“Looked So Neat” – Former NASCAR Champ Carl Edwards Shares His Views on the Bristol Dirt Race

Last weekend, the NASCAR drivers took part in their first-ever NASCAR Dirt race. In the end, Joey Logano had the honor of being the first dirt winner in his era. Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished in 2nd and championship leader Denny Hamlin came home in third place. Following the race, NASCAR legend Carl Edwards gave his thoughts on NASCAR’s first dirt race in 50 years.

He said, “I really wanted to see what practice looked like. It looked so neat, those cars! In my whole career, my favorite thing was those cars sliding around, managing the horsepower, traction, and the tires. That race, I didn’t really know what it felt like to drive. If it wasn’t any fun, I didn’t want anyone to tell me that. It looked like a blast, so I paid attention to that.”

Who is former NASCAR driver Carl Edwards?

The 41-year-old driver raced in NASCAR from 2004 until 2016 and finished as the runner-up on two occasions. He spent a large majority of his career with Roush Fenway Racing in the #99 car. He also finished 2nd in the championship in the 2008 and 2011 seasons. During his tenure, he racked up several wins with the outfit, starting with the 2005 Cup race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

For the final two seasons in his career, he took over the reins of the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing car. With JGR, he picked up five wins, with his remaining 23 wins coming with Roush Fenway. It is also worth mentioning that Edwards is well-known for his trademark backflips. So, fans were treated to 28 glorious backflips over the course of 12 years.

Although he never won a Cup Series title, he did win an Xfinity Series crown in 2007. Along the way, he notched up 38 Xfinity wins. In addition to that, he also picked up six Truck Series wins. Now, the 41-year-old is living a happily retired life, though he did confess that he would not be opposed to a one-off return.

READ MORE: Former NASCAR Champion Carl Edwards Expresses Interest in Returning for One-Off Race