Racing great Carl Edwards will end his years-long absence from the NASCAR spotlight this Sunday for a return that some thought may never happen. On Tuesday, he revealed what the Amazon Prime Video staff was able to do to make him return to the league where he was a superstar.
Edwards is one of the very best NASCAR drivers of his generation. He won 28 series races during his career and a Cup Series title in 2007. However, in 2017, he shocked the racing world when he chose to hang up his helmet and walk away from the sport in his prime. Making his exit different than other former stars is that he left and hasn't returned since.
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However, in March, it was revealed that somehow, the Prime Video NASCAR team was able to pull him out of retirement and back to the track for their new media deal with the league. This week, ahead of his long-awaited return — as a broadcaster — Edwards explained how he was persuaded to come back after seven years away.
"They came all the way to Columbia, Missouri. We had a heck of a fun day. As we sat around my table, at my house, with my family, I realized that this Prime team, they're fans. They love sports," he said in a news conference this week. "They love being at the events. All of that came together. NASCAR welcomed me back for five races. I thought, 'This will be an adventure. My family's coming with me. Why not? Let's go do it."
"I'm just so grateful that Prime came all the way out to Missouri and talked me into this. The timing just feels right."
Amazon is rumored to be paying $1.1 billion in their multi-year deal to bring five races per season to their Prime Video streaming platform. The first in the new deal will be Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.
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