Daytona 500: Is Carl Edwards racing?

Is Carl Edwards racing in the 2017 Daytona 500? We tell you whether or not Edwards is driving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in this year’s race.

Fans of Carl Edwards will notice that something’s missing from NASCAR‘s Daytona 500 this year. Specifically, Carl Edwards.

Carl Edwards is not racing in the 2017 Daytona 500, after he announced his decision to retire from NASCAR competition during the offseason. Last month FOX Sports broke the surprising news that Edwards was retiring immediately, citing a desire to keep his health intact and to spend more time with his family. He’s married to Kate and has two children, Michael and Anne.

Edwards left at a fairly good time, too. He was competitive in last season’s Chase for the Sprint Cup, finishing fourth in the title hunt. That was his second best ever finish in the season standings (he was second in 2008). He also won three races in his final stint in the No. 18, taking the checkered flag at Bristol, Richmond and Texas.

He’ll certainly be missed on track but you can’t fault him for wanting to leave competition. Now he has more time to do awesome off-track stunts like surprising customers by bagging groceries at Food City and making cameo appearances delivering pizza on NBC’s Chicago Fire.

Replacing Edwards at the Daytona 500 – and for the rest of the 2017 season – will be Daniel Suarez, who won the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship for Joe Gibbs Racing. He’s certainly got the talent to make an impressive substitute for Edwards, but one question hasn’t been answered yet: will he be doing any backflips?

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Will you miss seeing Carl Edwards at the Daytona 500? How do you think Daniel Suarez will do as his replacement? Leave us your thoughts on the driver change in the comments below and don’t forget that the Daytona 500 takes place this Sunday, Feb. 26.