Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Carl Edwards going to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015

Carl Edwards, who is leaving Roush Fenway Racing at the end of the current Sprint Cup season, is going to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015, joining Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth at the team. This will expand JGR to four full-time cars. Edwards will be driving a car numbered 19 with sponsorship from communications equipment company Arris in half of the season's races. The news was announced during a conference this morning that was shown live on NASCAR's website.

It was speculated by some fans, based on the announcement's description as "unprecedented", that JGR was going to switch manufacturers to Chevrolet, their brand from 2003 to 2007, or Ford, the brand Edwards drives with Roush. Some people even thought that Dodge was returning and that JGR had signed with them first. However, the team is staying with Toyota, and the "unprecedented" aspect of the news appears to be the sponsor of Edwards' #19 car. Edwards seems confident that Gibbs will help him continue his quest for a Cup championship.

Also announced during the conference is that Mexican driver Daniel Suarez will be driving for JGR in the Nationwide Series starting next year as part of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program. Suarez made his series debut at Richmond in April. Some of the information about Edwards and Suarez made its way onto the internet before it was officially announced, but that didn't seem to ruin it for most fans watching it live.

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