HMS star William Byron drops three-word verdict to Carl Edwards’ remarkable NASCAR Hall of Fame speech

NASCAR driver William Byron had a short and emotional reaction to Carl Edwards’ NASCAR Hall of Fame speech. Edwards was honored on Friday night in Charlotte alongside Ricky Rudd and the late Ralph Moody.

The Missouri native retired from NASCAR after the 2016 season at 37. Edwards stepped away unexpectedly and cited his family as one of the reasons. During the Hall of Fame ceremony, Edwards' mother Nancy Sterling introduced him before he spoke for over 20 minutes.

Hendrick Motorsports' Byron replied to his touching speech on X and wrote:

"Chills. Great speech."

Carl Edwards started racing in the Truck Series in the early 2000s and earned his spot in one of NASCAR’s top teams - Roush Racing. He won the Truck Series Rookie of the Year in 2003 and moved up to the Cup Series full-time in 2005.

"I just pissed everybody off. And the way you received me was unbelievable. So I didn't give up something for my family. I realize through all this, I've gained a family. I know what the NASCAR family is now. It's the craziest thing. Thank you for giving me that," Carl Edwards said in his speech (00:44 onwards).

Edwards drove for Jack Roush's team for 11 years and won the Xfinity Series championship in 2007 before joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015. Surprisingly, he announced his retirement in January 2017 and left with 28 wins and 220 top-10s over 13 years in the Cup Series.

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"I was blown away. I was shocked" - Carl Edwards on NASCAR's warm welcome

Carl Edwards was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023. During his speech, the 45-year-old also mentioned his uncertainty about how fans would react to his return to Darlington Raceway two years ago.

"When I got invited back to Darlington, I was really nervous to go. You can ask my wife. I just didn’t know the reception. And I was blown away. I was shocked. I remember when we did the introduction, I was waiting to hear what the crowd would do, and they cheered. And I told Dale (Earnhardt) Jr., oh my gosh. He said, 'Dude! We miss you!' You don’t know how much it means to me," Edwards said via NASCAR.

Edwards' last Cup Series season ended with a crash into the wall. During the season finale race at Homestead-Miami in 2016, Edwards was leading but Joey Logano made contact with his No. 19 Toyota after a restart. Jimmie Johnson ended up winning the title that year.

Two-time Cup championship runner-up Edwards also lost the title to Tony Stewart in a tie-breaker in 2011. He won 72 races in NASCAR’s top three series, including big ones like the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.