Denny Hamlin says he’s talked to Carl Edwards about a return to NASCAR
In 2016, Carl Edwards was in the battle for a NASCAR Cup Series championship. The hopes at a title ended when he was turned into the inside wall.
After that crash, with a year remaining on his contract, Edwards appeared in the office of team owner Joe Gibbs and asked to be released from his contract. The move shocked the industry and Edwards hasn’t been seen behind the wheel of a racecar since.
At first, Edwards dropped off the map. He went on to become a farmer in Missouri and travel the oceans, touring the world via a boat.
Recently, Edwards has been popping back up in the NASCAR scene. He was recently added to NASCAR’s 75 greatest drivers list and he’s made some appearances at racetracks.
Denny Hamlin is the co-owner of 23XI Racing. The team has expressed an interest in adding more entries.
Could we see Carl Edwards in a 23XI Racing fielded machine? It sounds like that’s possible…
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Denny Hamlin says he’s talked to Carl Edwards
“I have talked to Carl early on when we started this race team about doing some one-off stuff,” Denny Hamlin stated via his ‘Actions Detrimental’ podcast.
“I’d be interested in that for sure. He does some similar work for us — he’s done some Chicago stuff for us at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). … I talked to him at that NASCAR 75 celebration and he’s itching a little bit. I think he does miss it for sure, so we’ll see where this goes.”
Hamlin added, “Don’t think this story ends anytime soon.”
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Carl Edwards has interest in a return to NASCAR
Edwards told NASCAR.com, “Yeah, there is.”
“I’m not planning on doing any driving,” Edwards added. “Cup is the tip of the spear. These guys are so good that I would be terribly slow, so I’d have to prep a lot. Seriously, that’s the truth.”
“For me, I really feel racing is a risky sport,” he said. “There’s risk involved, and if I’m not committed 100%, I don’t feel that it’s the right thing for me to go do for fun.”
“But I’ll tell you this, if it creeps in and it’s something we wanna go do, then I promise you I’ll give it a 100%,” said Edwards. “I’ll do the best I can. But right now, no, I’m not planning anything.”
Carl Edwards is 43-years-old. He’s claimed 28 NASCAR Cup Series wins.
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