Can we get a do-over? NASCAR would be better if Carl Edwards hadn’t retired
New York TimesEverything about the news of Carl Edwards’ retirement on January 9, 2017 was odd – his age at the time, the date and the lack of a knowledge into the rationale behind his decision. The 2019 season would’ve served as his age-39 season – the typical money year in a driver’s career – and it’s plausible we missed out on an effort worthy of a championship. Daniel Suárez isn’t hastily promoted and eventually moves to Furniture Row Racing Suárez conveniently won the 2016 Xfinity Series championship, making the scramble of him replacing Edwards more digestible in the news cycle, but make no mistake – he wasn’t deemed ready by JGR or Toyota, and the original plan was for him to matriculate another year in the Xfinity Series. The opportunity being built at Furniture Row would’ve been with him in mind – no haste, no settling – and it could’ve helped accentuate his strengths as a driver. If this is indeed the case, Truex and Pearn easily could’ve earned accomplishments similar to what they did in 2019 and perhaps Pearn, who enjoyed living in Denver, the home city of Furniture Row, as opposed to the Charlotte area, might’ve continued as crew chief instead of leaving after a shock retirement of his own.
History of this topic
NASCAR free agency: What we’re hearing about Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Front Row and more
New York TimesDiscover Related