CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 07: NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Carl Edwards poses for a photo … [+]
If you were designing the prototype of a NASCAR driver, Carl Edwards would be about as far off the mark as a vegan at a Texas barbecue. He’s not from the Deep South, and his family tree doesn’t have any stock car racing royalty hanging from its branches. No, Edwards hails from Missouri—a state more famous for giving us Mark Twain than it is for producing the next Richard Petty.
And yet, against all odds, he muscled his way into NASCAR’s elite, carving out a name for himself just like the Pettys, Earnhardts, and Gordons before him. Sure, he didn’t stack up quite the same mountain of wins and championships, but what he did build was a career that earned him an army of loyal fans and the unwavering respect of his competitors.
And for the record not one of those names ever thought about doing a backflip from the drivers side car window after a win.
With a jawline sharp enough to cut sheet metal and a physique that suggests he could bench press a Next Gen car, Edwards always looked more like an action hero than a race car driver. And he always had that trademark grin, as if he knew a secret the rest of us didn’t.
Turns out maybe he did.
Because while some drivers struggle and fade into the background or cling desperately to the sport after retirement, Edwards executed the perfect Irish goodbye—walking away at the end of 2016 at the top of his game and disappearing into a life most people would trade their best set of Goodyears for. His wife is a practicing doctor, his kids, now nearing the cusp of adulthood, got the school run treatment from Dad himself. Now he spends his time flying his own plane, climbing mountains in Africa, and just being happy.
It’s a life with no sponsors to please, no endless travel, no 200-mph headaches—just a life of quiet satisfaction. But it’s also a life away from the spotlight, and until last year very little had been seen, or heard, from Carl Edwards. But in NASCAR’s 75 anniversary year he was named as one of its 75 greatest drivers. Suddenly he reappeared, showing up at Darlington Raceway. There he was, a seemingly ageless Carl Edwards still fit as ever looking as though he could jump right back into a car and battle it out.
But, of course, he won’t. And why should he?
Edwards was enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame Friday. His name will now forever be displayed alongside the Pettys, Earnhardts, and Gordons. Sure, we may still see him on occasion around the sport but expect to see very little of the husband/dad/pilot/mountain climber.
Regrets? To steal a line from old blue eyes, Edwards admits he’s had a few.
“I thought I was truly turning my back on this whole sport,” Edwards said during his enshrinement speech. “I thought I was making a choice between this sport and my family, and you know, every prize has its price and for me the prize of my family was worth that price.”
However, he added that he felt remorse as time passed. Perhaps by making the choice to leave it all behind that maybe, when he returned to Darlington last year, he would be shunned. “I was scared to come back,” he admitted. “I was scared you guys wouldn’t accept me…scared that I just pissed everybody off.”
Instead, he found that he was a winner in NASCAR once again.
“The way you received me was unbelievable… I didn’t give up something for my family. I realized through all this that I’ve gained a family.”
Friday night was all about gratitude for Carl Edwards. As he reflected on his racing career, he said he wanted to recognize all those people who helped him along the way. From his parents, his wife, team owners, crew chiefs, and fans he said he’s grateful for them all.
Yes, his fast-paced part of his life ended in 2016, and he simply wanted to live the life that means more than a checkered flag ever will. He’s been doing those things in life that no one else can do for him: being the best father, and husband he can be. However, almost two years ago, he had an epiphany—one that would change his perspective on everything.
Carl Edwards and his family on the red carpet prior to his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on … [+]
“I realized probably the most revelatory thing in my entire life,” he said. “It changed everything for me. I realized that all that time in the car. All that time in the shop. All the people that love me, cared about me and helped me; my friends, my family, the amazing opportunities, all these miracles. OK, that I wasn’t alone. That God is real. God was beside me.”
And it was that revelation that has now allowed him to come full circle. It was the missing piece from his life, the reconciliation needed to continue his journey. A journey through life only made possible by those who have helped him along the way.
“You don’t know how perfect the timing is that you invited me back here,” he said. “Because you guys, for this one person, right, I’m just one guy, you were the signposts. You were the echoes of sound. That showed me that…you didn’t just give me racing, you gave me an amazing life.”
Carl Edwards, now officially a NASCAR Hall of Famer came back. Returning with humility, gratitude and more courage than it takes to push a car at 200-mph on a superspeedway.
Perhaps, in the end, Carl Edwards unknowingly followed the wisdom of his fellow Missourian, Mark Twain, who once wrote: “With courage, you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity.”
