Carl Edwards once came close to making a huge mistake—one he would have regretted for years. During a heated moment, he almost punched his own teammate, Matt Kenseth. Fortunately, he managed to hold back. As Greg Biffle put it, racing conflicts aren’t about personalities or friendships; it’s all about how drivers compete against each other on the track.
On The Dale Jr. Download podcast, Edwards opened up about the incident, admitting that he barely remembers why he was so angry. “It’s sad because I don’t even remember,” he said, laughing at how petty the situation was. At the time, he felt Kenseth wasn’t giving him an inch on the track, but in hindsight, he knows he was the one in the wrong.
The tension stemmed from the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville, but the real issue dated back to an earlier Busch Series race in Kansas. According to Biffle, Edwards had made an aggressive move, going three-wide with Kenseth and making contact. That led to a tire rub, but when Edwards later crashed out of the race for an unrelated reason, he blamed Kenseth. Furious, he sent a heated message over his in-car radio: “Tell Matt he’s got one coming … that is baloney.”
Looking back, Edwards acknowledges his mistake and had even apologized at the time. “I definitely want to apologize to my fans, to Office Depot, to Matt Kenseth, to DeWalt, to everyone at Roush Fenway for letting it come to that. That was definitely the wrong thing to do,” he said back then. But why did he feel so entitled in the first place?
When Edwards joined Roush Racing, he inherited a top-tier team built by drivers like Jeff Burton. “I got given everything on a silver platter, and I didn’t take the time to appreciate it,” he admitted. His early success fueled a sense of entitlement, which led to moments like the Kenseth feud.
His wake-up call came from two key sources: his crew chief Bob Osborne and his sponsors at Office Depot. Osborne bluntly told him, “That was the dumbest thing you could have done… Matt’s your teammate. You’re an idiot.” Meanwhile, a sponsor called to say, “You look like the biggest, insecure bully… do not act that way.” Those words stuck with him. Over time, Edwards came to respect Kenseth’s intelligence and racing style. “Matt is so smart… he knew exactly how to push my buttons,” he admitted.
While some speculated that his issues with Kenseth played a role in his shocking retirement, Edwards says the real reason was something else—2016.
The Sting of 2016 & His NASCAR Return
The 2016 NASCAR Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami still haunts Edwards. He was on the brink of his first championship when a late-race caution changed everything. He believes NASCAR threw the yellow flag to create drama. Moments later, a crash ended his hopes. Heartbroken, he walked away from racing at 37, leaving fans stunned.
Now, nearly a decade later, he’s back—not in the driver’s seat, but behind the microphone. Edwards is joining Amazon Prime Video’s NASCAR broadcast team in 2025, starting with the Coca-Cola 600 in May. This time, he’s ready to share insights without holding back.
The pain of 2016 still lingers. He had 28 career wins and had twice come close to a title. That final race should have been his moment, but the caution call still stings. “It’s a risky sport,” he had said back then, and that moment ultimately pushed him out. He went cold turkey on racing.
But now, Edwards is ready to return in a new role. The guy who once let his emotions get the best of him has learned from his mistakes. His new mission? Giving fans honest, unfiltered analysis of the sport he loves—while maybe finding some closure for himself along the way.
