducer (WFT) cars. The vehicles, provided by teams and fitted with various data-gathering devices, were previously allowed for each organizational and Goodyear tire test.


NASCAR will also hold a two-day test April 11-12 at Daytona, using the first day to sort through potential safety/competition initiatives while Goodyear is expected to conduct a tire test with any potential changes on the second day.


The 2017 season will be the third in which team testing is limited to participation in Goodyear tire tests, organizational tests or any developmental-type tests set by the sanctioning body.


Private team testing has been prohibited since the start of the 2015 season.