NASCAR reporter in awe of Carl Edwards' bold claim on Dale Jr. Download

Carl Edwards was recently a guest on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s podcast "Dale Jr. Download" in what was a tell-all interview to remember. The Missouri native covered many of his shortcomings in Cup championship battles and made comments on NASCAR throwing cautions in the 2016 title race at Homestead.

The former driver of the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota made it known that he believes NASCAR will throw cautions, such as the one that came out with 15 laps to go in the 2016 Homestead race, to make things more entertaining. Edwards was leading the championship battle at the time of the caution. It set up a restart that saw Edwards collide with Joey Logano and crash into the inside wall in a violent accident that drained his title hopes.

Edwards' comments about cautions caught the attention of ESPN analyst and former longtime NASCAR journalist Marty Smith. The insider took to X to make his feelings known on the Edwards interview, writing:

"Carl Edwards with quite a statement on Dale Jr Download podcast, telling @DaleJr in regards to the 2016 NASCAR Cup championship finale: “I know NASCAR was throwing those cautions to make it more exciting. That’s a fact.” Just catching up on this interview. It’s fantastic."

The 2016 Ford Ecoboost 400 at Homestead would be Edwards' final race in NASCAR. Ahead of the 2017 season, Edwards unexpectedly announced his retirement from full-time NASCAR competition. He competed with JGR for the last two seasons of his career, winning five races with the organization.

Edwards spent the bulk of his career with Roush Fenway Racing, now known as Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. He drove the #99 Ford from 2005-2014 and won 23 races with the organization. Edwards also won an Xfinity Series title with the team in 2007.

Edwards was inducted into the 2025 NASCAR Hall of Fame, alongside former driver Ricky Rudd and former driver and team owner Ralph Moody. In 2023, Edwards was declared one of the 75 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR history in honor of the sport's 75-year anniversary.

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Former Dale Jr. Download co-host said Carl Edwards' episode is one of the best ever

Carl Edwards' appearance on "Dale Jr. Download" garnered a lot of attention from the NASCAR community. Mike Davis, the former co-host of the show, believes the former driver's episode might be one of the best the podcast has ever seen.

Davis took to X to make his feelings known on the episode, comparing it to one of the other great episodes with former driver Ken Schrader. He wrote:

"Just my opinion, but the Carl Edwards episode of The @DaleJr Download already counts as one of the greatest Downloads of all-time. I put it up there with Schrader. It may be better."

Later this year, Edwards will join Dale Earnhardt Jr. in covering NASCAR for Amazon Prime. Edwards will serve as an analyst while Earnhardt will be a color commentator.