NASCAR star reveals DAMNING reason behind shock retirement

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Former NASCAR Cup Series star Carl Edwards has revealed the reason behind his abrupt 2017 retirement.

Edwards has recently been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame and raced in the Cup Series for 12 seasons, achieving 28 race victories in that time.

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Despite a stellar career, one thing that evaded Edwards was a Cup Series championship win, although he did finish runner-up in 2008 and 2011, and win the Busch Series (now the Xfinity Series) in 2007.

However, after a nearly moment in 2016, the now 45-year-old decided to retire suddenly.

Why did Carl Edwards retire?

Now, in an interview with NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr., Edwards has revealed the damning reason behind his abrupt exit following 12 seasons in the sport.

The Missouri man suffered heartbreak at the 2016 championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Edwards was in a position to win the championship race and seal his first Cup Series championship victory at the age of 37, but a late caution scuppered his plans.

Edwards has now revealed that he feels that championship was 'snatched' from him, and said NASCAR's throwing of cautions influenced his decision to step away from the sport.

"I wanted to win that championship," Edwards told the Dale Jr Download.

"It's everything I’ve worked for, that’s it, that’s the prize you want more than anything in the world, and yes, I believe that was snatched."

Edwards continued: "I’m going to put everything in my life second, and I am gonna go start at Daytona and I’m gonna drive the hell out of this race car like I’ve been doing for 13/14 years and I’m gonna run this thing all the way to the end and give everything I’ve got, another year of my life, and then I’m gonna get to Homestead at the end of 2017, I’m gonna do everything just right and they’re gonna throw a caution with five to go and we’re gonna put all this on a restart?

"There was something about that caution. It was like the final thing to say, damn it. You're not supposed to win this thing. This is not supposed to happen.

"And I know NASCAR was throwing those cautions to make it more exciting; that's a fact. And I specifically talked to people about it, and that's that, and, we're all in this sport to entertain, and they were trying their hardest at the time."

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