What was the controversial caution NASCAR threw amid Carl Edwards’ 2016 championship run? All you need to know

Carl Edwards was a fan favourite among the NASCAR community. Known for his iconic backflip celebration, he amassed wins at the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500 in his career. Edwards came close thrice to winning the Cup Series Championship, once finishing second in 2008 and losing the tie-breaker to another NASCAR legend, Tony Stewart, in 2011. The third one in 2016, was the one marred by controversy.

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Carl Edwards: Career-ending caution

The controversial caution in Carl Edward’s Championship run occurred in the series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2016. There were four laps remaining in the race and NASCAR threw a caution for a flat tire that Dylan Lupton got at Turn 1. Edwards was in control of the winner-takes-all race. The caution erased the 45-year-old’s lead and set up a two-lap sprint to the finish. Here is the incident:

On the ensuing restart, Edwards attempted to block Joey Logano’s move to the inside but resulted in a crash that took the former completely out of contention.

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The Aftermath

Less than two months after the incident, Carl Edwards retired from the sport, citing three reasons for him hanging up his helmet. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family, feeling he had accomplished everything in the sport (with him already finishing second in the points table twice and winning 28 Cup Series races) and called it a risky sport. He emphasised that his reasons were more rooted in personal reflection than the disappointment in NASCAR officiating.

Since retiring, Edwards has maintained a relatively low profile, focusing on family life and personal interests. He has occasionally re-emerged in the NASCAR community, most notably with his recent induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2025.

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Carl Edwards on the 2016 incident

In a recent interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr on Dale Jr. Download, Carl Edwards discussed his 2016 championship loss and the series of cautions that occurred during the race. Edwards said that NASCAR was intentionally throwing cautions to make the race more exciting. He claims to have spoken directly with people about this, reinforcing his belief that the cautions were strategically timed to create a more entertaining event for the audience.

"There was something about that caution. It was like the final thing to say, damn it, you're not supposed to win this thing. This is not supposed to happen and I know NASCAR was throwing those cautions to make it more exciting; that's a fact and I specifically talked to people about it, and that's that. And, we're all in this sport to entertain, and they were trying their hardest at the time."

While he didn't explicitly blame the cautions for his loss, he acknowledged that the circumstances felt manipulated against him, as if he "wasn't supposed to win." Despite the disappointing end to his championship hopes and ultimately his NASCAR career, Edwards finished the 2016 season in fourth place, with three wins, nine top-five finishes and 18 top-ten finishes.