It takes one legendary moment to etch a legacy. As we approach the first race of the Round of 12, a particular incident of 2008 should remain bright in our heads. It rocked the grandstands and Cup Series garage at Kansas Speedway, especially one portion of the wall. Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards, both of them championship contenders that season, were in the thick of it.

What Edwards tried to execute on the last lap titillated the audience – still does even on video. What is more, it inspired later-generation racers like Ross Chastain to utilize their video game knowledge. But that first incident still gives Johnson the goosebumps, as he witnessed it up close.

Jimmie Johnson recalls an exhilarating moment

Carl Edwards, a 28-time Cup Series winner and a NASCAR Hall of Famer, was one of NASCAR’s top competitors at one point. Although he abruptly hung up his firesuit in 2016, Edwards left behind some trailblazing moments of glory. Those also included some hair-raising attempts that were in vain but etched a permanent place in fan memory. At the 2008 Camping World RV 400 race, Edwards risked a “banzai move” to go all out and topple his rival, Jimmie Johnson.

Entering turn 3 of the last lap, Edwards turned left aggressively, zooming by Jimmie Johnson at Turn 4. As a result, the move caused the car to slide back up and make solid contact with the wall.

Edwards could control his car from wrecking, but could not pass Johnson. Recalling that crazy move, Johnson posted on X: “He sent it. I was in complete shock when he flew by on the inside, knew he was going to hit the wall, and still almost pulled it off. That moment definitely inspired some wild moves like Chastain at Martinsville.”

Indeed, Edwards’ move closely resembles Ross Chastain‘s ‘Hail Melon’ move in 2022. When it looked like Denny Hamlin would prevail in terms of points over Chastain, the melon farmer grew aggressive. While others downshifted, Chastain upshifted, kept the pedal to the floor, and the car to the wall. He zoomed past his competitors at tremendous speed and toppled Hamlin. Nobody cared who won the race – there was a stunned silence before the audience broke into a roar of cheers.

Although NASCAR banned such risky moves later, Carl Edwards’ memory is still fresh, not just in Jimmie Johnson’s mind. Moreover, those amazing races tug at Edwards’ heart too.

Missing those iconic moments

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In the brief career that Carl Edwards spent in NASCAR, he breathed fire. The racing dragon emerged first in the early 2000s, transitioning directly from Truck to Cup due to his early success. Edwards immediately won at a 2005 Atlanta race, where he premiered his iconic victory backflip. Under Roush Fenway Racing, he was the championship runner-up twice – the first was in 2008 when Jimmie Johnson bested him. And in 2011, Tony Stewart barely edged him for the Cup Series title. Edwards left in 2016, citing his desire to spend more time with his family.

Yet the NASCAR Hall of Famer misses the high-decibel life at racetracks, as he admitted last year. Edwards made a rare trackside appearance at Darlington in 2023, when he confessed something. “I like sliding stuff around and driving cars. So there’ll be a time when I go do something. Maybe sim work, something like that … to see if I could still drive. It’s a step-by-step process.” Edwards then added: “I love racing cars. I love driving cars. But I want to do it at 100%. For me, to step away from the sport when I did, I got to go do the things that I wanted to do 100% and if I ever come back, I want to be able to give it all I got.”

Carl Edwards making a revisit to NASCAR would be something greatly anticipated indeed. As the Kansas race approaches, this wish will be a strong one.