"I always try to address it": When Carl Edwards shared his dad-inspired approach to calming animosity with NASCAR rivals

About a decade ago, former NASCAR driver Carl Edwards talked about how he deals with angry drivers after a race. The Columbia, Missouri, native joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015 and had big wins at the Coca-Cola 600 and Darlington Raceway. He made it to the playoffs and was eliminated from the Round of 8, finishing the season fifth in points.

During an interview with USA Today Sports in September 2015, Edwards explained that his dad taught him to apologize after messing up someone’s race.

"My dad taught me that if you screw up somebody else’s race and you didn’t mean to do it, you’ve got to go over there and tell them and explain to them it was an accident — whether they want to hear it or not," Edwards said.

"In the absence of an explanation, people are either going to assume it was on purpose or you don’t respect that you screwed up their day. So for me, I always try to address it. Some people are open to it right after a race and some people aren’t, and I respect that," he added.

Edwards started racing in NASCAR in the early 2000s and announced his retirement in January 2017. The 2007 Xfinity Series champion decided to leave the series after 12 full seasons. He had 28 wins with 220 top-10 finishes.

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"Not how the best way I wanted to spend my life" - Carl Edwards on early retirement

During the same interview in 2015, Carl Edwards was asked if he would give up his favorite hobby for a NASCAR championship and he revealed his new hobby would be.

"I can’t think of anything I wouldn’t trade hobby-wise for the championship. I don’t even know what my favorite hobby is, really. I’d probably give up most hobbies or all of them. Then my hobby would probably just be sitting around looking at my championship trophy," Carl Edwards said (via USA Today Sports).

However, two years later, he announced his retirement from NASCAR at 37 years old and stated family and health as reasons. Edwards looked back on his decision in June 2024 and said:

"Obviously, I did it because I didn't think that was, at that time, that's not how the best way I wanted to spend my life. I wanted to focus on my family and go do all of these things outside of the sport." (via Forbes)

Edwards had lost the 2016 Cup Series championship to a tiebreaker with Tony Stewart. He won three races and finished that season 4th in the final driver standings.

Carl Edwards will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame this year.