Former NASCAR driver Carl Edwards enjoying his retirement

SONOMA - Former NASCAR Cup series driver Carl Edwards returned to the circuit Saturday at Sonoma Raceway to fulfill a sponsorship obligation, giving away a Toyota Tundra to a fan from Ohio.

And he made it very clear what his racing schedule looks like right now.

“No plans. I don’t have any sort of plans, not right now,” Edwards said.

He also reiterated his feelings about not having anything on the horizon: “It’s been a long time since I haven’t had such a very set schedule. It’s just nice to be able to breathe a little bit.”

Edwards, who retired suddenly in January, said he’s enjoying his time off, having spent the past month on his farm in New Holland, Missouri. He made it clear that he misses racing at Sonoma Raceway.

“Of all the tracks to come visit, this is the toughest one for me. I truly love this place. It’s so much fun to drive here,” Edwards said.

Edwards won the race here in 2015, recording four top fives and nine top 10s in 12 races. He admits that he misses some of the people around the Monster Energy Cup Series, but is glad he was able to walk away when he wanted to.

“The opportunity to be able to step away when I felt like I wanted to - I think Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. put it best when he said ‘on his terms’ - to be able to do that is just a blessing,” Edwards said.

The former driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota doesn’t have any plans to return to the series, but knows what he’d do if he wanted to start the process.

“I haven’t talked to anyone. I haven’t even considered coming back. Not right now,” he said. “I think it’s pretty clear that if I feel like I wanted to do something, I would do it. But like I said in January, I would talk to coach (team owner Joe Gibbs) first. And I haven’t had any conversations with him.”

Edwards did say he sent Gibbs a note recently thanking him for the opportunity to race, but it didn’t have anything to do with returning to racing. He mentioned he’s traveling more and looking to see things in the Northern Hemisphere in the summer to places he wouldn’t be able to see if he was on a set schedule.

In terms of racing outside of NASCAR, Edwards mentioned he has spoken with Global RallyCross driver Steve Arpin “quite a bit”.

“The Global RallyCross stuff looks really neat … that’s something that, when I’m ready to drive again, that would be something that would be really fun to just go and take it to a test or something like that,” Edwards said. “I like sliding cars around sideways and tons of horsepower, that’s what makes this place (Sonoma Raceway) so much fun.”

But again, the “no plans … right now” strategy is working just fine for Edwards: “I’m enjoying life. It’s good.”