“That’s a tough life to leave”: Kenny Wallace on Carl Edwards admitting he was a “douchebag” during his NASCAR career

Former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace recently reacted to Carl Edwards’s recent candid admission about being a “douche bag” during his NASCAR days. This stunning comment came during the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony when Edwards, in his induction speech, called “the facade of reputation” and admitted he was “kind of being a douchebag” in not being friends with those with whom he locked horns during his career.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Carl Edwards stepped away from the sport after the 2016 season, a year in which he won three races and came close to winning his maiden Cup title.

In his speech last Friday night, Edwards also said he assumed he would be largely forgotten by the NASCAR community because the 45-year-old was popular among fans but generally wasn’t a favorite in the NASCAR garage area.

Addressing why Edward called himself a “douchebag” during his speech, here’s what nine-time Xfinity winner Kenny Wallace, in his characteristic animated style, said (8:35 onwards):

“Carl [Edward] thought that way, and he told Jennifer Fryer that you know when people, when my competitors, when people did not show me respect, when they didn't say I was the man. I got them back. I was going to get them back. That's a tough life to leave but I totally understand it, because all of us want to be the ones. I'm the greatest. You will show me respect.”

“I'm part of this exclusive club. I am the one and only. Oh, age takes that out of you. Rusty said, 'Now that I'm not competing against anybody, it's much easier', and he's right. So as we age, we look back and we go, God, what a douchebag I was. And that's what Carl Edwards did.”

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“You're good at driving; we think you're awesome”: Kenny Wallace on Carl Edwards

Edwards had an impressive NASCAR career, earning 28 Cup Series wins, including the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500. He finished as championship runner-up twice in 2008 and 2011.

In the aforementioned “Kenny with Coffee” episode, Kenny Wallace pointed out that while Edwards demanded respect simply because he was winning, the ability to drive fast on a circular track doesn’t inherently make someone a great person.

“When Carl Edwards said, ‘I was a douchebag because I handled it so, so stupid. I demanded respect because I was winning the race’, you know? But you know what's funny about that? And I've said this before, oh, because you can go in circles really fast in a passenger car. You're okay, because you're really good at driving a car at a high rate of speed in a circular rotation. So since you're really good at that one thing, we think you're awesome,” former NASCAR reporter Kenny Wallace said.

In addition to Edwards, Ricky Rudd and Ralph Moody were also honored in the 2025 NASCAR Hall of Fame class.