NASCAR expert delivers a hot take on Carl Edwards explaining his sudden exit from the sport

Senior writer for ESPN, Ryan McGee, has offered his take on Carl Edwards’ untimely exit from NASCAR. Edwards recently appeared on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, where the NASCAR Hall of Famer circled out the main reason behind his sudden retirement.

Over 13 years of competing in NASCAR’s premier series, Edwards amassed 72 victories, 28 of which were in the Cup Series. He won crown jewel races as well, like the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500, both in 2015.

Despite the array of accolades, the veteran racer stepped into retirement in 2017. With races scheduled for every weekend, running full-time in NASCAR is indeed a hectic job. Edwards wanted to spend more time with his family and be a 'good' father and a 'good' husband. So he quit.

However, his fans were not happy with the decision. Speaking about this, Edwards told Dale Earnhardt Jr. (via Dirty Mo Media's X handle):

“It was so strange and I felt embarrassed about telling people, 'Well, really I'm trying to be a good dad. I'm trying to be a good husband.' I mean, they would look at me like, I mean, okay...” (0:37)

McGee understood why Edwards left despite being one of the most competitive drivers in the sport. He shared Edwards’ interview with Dale Jr. on X and wrote:

“This is a couple of hours well spent. We've been waiting a long time for Carl to expound on his decision to walk away. Here it is. And it's better than we could have expected.”

That said, Carl Edwards is returning to NASCAR, albeit in a new role. He will join Amazon Prime’s broadcast team as a pre and post-race analyst in 2025.

Carl Edwards lets his feelings known about his upcoming stint with Amazon Prime

Carl Edwards is excited to join Amazon Prime’s broadcast team for five Cup Series races this season, as a part of their new media deal with NASCAR. This new opportunity will allow him to share with the fans exactly what goes on inside the head of a driver while racing.

During an interview with Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, Edwards said:

“The thing I’m excited about, and I feel like I can hopefully accomplish, is to get to talk a little bit about — especially since I’m not competing anymore, I got nothing to hide — there’s no trade secrets I don’t want to talk about. I want to share with the fans what might be going on inside of that helmet, inside of that car.”

Carl Edwards will be joined by hosts Danielle Trotta and Corey LaJoie. Also joining the roster is play-by-play announcer Adam Alexander, and race analysts Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The pit reporting team will include Kim Coon, Marty Snider, and 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne.

“I want to ask the drivers, before, after, maybe away from the track, ‘What’s going on? What is really driving you? What are your fears? What are your hopes? What are the difficulties? What are the things that you’re so good at that maybe aren’t obvious for someone just watching the racing?’” Edwards added.

Carl Edwards will be heard from the booth during this year’s running of the Coca-Cola 600. The race is scheduled for May 25. Fans can watch the event from 6 pm ET onwards or listen to radio updates on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.