Edwards and veteran Ricky Rudd acquired essentially the most votes on the Trendy Period poll when the Corridor’s voting panel lately chosen the members of the Class of 2025.
In actual fact, though he had been a nominee, Edwards didn’t plan on being obtainable when the outcomes have been introduced on Could 21 as a result of he thought “there’s no cause to be.”
Edwards, nevertheless, has been a preferred selection since his election, with few onerous emotions over his abrupt departure from the game following the 2016 season.
“What I’m making an attempt to say is the longer I’m away, the extra I admire it,” Edwards, 44, advised a bunch of reporters on Thursday. “And this honor is excessive. I didn’t anticipate this in any method. I used to be shocked.
“It’s been an enormous deal to me, a lot greater than I ever would have anticipated.”
Carl Edwards
Photograph by: NASCAR Media
There was a time when Edwards may solely dream of being a race automotive driver, not to mention one value of a Corridor of Fame induction.
He began off as an alternative trainer however ultimately joined Roush Fenway Racing to compete within the NASCAR Truck sequence, which kicked off a profession that would come with 29 Cup wins, 38 Xfinity wins, together with the 2007 championship, and 6 Truck victories.
Over his 13-year Cup profession, Edwards earned victories within the Coca Cola 600 and Southern 500. He completed second within the sequence standings twice, together with the closest end in NASCAR historical past when he misplaced the 2011 title to Tony Stewart in a tiebreaker.
Surprising exit from the game
Within the months following the 2016 season, Edwards made a shock announcement at Joe Gibbs Racing that the 2016 season could be the final of his profession.
He has not competed in a NASCAR occasion since however has made occasional visits to tracks lately and appeared on a Cup race broadcast.
“I simply wanted time,” Edwards stated of his resolution to step away. “I noticed I awoke and I, you recognize, proper in direction of the top of my profession, I noticed I’m not spending any time doing actually something aside from racing and that point I will by no means get again.
“Two, I actually felt that I had finished every part I personally needed to do within the sport. I understood principally that I used to be the very best that I could possibly be.’
“And third, I escaped with none massive accidents. The extra we checked out that stuff, that’s a critical factor. I felt like I used to be very lucky there.”
Corridor of Fame induction and future plans
Requested if he ever conceived of the concept of being inducted into NASCAR’s Corridor of Fame, Edwards was emphatic: “Not in one million years.”
“That is the primary time that I’ve really been in a position to take a look at my profession and I assume the best way that the voting panel on the Corridor of Fame appears at a profession and it’s a unique method to take a look at it and the phrase is simply grateful,” he stated.
“I’m so grateful that each one this labored out and I hope that via this entire course of I get to share with folks how a lot I admire them.”
Though he stated he stays “open” to doing extra NASCAR-related actions, don’t anticipate Edwards again on the monitor.
“Not in a Cup automotive. I did take pleasure in operating the SIM a bit of bit final yr and I believe I’m going to go perform a little bit extra of that simply to attempt to perceive,” he stated. “I imply I like driving vehicles and I’m very curious.
“What I loved was being up within the (TV) sales space. I loved sort of calling the race to no matter diploma I did there for 45 minutes or no matter. So, possibly one thing like that.
“However I don’t have something lined up proper now, however positively way more open to that than I ever have been.”
