“That was the neatest thing ever”: When Carl Edwards reflected on the treasured Ken Schrader memorabilia gift from his father

In September 2015, former NASCAR Cup Series driver Carl Edwards was featured in a 12-question interview with USA Today. Among the questions, one was about whose autograph Edwards considered a big deal during his childhood.

The 45-year-old retired NASCAR driver had a successful career in the Cup Series. He competed in the Cup Series for over a decade and secured 28 wins, 220 top-10 finishes, and 22 pole positions in 445 starts. Despite a solid run in the series, Edwards never won the championship title. He came close to winning the title in 2008 and 2011 but finished as the runner-up. Additionally, NASCAR recognized his efforts and added his name to the NASCAR Hall of Fame this year.

During the 2015 interview, the reporter asked Carl Edwards about his childhood memory of receiving an autograph. Edwards said getting Kenny Schrader's autograph was a big deal for him.

"My dad went with Kenny Schrader (Edwards' cousin) to a dirt Late Model race somewhere. Schrader crashed, and he had part of the wheel that was destroyed. He signed part of the wheel and my dad brought it home and gave it to me. I thought that was the neatest thing ever. But I can’t think of another autograph I had as a kid," the former Joe Gibbs Racing driver said (via USA Today).

Kenny William Schrader, aka Ken Schrader, competed in the Cup Series for almost three decades. He secured four wins, 184 top-10 finishes, and 23 pole positions in 763 starts. His best finish (fourth) came in the 1994 season. Additionally, Schrader won three consecutive pole positions at the 'Greatest American Race' Daytona 500 in 1988, 1989, and 1990 while driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

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“I got nothing to hide”: NASCAR legend Carl Edwards is set for his broadcasting career

Former Cup Series driver Carl Edwards is set to start his broadcasting career in the 2025 season. He will join Amazon Prime Video in their five-race broadcasting stint as the pre and post-analyst. Despite being a former Cup Series driver, Edwards aims to provide an unbiased analysis of the drivers and teams.

The Columbia, Missouri, native retired from the sport in 2016 and completed his last season with Joe Gibbs Racing. Since then, he has stayed away from the sport, but after nearly a decade, he will return in the 2025 season. Reflecting on his comeback, Carl Edwards said (via The Athletic):

"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. 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?'" he added.

During his final season, Carl Edwards realized that stock car racing is a "risky sport" and retired to spend the rest of his time with his family. He wrapped up his last season in fourth place, securing six pole positions.