As Allen Bestwick had once said in 2008, “If there were a title for ‘Most Marketable Driver,’ Carl (Edwards) would win that hands-down.” So, when the backflippin’ Missourian silently departed from the sport after that fateful night in Homestead, it burned a hole bigger than one most noticed. Sure, Carl Edwards could probably make a case for himself as one of the greatest NASCAR drivers never to win a championship. But no Most Popular Driver awards do not serve justice to the legend of the #99 Roush Racing Ford.

Be it Home Depot, Subway, Fastenal, or Aflac, a whole barrage of brands would be ready to put their logos on a Carl Edwards car if he ever comes back. And get this: even the Aflac Duck is making a return after taking a break from NASCAR for almost a decade. All the nostalgia, and a subtle Denny Hamlin offer, make the NASCAR community wonder: are the stars slowly aligning for a Cousin Carl comeback?

Aflac Duck is back in NASCAR, but is Carl Edwards next?

When Aflac joined hands with Carl Edwards in 2008, they were already the supplementary insurance partners of NASCAR on a full-time agreement. Edwards came off a career-high 9-win season that year, where he finished second to Jimmie Johnson by just 69 points in the championship chase, and the insurance giants bumped Office Depot to become the #99 car’s primary sponsor. The figures floating back then suggest the deal went down for a figure close to $76M on a three-year contract. Until 2014, $121 billion worth Aflac remained an ardent supporter of Carl Edwards. The following year, he took his marketing charm to Joe Gibbs Racing.

And that’s when his sponsorship appeal became evident to the rest of NASCAR. From Comcast to SportClips to Subway and Arris, many brands found their way onto Edwards’ #19 Toyota. But the glaring absence of the Aflac commercials with the duck often messing with Edwards’ Roush Racing Ford never truly left the memories of many diehards. It’s almost as if the celebration backflips received more airtime when the former substitute high school teacher put on those black-and-green Aflac firesuits.

Sadly, his 28-race winning joyride came to a heartbreaking end on November 20, 2016. After almost a decade of chasing the biggest prize in stock-car racing, Carl Edwards retired from the top of his game at 37, which isn’t old by any means in NASCAR driver years. Many say Edwards grew disillusioned with the way things were evolving inside NASCAR. He had vocalized his displeasure at the stage racing format while he was still a top-level Joe Gibbs Racing driver. In Edwards’ own words in Kansas this past weekend, “You can get used to doing anything. You can forget the magic…”

Before driving the Pace car in Kansas, the 2025 Hall of Fame inductee talked about how watching the Burton family’s emotional win at Daytona allowed him a moment of recollection of what NASCAR’s all about. His former JGR teammate, Denny Hamlin, now a team owner-driver himself, noticed the emotions and wasted no time offering Edwards one of his 23XI rides on a “whenever” basis. But Hamlin let slip to the media, a legitimate reason for Carl Edwards’ hesitance: “I think he’s probably stated many times–until they put horsepower back in these cars, I’m not doing it.”

Regardless, be it the earlier 900-hp beast or the Next-Gen car pushing only around 670 ponies, it would be quite the experience to see Carl Edwards run laps in a real Cup car again. But diehard fans can revisit a memory of the man with Aflac sponsoring Johnny Sauter’s #16 Hattori Racing Truck, on October 4th at Talladega. That would mark the Aflac Duck’s return to NASCAR after 10 long years. The sport sure missed its relatable presence since the days of Carl Edwards, but to see the brand on a former Truck Series champion’s Toyota Tundra will do every bit of the honors.

Now, at 46, making a one-off start in a hard-charging playoff field, it would be interesting to see Sauter take his Aflac-powered machine to Victory Lane, although it is hard to count on that happening. But blessed with so many Carl Edwards references in the weeks prior, fans are turning up the dials to eleven on a Carl Edwards’ return. And the collective fan sentiment pushing for his comeback is only growing stronger by the day.

NASCAR lawsuit throws wrench in potential 23XI Racing return

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Days after making a few lefts on the new Toyota Camry XSE pace car in Kansas, Carl Edwards debuted on episode 5 of NASCAR Studio’s brand-new mid-week production – “Inside The Playoffs” where he sat down to discuss the post-season with Shannon Spake, Steve Letarte, and Mamba Smith. These developments leave many wondering if there’s a hidden reason behind “Carl Edwards and Aflac dipping their toes back in the water at the same time.” 

One fan made it a little more specific when they reacted to the news on NASCAR’s subreddit, writing, “Carl Edwards is going to be on the inside the playoffs show on the same day Aflac made their return to NASCAR. COINCIDENCE I THINK NOT!” Maybe not. But to view the whole thing as signals of Carl Edwards’ return could break more than a few hearts. Another member of the NASCAR audience would not miss the humor in this whole situation, and commented, “Carl taking over the 11 after Denny gets banned during the lawsuit.”

Aflac makes their return to NASCAR with Johnny Sauter
byu/KyPry inNASCAR

This user was talking about the Lawsuit 23XI Racing filed in a federal court in North Carolina on Wednesday against NASCAR LLC. and CEO Bill France. The 43-page lawsuit has many accusations against the people who run the sport and the sanctioning body. But most of it stems from 23XI Racing & Front Row Motorsports’ growing disillusionment with the new charter deal set to go live in 2025. If the lawsuit goes south for 23XI Racing, Denny Hamlin might face a tough time fielding that car for Carl Edwards as he promised in Kansas.

Regardless, others hoped, “they (Aflac) come back more next season.” After all, Johnny Sauter’s Truck “even sort of looks like the Edwards Aflac cars just the green replaced with more blue,” as one fan noted. And a surprise throwback is always better than one of those planned ones in the middle of the season.