NASCAR star Carl Edwards shifting teams to Joe Gibbs Racing
No excuses.
Joe Gibbs Racing officials admitted Tuesday that they’re out of alibis after announcing that the organization would add a fourth Sprint Cup team in 2015 with driver Carl Edwards of Columbia and a significant investment from communications technology company Arris, a new sponsor to NASCAR.
Edwards, 35, who will finish the season at Roush Fenway Racing, will drive the No. 19 Toyota beginning next season, joining teammates Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth.
“We felt like if we could get Carl, and we could get another sponsor, that this was the right time,” Gibbs said.
Like Edwards, Kenseth moved to Joe Gibbs Racing after a long tenure at Roush. In his first season at Gibbs in 2013, Kenseth finished second in the championship standings and won a season-high seven races.
“Matt’s success over here was a real eye-opener for me,” said Edwards, who owns 23 career Cup series wins but has never won a series championship.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to shake things up.”
This year, Edwards is ninth in the Cup standings with two wins.
Edwards said he’s changed as a person since he first entered NASCAR and is focused on being an asset at JGR.
“I have learned a lot about how to be a good teammate. Admittedly, I was not the best teammate at the beginning of my career,” he said. “I felt I had a lot of the ‘every man for himself' attitude, and wanting to prove myself regardless of any damage to the relationships.
This story was originally published August 20, 2014 at 12:24 AM with the headline "NASCAR star Carl Edwards shifting teams to Joe Gibbs Racing."