Carl Edwards will leave Joe Gibbs Racing effective immediately, he announced Wednesday. Edwards said he has no plans to race again, but he won't use the word 'retirement'.
What happened?
Edwards spent the past two years at JGR and had one year remaining on his deal. He will be replaced by Daniel Suarez, the first full-time Mexican-born driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
He won 28 races in 445 career starts, including three times in 2016. Edwards finished second in the standings in 2008 and again in 2011, when he engaged in an epic battle with Tony Stewart.
Why it matters for Carl Edwards
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s battle with concussions did affect Edwards' decision, he said. Edwards added that he is aware of the risks and wants to minimize them to stay healthy in the long term.
Edwards never missed a Cup race because of injury and was consistently considered among the most fit athletes in racing. He reiterated he is healthy, but he understands the long-term health risks of racing.
What comes next?
NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France issued a statement after Edwards' announcement, praising Edwards' hard-charging driving style and his passion for the sport. Edwards owns a farm and said he could be interested in broadcasting.
Edwards had a shot at the championship in each of the past two years. He failed to make the championship round in 2015, when rain shortened the race at Phoenix. He was one of the four finalists in 2016 and was leading the championship contenders when trying to block on a restart with 10 laps remaining in the finale at Homestead.
Edwards stressed that he did not make this decision to move to another team. He said if he is going to get back in a race car, he's calling Coach Joe Gibbs first, as there is no better race team. Edwards added that he doesn't have any intention of going back to full-time racing and doesn't have a plan to drive a race car right now.