Time washes over all conflicts and differences. The same can be said about Kurt Busch and his past. While being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the spotlight was not only on his achievements, but also on his questionable incidents from which he matured. They included clashes with media personnel and fellow drivers – including Carl Edwards. Yet the latter chooses to view the past through rose-tinted glasses.
Gratitude in retrospect
“He is literally just one of the hard-nosed toughest competitors there is. And you know he paved the way for me at Roush in a number of ways. I benefited from his time there a lot. And we rubbed each other the wrong way for a number of years,” Carl Edwards said during the NASCAR Hall of Fame ceremony. “But towards the end of my career, we actually started to get along really well. I considered him one of my best friends in the garage.”
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Kurt Busch‘s notorious reputation is no secret to the NASCAR community. From gesturing angrily at Jimmy Spencer in the middle of the track at a 2002 Brickyard 400 race to cursing the media on video in 2011, his list of questionable incidents is not short. And that list involves Carl Edwards as well. For instance, during the 2010 Coke Zero 400, Busch turned left and hit Edwards’ car.
However, such moments of clashes also allowed Carl Edwards to improve his racecraft. He learned from his own mistakes and beat Kurt Busch in several instances. He beat Busch’s Chevrolet and led twice for 46 of the 400 laps to win a 2013 Richmond race. Then, at the same track in 2016, his last year of full-time racing, Edwards beat both Busch brothers with finesse.
“But really, I’m here to support Kurt, you know, this is a it’s really special to see this for him,” Carl Edwards said, signifying a marked reversal of his past conflicts with Kurt Busch. “So yeah, it’s just really special to see this for him.”
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Kurt Busch, 47, was elected in his first year of eligibility by the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel. A 2004 Cup Series champion, Busch won 19 races in NASCAR’s top level. He also won five times in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and four times in the Craftsman Truck Series, finishing second in the standings and claiming Rookie of the Year honors in the Truck Series in 2000.
While Carl Edwards hails his friend, he also hails his comeback to the sport.
A milestone in his return journey
In 2016, a great mystery unfolded in NASCAR. Carl Edwards, who was at the peak of his career, suddenly hung up his firesuit and disappeared from the sport. He was on the verge of clinching a Cup Series championship for Joe Gibbs Racing, but saw the title slip through his fingers as Jimmie Johnson emerged ahead. He cited a desire to prioritize his health, safety, and family time over the “grind”. Nevertheless, the grid was shocked as such an abrupt departure was unforeseen.
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While not regretting his decision to leave all those years ago, Carl Edwards did acknowledge a realization. And it was possible due to his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2025.
“This whole Hall of Fame experience has changed my view on the sport and my career. You know all of us, I mean, don’t make it as a competitor in this sport without being really self-centered and hard-nosed and greedy. It is all the things that you have to do to win. Now I can see it from a much broader perspective, like oh we’re all really fortunate to be here were all doing the same thing, more alike than different. So I think for all of us it’s a maturation process. But really, for me, it culminated here, realizing this family.”
Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, and others continue to be paragons of NASCAR. A mixture of their good and bad memories constitutes the legacy of the sport.
The post Carl Edwards Reopens Old Wounds as He Credits Kurt Busch for His NASCAR Success appeared first on EssentiallySports.
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