Kenny Wallace paints crystal clear picture of how Carl Edwards' wife Katherine "grounded" the NASCAR Hall of Famer

Kenny Wallace has made a clear case about Carl Edwards' wife Katherine's career that has "grounded" her husband. This comes after the NASCAR Hall of Famer's speech during the induction ceremony, wherein he reflected on his abrupt NASCAR exit, expressing gratitude to everyone involved in making him a championship-caliber driver

Edwards has a decorated resume, boasting 28 Cup Series race wins including two crown jewel races -the 2015 Coca-Cola 600 and the 2015 Southern 500. He scored multiple podiums in the season-end NASCAR rankings, however, he could never claim the elusive title.

The 45-year-old's final title shot came during the 2016 Homestead-Miami race when he lost the fierce battle to Joey Logano, the other title contender. Both fought for the lead but Edwards' #19 JGR Toyota crashed and so did the Hall of Famer's dreams of etching his name as a champion.

Furthermore, Edwards was infamous for not being the one to make friends with whom he locked horns. However, eight years after his abrupt exit, the Missouri native delivered an emotional speech, "apologizing" for his bitterness and showcasing gratitude to those who backed him.

That said, former driver Kenny Wallace praised Edwards for his speech, outlining how Katherine, a Doctor in medicine and a rehabilitation specialist, through her respected career, grounded Edwards, resulting in the said change of the NASCAR Hall of Famer's mindset.

"She's not somebody to be screwed with, have you noticed, Carl Edwards' wife, she never did that NASCAR thing...she's not prancing up and down the pit road with the diamond ring on and the hair did. She has her own career and I think that grounded Carl," Wallace said (7:38).

"So he was very thankful to everybody now, and basically it was an apology speech. He said, 'I was the worst teammate,' and he took this speech to make a wrong a right...so congratulations for finally finding peace in your life," he added.

It's worth mentioning that despite Carl Edwards' denial, many speculate he left the sport because of the taxing disappointment of another championship slip.

What Carl Edwards said about why he exited NASCAR during his prime

Even though Carl Edwards didn't have the championship, 2016 was one of his prime seasons. He bagged three wins and was in contention for a title until his ultimate race at Homestead, where he lost the potential trophy, finishing fourth in the standings.

However, with the previous two attempts that left a scar on his resume, the burden of another failure only put salt on the wounds. The first setback came during the 2008 season when he lost to Jimmie Johnson despite winning the race, courtesy of the chase system. Then in 2011, Tony Stewart defeated Edwards in a tiebreaker, resulting in another unwanted feat for the latter.

Thus, when he abruptly announced his retirement, it was anticipated that failure instigated Edwards to step back. However, he clarified that he left the sport because it's "risky."

“For me, I really feel racing is a risky sport. There’s risk involved, and if I’m not committed 100%, I don’t feel that it’s the right thing for me to go do for fun,” Edwards said via NASCAR.

"But I’ll tell you this, if it creeps in and it’s something we wanna go do, then I promise you I’ll give it a 100%. I’ll do the best I can. But right now, no, I’m not planning anything," he added.

In addition to Carl Edwards, Ricky Rudd, and Ralph Moody were the other former NASCAR drivers to receive the Hall of Fame honors.