Suarez still leans on Edwards for help with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing

Carl Edwards meets with the media at Joe Gibbs Racing in January

HAMPTON, Ga. –Back in January, Carl Edwards stepped away from Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Racing, but apparently it wasn’t a giant step.

The former driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is still close enough to mentor his successor in the car. In fact, Edwards flew to Atlanta on Friday to offer some assistance and advice.

“He’s a great guy, very good friend,” Suarez said on Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “He just asked me, ‘Hey, Daniel, do you want me to go over there? Do you think it would be helpful?’

“I said, ‘Man, to have a driver like you who has a bunch of wins here in Atlanta, it’s a big deal.’ Yeah, he’s going to be here to help me out, help the team out. It’s a team he knows very well. It’s going to be good to have him just to watch and to tell us what’s going on from his view.”

Edwards said he enjoyed helping Suarez but wasn’t sure how long he would be at the track.

“I guess just as long as they want me to be here,” Edwards told reporters in the garage on Friday. “I flew the Cessna in this morning, and I could leave at any moment. So whenever they say they’re done with me, I’ll take off…”

It was clear, though that coming to Atlanta, where Edwards collected three of his 28 career Cup victories, got the driver’s juices flowing.

“I love this place, and I miss driving while I’m standing here,” Edwards said. “I admit I brought my helmet and driver suit today, just in case somebody needed something. But I’m having a lot of fun. I’m just so grateful to Coach (Joe Gibbs) and everybody for letting me make the decision I made. But it is cool coming back here and seeing everybody.

“It’s really fun.”

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. 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.