NASCAR: Former driver Carl Edwards to receive Stan Musial sportsmanship award

Recently retired NASCAR Cup Series driver Carl Edwards is set to receive a Stan Musial sportsmanship award this November.

Carl Edwards, 38, shocked the NASCAR world when he retired prior to the start of the 2017 Cup Series even after he came extremely close to winning his first career Cup Series title in the 2016 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida.

Rookie Daniel Suarez ended up being the driver who replaced him in the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He has performed exceptionally well for a rookie so far in the 2017 season.

But while Edwards is no longer a Cup Series driver, the way he reacted to losing his chance at winning last year’s championship, which would have been his first career Cup Series title in his 12-year full-time career, late in the season finale did not go overlooked.

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The classy response that Edwards had to coming up short in last year’s championship race is one that will be recognized at the 2017 Musial Awards presented by Maryville University on Saturday, November 18th at the Peabody Opera House in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

According to Motorsport.com, the Musial Awards “honor the year’s greatest moments of sportsmanship and are produced annually by the St. Louis Sports Commission and the National Sportsmanship Foundation. They are named for Stan Musial, the late St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer who was the ultimate good sport.”

Here is why the awards committee is giving Edwards this award.

"“Instead of losing his cool, as other athletes might have done, [Carl] Edwards took the high road and showed pure class. He walked over to Logano’s pit crew, shook hands with crew chief Todd Gordon, and wished the team good luck. It was a gesture of extraordinary sportsmanship lauded throughout NASCAR.“Based on the character he has shown throughout his career, it was not a surprise Edwards would take such a gracious approach. Winner of NASCAR’s Busch Series in 2011 and holder of 28 Cup Series wins, the Columbia, Mo., native’s success on the track is equaled by the class, respect and humility he has personified over time.”"

Here is a video of that heartbreaking wreck that may very well have cost Edwards his first career Cup Series championship. The wreck was sadly the last time Edwards drove in the Cup Series, and that will likely continue to be the case–unless, of course, he comes out of retirement, which is an entirely different subject that I’m sure many would like to discuss.

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Jimmie Johnson ultimately went on to win the race and the championship, which tied him with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt on the all-time championships list with seven career titles. Logano ended up finishing the race and championship in 4th and 2nd place, respectively, while Edwards officially finished the race and championship in 34th and 4th, respectively.

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