Denny Hamlin says Carl Edwards is 'itching' for a NASCAR return

Denny Hamlin believes that Carl Edwards, who retired from the NASCAR Cup Series following the 2016 season, is “itching” for a return, he said on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast Monday.

“I have talked to Carl early on when we started this race team [23XI Racing] about doing some one-off stuff,” Hamlin said. “I’d be interested in that for sure. He does some similar work for us — he’s done some Chicago stuff for us at JGR [Joe Gibbs Racing]… I talked to him at that NASCAR 75 celebration and he’s itching a little bit. I think he does miss it for sure, so we’ll see where this goes… Don’t think this story ends anytime soon.”

Edwards, now 43, walked away from NASCAR’s premier series at the age of 36. He compiled 28 victories, and though he never claimed a Cup Series championship, won the Xfinity Series championship in 2007. Edwards had some close calls throughout his career, finishing second in the final points standings in 2008 and ’11. He finished in the top-10 of the points standings in eight of his 12 seasons in the Cup Series, including a fourth place finish in his final campaign in 2016.

Carl Edwards addresses possible return to NASCAR

On hand for this past Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, Edwards fielded questions from the media concerning a possible return behind the wheel.

“For me, racing is a risky sport,” Edwards said, via Jim Utter of Motorsport. “There’s risk involved and if I’m not committed 100 percent, I just don’t feel it’s the right thing for me to go do for fun. I’ve been paying attention. The hits are hard. They still are. That’s one of the reasons I’m not racing is because I’m aware of that.”

Edwards, however, didn’t completely close the door on a one-off, as other legends such as Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have done in recent years.

“But I tell you what, if [the desire] does creep in, that’s it’s something we want to go do, I promise you I’ll give it 100 percent,” Edwards said. “I’ll do the best I can. But right now, I’m not planning on anything.”