In a candid interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his Download podcast, former NASCAR driver Carl Edwards revealed shocking details about how racing success impacted his mood and mindset. He opened up about his struggles to stay happy and how the sport controlled his life.
Edwards discussed how his high-stakes, win-or-die mentality influenced his approach to racing, reflecting on the immense pressure he placed on each competition. He also explained the reasons behind his unexpected retirement in 2016, giving fans a rare insight into his decision to step away from the sport.
Carl Edwards Struggles With an Intense Racing Mindset
Speaking on Earnhardt’s podcast, Edwards said, “I found a journal that I started in maybe 2000 or something, and there’s an entry I made, you know, when I was running at my local dirt track as hard as I could go, trying to get people to hire me to drive race cars. I mean, if you had a race car, I had been calling you and talking to you. I was asking everybody in the world.”
Edwards continued, “I’m so fortunate to realize I wrote in this journal—my happiness, like truly, whether I wake up in the morning happy or really upset, is 100% based on whether racing’s going well or not. I realized I had to be careful because I was completely building my life on ‘If I win, I’m good. If I lose, I die.’ I mean, that’s how I saw it. It was so powerful throughout my career.
“I was always battling that, and I think that’s why you saw a lot of what I would call bad behavior out of me. Because I could not accept not achieving it. It was just very hard for me.”
He added, “Fortunately, I kind of realized, you know, like all of us—in this game, you’re going to lose a lot. Things are not going to go your way, and so I started really basing my self-worth, my happiness, my contentment on performance. It was almost like a mantra I had to say to myself. Then that race with Tony came at a time where I felt like I had started to kind of master that approach of just giving 100% and not letting the outcome be everything.”
"If I win, I'm good. If I lose, I die." 😳
Carl Edwards on the weight racing success carried on his mood and mind. pic.twitter.com/ecjl4rBnJd
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) March 13, 2025
The interview gave fans an inside look at Edwards’ personal journey and the toll racing took on his mental health. He also spoke about how stepping away from the sport has given him a new perspective on life and competition. The NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee currently works as a pre- and post-race studio analyst for Prime Video.