Guilty Carl Edwards admits he ended his NASCAR career “abruptly”
NASCAR Hall of Famer Carl Edwards shared his feelings about feeling guilty about ending his racing career suddenly in 2017.
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Carl Edwards (Via On3)
Carl Edwards is one of the greatest drivers of his generation and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2025. His short, but accomplished career came to abrupt end ahead of the 2017 season when he announced that he will not race after missing out on the 2016 championship under controversial circumstances.
He has been leading a private retirement life with limited interaction with the racing community. But since he was added to the list of 75 greatest driver of NASCAR history, Carl Edwards has been more open to showing up to NASCAR events. In a recent interview, he admitted that he regrets not leaving the sport in a gracious way from the sport, though he doesn’t dislike the decision to quit.
I don’t regret leaving. I could have probably done it better. I wasn’t good at it. I never even considered doing something like that. So, if I had to do it over again, I probably could have done it in a more gracious way.
Carl Edwards said via The Athletic.
He admitted that he feels guilty about leaving the sport in the manner he did as he believes his action were unfair towards the sports. Edwards also highlighted how much respect he got when he returned, despite of his actions.
I really thought that because I left so abruptly, I felt a little bit of guilt around that. And I felt like it was totally fair for the sport to hold that against me and keep me at a distance. So, I never imagined they would welcome me in this way.
Carl Edwards added.
Carl Edwards is overwhelmed by the acceptance of NASCAR community
The welcomed feelings he got on the return, helped Edwards to really understand what NASCAR family really means and admitted that he felt strange that the racing community welcoming him back with honor. He admitted that this feeling is unbelievable and overwhelming.
It’s the first time I really felt like I understood what the NASCAR family is. It’s so strange for NASCAR to invite me back like this with this honor after I walked away eight years ago… It’s unbelievable the level of acceptance and love and respect for me and all that. It’s just been overwhelming.
Carl Edwards said.
The comment from Edwards shows how much they cherish the respect he gets from the racing community. It would be interesting to see if he is going to expand his return to NASCAR with more appearances and maybe even a race entry.
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Justin P Joy
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