Denny Hamlin guesses there's a 50 percent chance Carl Edwards is back in 2018
Are the odds of Carl Edwards returning to the Cup Series in 2018 about the same as a coin flip? That’s former teammate Denny Hamlin’s guess.
The 2016 Daytona 500 winner was asked about the prospects of Edwards returning to the Cup Series on Friday. And Hamlin put the chances at 50/50.
“I would just be guessing, but I would say 50 percent,” Hamlin said. “I think that Carl is a competitor. At his age, I’d find it hard to believe that he would just step away and not do it ever again. I think him leaving the window open in his press conference to say he’s not retiring, he’s just stepping away, I think it depends. I don’t know. Has anyone found out whether he’s having a good time right now or not? I think that would tell the story about whether he’s interested in coming back or not. From what I hear from all the retired drivers, it’s awesome for like a few months – then you kind of get bored a little bit.”
Edwards abruptly stepped away from NASCAR in January. His departure came as a surprise to nearly everyone in and around the sport. He was a restart away from winning his first Cup Series championship in November before he was involved in a crash with Joey Logano. The wreck helped put Jimmie Johnson in position for his record-tying seventh championship.
When he announced his departure, Edwards declined to use the word “retirement” or any variation of it. When he was at Atlanta to help Daniel Suarez earlier this year, Edwards even brought his firesuit and helmet. But the fiercely private driver has deflected all questions about his future since he stopped driving, whether it involves politics or racing. If Edwards does come back, we’re probably not going to know about it until it actually happens.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
