Not everyone starts in NASCAR with a fortune’s worth of money backing them up. Few drivers have had to work extremely hard doing odd jobs to make ends meet. One of them was veteran NASCAR ex-driver Carl Edwards. Today, this man is known as the 2007 Busch Series champion and one of the most competitive drivers to have ushered into the arena of NASCAR. But there was a time when he was merely a newspaper delivery boy.
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While interviewing Edwards, distinguished journalist Jeff Gluck asked, “Where did your first paycheck come from?” To Gluck’s utter surprise, Edwards said it was from selling newspapers. Edwards stated that back in the day, he used to set off on his bike and deliver The Daily Tribune to earn a living. “There were just enough papers where you could take them all in one load,” recalled Edwards. “I took the route over from my friend, who had done it for like 10 years. I did it for a couple years.”
According to reports, this ambitious athlete had also worked as a substitute teacher. While doing so, he used to hand out business cards with just one phrase coming out of his lips, “If you’re looking for a driver, you’re looking for me.” Just through his indomitable spirit and the relentless pursuit of success, Edwards landed in Roush Fenway Racing (now RFK Racing) and had an illustrious career featuring a total of 72 wins across all three NASCAR series (Cup, Xfinity and Trucks).
Carl Edwards would give up all his hobbies just for this one thing in return
Despite his achievements at the historic Coca-Cola 600 and the crown jewel Southern 500, there is just one thing missing from his resume. And that is a Cup Series championship. On that note, Gluck asked Edwards, if the latter would accept an offer of a championship from a genie, in exchange for never being able to do his favorite hobby again. It seemed like Edwards would readily accept the offer.
“I can’t think of anything I wouldn’t trade hobby-wise for the championship. I don’t even know what my favorite hobby is, really,” he admitted. “I’d probably give up most hobbies or all of them. Then my hobby would probably just be sitting around looking at my championship trophy.”
The talented driver finished as the runner-up twice and in one of them, he was barely inches away from bagging the title. It was the famous 2011 tie-breaker between Edwards and the then-champion Tony Stewart. Hence, it perhaps isn’t unusual for Edwards to be thirsty for that esteemed title.
