As far as the sports of wheels is concerned, one of the best drivers you will get is Carl Edwards. He is a former professional race car driver who has made a name for himself after he became the champion of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series before finally retiring in 2017. Both on wheels and away, Carl has remained a rather very interesting figure.
Carl Edwards Biography
The former race car driver was born on August 15, 1979, in Columbia, Missouri as Carl Michael Edwards II. It was here in Missouri that he was raised and for his education, Carl attended the Rock Bridge High School from where he graduated in 1997. From here, he moved to the University of Missouri to study engineering.
It didn’t take him too long in the University before he realized that it was of no help to him as what he wanted was to become a race driver. In fact, he had loved the sports since he was a kid and that got him thinking that everyone else knew a lot or at least, something about racing.
His journey to becoming a race driver began when he was only 4 years old, when his father, Carl Edwards Sr., built a Go-Kart for him. This had kept him on wheels until he was an adult. Even when he was in high school, he kept driving and working on his car, and on weekends, he raced with his father.
By the time he was 15, he decided to try racing in Godfrey, III using a fake ID since the event was only opened to 16-year-olds before one can enter the pits and one has to be 18 to drive.
Carl Edwards was able to get as much as $34,000 from his mother, Nancy Sterling, for the funding of the United States Auto Club Silver Crown circuit which he took part in. By 2002 he was already competing in NASCAR when he drove in the Craftsman Truck Series for the then-struggling MB Motorsports.
He would continue with a great performance that was crowned in 2005 when he ended third in the Cup standings, winning four races. In that year, he was awarded the NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year. It came after the race driver was named the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year 2003.
The coming years would be great for him as he went on to become the NASCAR Busch Series Champion in 2007 as well as win the Prelude to the Dream in the same year. He also won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (2011), 2015 Coca-Cola 600 (2015), and the Bojangles’ Southern 500 (2015).
After enjoying a wonderful career on the fast lane, Edwards called it quits with the game when he retired in 2017 after having 28 Cup wins. Many people didn’t understand why he chose to retire at the age of 37 when he was only in his prime, but according to him, he had to go with what his guts tell him.
Net Worth
The Missouri-born former racer is said to have an estimated net worth that is over $50 million. He made his money from his earnings as a race driver as well as from his winnings. More so, he has enjoyed some endorsement deals even as he was listed by Forbes as one of NASCAR’s highest-paid drivers in 2016.
His Family, Wife, and Kids
Carl’s wife is Katherine Downey. The two have been married since January 3, 2009, after dating for 3 years. Katherine was born on March 15, 1979, and she is a medical doctor by profession.
Before dating and marrying Katherine Downey, the NASCAR star once dated Olympic swimmer and gold medallist Amanda Beard. Their relationship began in 2005 and before the end of 2006, everyone had walked away from it.
According to Amanda in her memoir, the relationship couldn’t survive because Carl was all about himself that he didn’t consider her in any way or the things she may want. Soon after they ended it, Amanda Beard who went on to marry Sacha Brown said she had cut all ties with Carl.
That stated, the former professional stock car racing driver is enjoying what seems to be a rather great relationship with his wife, Katherine Downey with whom he has two children, Anne Edwards, and Michael Edwards.
The Edwards family lives in Missouri.
Carl Edwards’ Height and Weight
With a very athletic build, Carl Edwards has a height of 6 ft. 1 in (1.85 m) and a weight of 185 lb (84 kg).
