Edwards’s abrupt decision following the 2016 season to retire from NASCAR competition at age 37 was a surprise as drivers winning races and contending for championships rarely step aside at their prime.
Edwards, then driving for Joe Gibbs Racing had lost an opportunity at his first Cup title in the 2016 season finale, but had enjoyed an impressive career including 28 Cup wins and one championship in the second-tier Xfinity Series.
Edwards made his first public appearance at a NASCAR track since his retirement in May at Darlington, and remarked that he was finding it increasingly difficult to resist the urge to compete when he joined the Fox Sports TV booth during the Cup race broadcast.
Edwards was invited by the Nashville Superspeedway last weekend to be introduced as the inaugural member of the track’s new ‘Legends Plaza’, having won six times during his NASCAR career at the track.
However, the now-43-year-old downplayed the prospects of him coming back to racing in NASCAR as he doesn’t believe “it’s the right thing for me to go do for fun”.
“I’m not planning on doing any [NASCAR] driving, Edwards remarked.
”This is the tip of the spear. These guys are so good that I would be terribly slow, and I would have to prep a lot. Seriously, that’s the truth.
“For me, racing is a risky sport. There’s risk involved and if I’m not committed 100 percent, I just don’t feel it’s the right thing for me to go do for fun.
”I’ve been paying attention. The hits are hard, they still are. That’s one of the reasons I’m not racing is because I’m aware of that.”
Edwards’ last act as a NASCAR driver was being spat into the wall by Joey Logano at a late race restart while gunning for the 2016 title at Homestead
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt
However, Edwards offered a caveat that could one day reopen the door.
“But I tell you what, if [the desire] does creep in, that’s it’s something we want to go do, I promise you I’ll give it 100 percent,” he said.
“I’ll do the best I can. But right now, I’m not planning on anything.”
Reflecting on his driving career, Edwards added: “I don’t know what to say other than I’m the luckiest guy in the world.
“I got to live my dream, do something I love and when it was time for me to do other things, I was able to go do them.
“To be able to come back and be received the way I have, it shocked me. I really is just a great feeling.”