Getty
WATKINS GLEN, NY – AUGUST 06: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, sits in his car during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series I Love NY 355 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 6, 2017 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Getty
WATKINS GLEN, NY – AUGUST 06: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, sits in his car during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series I Love NY 355 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 6, 2017 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
A few days ago, Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson spoke about former driver Carl Edwards. At the Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2016, he should have won the title. However, a sudden bizarre caution flag flew and whatever comfortable advantage he had built, evaporated. Joey Logano caught up and made a move, which ended with Edwards planting his car into a wall.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
According to former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace, this heartbreak was the final straw for the then Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
READ MORE: Toyota Executive Slams NASCAR “Bullsh*t” for Stealing Away Carl Edwards’ Championship
He said, “When they threw the caution this time, it wasn’t simply to gather the field up. Or not midway through the race, this one, NASCAR took a big bite out of the apple. It was for the championship, so the next thing that happens, it all goes wrong. They’re thinking that they’re just going to have a good finish.”
“Well if you remember, Joey Logano gets on the inside of Carl Edwards, Carl Edwards turns left to block him. All hell breaks loose, Edwards goes smashing into the wall. It was a violent wreck, it was still going up through the gearboxes. Second, third, fourth… bad wreck.”
What else did Kenny Wallace say about Carl Edwards?
According to him, NASCAR threw a ‘phantom caution’ and that changed the whole tempo of the race. When Wallace read Wilson’s comments about that fateful day, his mind was blown. Wilson revealed that Toyota aired its grievances with NASCAR over what they felt was an injustice.
Getty
HOMESTEAD, FL – NOVEMBER 19: Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Aflac Ford, climbs out of his car after qualifying for pole position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19, 2011 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Wallace guessed that at that point, Edwards decided that he had had enough. He had amassed plenty of money from his long and illustrious career, and once he realized what had happened, he bowed out. In the buildup to the season finale, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was pretty fired up.
Unfortunately, the infamous phantom debris struck and brought out the caution. In the ensuing melee, the #19 driver got punted out and departed the sport with a ‘broken heart’, according to Wallace.
WATCH THIS STORY: More good news for Joey Logano after his win at LA Coliseum
