“He just got me boiling inside”: Carl Edwards tells Dale Jr. about Matt Kenseth’s hilarious ‘fake-punch-flinch’ story

Carl Edwards recently recalled a heated yet hilarious moment with Matt Kenseth on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, narrating the backstory of their infamous "fake-punch-flinch" incident from 2007. He said his former teammate Kenseth had a knack for getting under his skin without crossing the line.

Carl Edwards told Dale Earnhardt Jr. he couldn’t recall exactly what set him off but he just knew he was furious after the Nextel Cup race at Martinsville Speedway.

Elaborating on the incident, Edwards said he stormed into the team hauler and vented at his crew chief, Bob Osborne. Half-jokingly, Osborne told him to punch Kenseth in the face. A fired-up Edwards took it seriously. He walked down pit road and spotted Kenseth mid-interview. In the heat of the moment, he went to confront him and faked a punch.

Looking back, Edwards said it was a "dumb" move. He even laughed about Osborne’s reaction afterward.

Edwards said (via Dirty Mo Media's X handle):

“He just got me boiling inside and after that race, I remember, walking in the hauler and Bob Osborne’s going to kill me for saying this but, I was so pi**ed, I was like, 'Frickin Matt again,' I don’t know what he did, or didn’t do, but I was mad and I said, 'Damn, I don’t know what to do,' and Bob said, 'I’d punch him in the face,' and I thought oh that’s a great idea.”

He added:

“And so, I walked down, and sure enough, you know, there it is, you know the Lord puts Matt right there I’m going to hop over the wall and he’s doing an interview and I thought now’s a good time, and I thought I’m going to punch him in the face and then I was so stupid, and then I realized, 'I don’t really wanna punch this guy in the face, that’s dumb,' and it was awful. Bob Osborne’s like, 'Hey man I was joking around, that was the dumbest thing you could’ve done.'”

Edwards and Kenseth were teammates for years. From 2006 to 2012, they raced together under Roush Fenway Racing. After that, both drivers landed at Joe Gibbs Racing — Kenseth in 2013 and Edwards in 2015. They shared the garage again, alongside Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Carl Edwards retired from full-time racing in 2016, while Kenseth followed in 2020.

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Carl Edwards' new role, back to NASCAR, but from the studio

Though Carl Edwards stepped away from racing, he recently made a comeback — not behind the wheel, but behind the microphone. He has joined Amazon Prime Video’s NASCAR coverage team as a pre and post-race studio analyst.

Carl Edwards shared with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that he never planned to return to the sport in this way. For years, he turned down offers to be on TV. But when Amazon pitched a five-race package that fit his schedule and allowed him more time with his family, he reconsidered.

The coverage starts with the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25 and includes races at Nashville, Michigan, Pocono, and Mexico City.

"It’s not about suits and ties and sitting there talking about numbers,” Edwards said (via SiriusXM NASCAR Radio's X handle). “They just said, 'Hey, we want to have some fun. We want to go to races, but the fans enjoy it.' And so that day getting to spend with them, it just felt right."

Carl Edwards will join host Danielle Trotta and current Cup Series driver Corey LaJoie in the studio for Amazon Prime’s NASCAR coverage. Meanwhile, fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. will handle commentary from the broadcast booth alongside Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte and seasoned lap-by-lap announcer Adam Alexander.