While many NASCAR stars are taking it easy in the offseason, some are coming to the aid of their neighbors. When the brutally cold winter weather and snow hit much of the country this past week, one of the areas hardest hit was Missouri.
One town, Columbia, is home to Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards driver in NASCAR’s top tier touring series. Edwards was born and raised in the town nestled midway between Kansas City and St. Louis and until just a few years ago still lived in his modest childhood home.
An avid private pilot, during the busy NASCAR season, Edwards most weeks will fly himself back to Columbia landing on his own private airstrip.
Edwards is also a reserve deputy with the Boone County Sheriff’s department, and can often be seen around town when not racing or taking care of his numerous NASCAR obligations. This past weekend several drivers were glad that Edwards was in town.
Several drivers were stuck along one of the main roads through Columbia, Highway WW. Edwards showed up, on a tractor, and began pulling cars out of ditches.
A country radio station in Columbia shared a photo on Facebook Saturday : “I was working on (Highway) WW last night. Countless cars in the ditches, many with stranded occupants — who could do nothing but wait for hours. Then this guy shows up with a tractor — asking if he could help. I told him to pull everything back onto the road that had drivers. He ended up being a big help. Thanks Carl!”
Edwards won three Cup races in 2016 and finished fourth in the season ending point standings.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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