Fans Question Carl Edwards’ Hall of Fame Crowning to Hail Neglected NASCAR Legend

NASCAR has revealed the class of 2025 drivers to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Carl Edwards and Ricky Rudd got the most votes from the Modern Era Ballot. Whereas, Ralph Moody, who was one half of the dominant Holman-Moody team, which captured championships in 1967 and 1968 with David Pearson, became the top pick for the voters in the Pioneer Ballot.

Ricky Rudd, who retired in 2007 with 906 career NASCAR Cup Series starts( the second most in the series history) also popularly known as “the Rooster,” received 87% of the votes. Meanwhile, Carl Edwards, whose legendary career came to a close in 2016 with 72 NASCAR national series victories, got 52% votes, which was enough to secure his entry into the Hall of Famers from the Modern Era Ballot. It wasn’t a surprise to see Rudd get a good chunk of votes favoring him. During his long Cup Series career, the former Hendrick Motorsports driver clinched 23 wins and even came close to winning the championship in 1991.

Apart from Rick Hendrick, Rudd raced under prominent NASCAR owners such as Richard Childress and Bud Moore. Carl Edwards, on the other hand, is also a prominent name in the NASCAR Cup Series and was among the favorites to top the voting list. Like Rudd, Carl Edwards also doesn’t have a championship win to his name. But he sure came close to winning it twice, back in 2008 and 2011.

Unfortunately, the Roush Fenway Racing driver was competing in an era where he was up against the likes of serial winners Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart. But it looks like he just might get his deserved recognition after all. However, not everyone was thrilled to see Carl Edwards make it into the HOF, given that he was chosen over some prominent names like Gregg Biffle, Neil Bonnett, and Jeff Burton.

Fans question Carl Edward’s pick as the HOF inductee

After three semesters studying engineering, Carl Edwards’ big break came in 2002, when he competed in seven NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events for MB Motorsports. Edwards won the Aaron’s 312 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, recording his first Busch Series win. The next day, he beat Jimmie Johnson by 2 hundredths of a second to win the Golden Corral 500 at the same track for his first Nextel Cup Series win. Not just this, but next season he even won at Pocono, Texas, as well as two crown jewel victories. Carl Edwards was the one who finished second to Jimmie Johnson in the Cup Series championship in 2008.

But now Edward’s been compared to Jeff Burton, who has managed to keep him connected to NASCAR ever since he retired from racing, has been serving as an analyst for NBC Sport, and keeps contributing with his wisdom and experience. Making a case for the veteran driver, many race fans stated, “Carl Edwards left the sport, never to be seen again. At least Jeff Burton continues to contribute to the growth of NASCAR weekly. This is a bad choice.”

Meanwhile, others were not too pleased to see Harry Grant being snubbed by Ricky Rudd and Carl Edwards. “How Harry Gant didn’t make it in before Carl Edwards is mind boggling to me”.

One fan even questioned the voting process that was laid out by NASCAR, arguing that only 52% was enough for Carl Edwards to secure his title for Forever Legend. “Do you know if the HOF has considered implementing a minimum percentage of votes? 52% doesn’t seem like the strongest of cases to make it in”.

Sharing a similar sentiment, a user proposed that NASCAR should put a cap on the percentage of votes for a driver to be inducted into the HOF. “Should be 80% min to get in. The Hall is getting watered down. Quality over quantity If the minimum isn’t met, nobody goes in for that year.”

Not only that, some questioned the rampant increase in modern-day drivers making it into the HOF. Predicting that this trend would lead to mid-tier drivers ending up being regarded as legends. “I feel like you’re electing too many modern-day drivers to the HOF… Won’t the hall fill up with mid-tier drivers eventually?”

What are your thoughts on the elected drivers, and who do you feel should have made the Class of 2025?