Welcome to Off the Wall With…, where we ask your favorite drivers five questions that are… well, off the wall! We’ll check in with a different driver each week to get a peek into life outside the racecar. This week, Sprint Cup driver Carl Edwards is delivering the goods.
What’s fun besides racing?
Carl Edwards: It feels like I don’t do anything but racing. Lately, we’ve been doing a lot of backpacking. We’ve been going all over and hiking up in the mountains. That has been a lot of fun so we’re going to do a little bit of that here this year. I’d say that is the thing I’ve been doing the most of.
What’s the top item on your bucket list?
Edwards: Definitely to win the Cup championship. That has been my mission. It is what I want to do. The other thing, once I am older and most of my life is behind me, at least I hope I can predict that. I am going to go jump off of a bridge with a parachute with Travis Pastrana. I want to base jump at some point.
Your go-to on movie night is:
Edwards: That’s a good question. I did get Smokey and the Bandit. Someone sent me the DVD. I watched it again. I hadn’t watched it in a while. There really isn’t anything better than that.
What’s one item that’s always in your grocery bag?
Edwards: Cereal. I can’t make it through the cereal aisle without buying about five boxes of cereal. I love breakfast cereal. I eat it three or four times a day. If anyone looked at my cart they’d be surprised at how much cereal I have purchased.
Most memorable fan interaction?
Edwards: When kids come up and you can tell they really love the sport and they are huge fans. They look at everything the way kids see the world. I just love how they experience it. I just love seeing kids at the racetrack. That is my favorite thing.
| What’s fun besides racing? | What’s the top item on your bucket list? | Your go-to on movie night: | One item that’s always in your grocery bag? | Most memorable fan interaction: | |
| Cole Whitt | Fishing | Visiting Bora Bora | God’s Not Dead | Ground Turkey | Getting called by the wrong name |
| Joey Logano | Nothing | Winning a Martinsville clock | Miracle | Yogurt | Signing an arm so they could have it tattooed on |
| Ron Capps | Watching other racing | Going into space | Something with Will Ferrell in it | A receipt | Visiting the Zoo at Brainerd |
| Casey Mears | Playing with my kids | Winning another Sprint Cup race | Good Will Hunting | Eggs | Meeting with U.S. soldiers |
| Alexis DeJoria | Family adventures | Bungee jumping | Something horror or sci fi | Vegetable juices | A fan who cried when she met me |
| Ryan Newman | Anything outdoors | Nothing-enjoy life every day! | Tombstone | Bread | Anytime a kid asks a question |
| David Gilliland | Riding 4-wheelers | Deep-sea fishing in Alaska | Days of Thunder | Bananas | Getting mistaken for Travis Kvapil (happens a lot) |
| Fast Jack Beckman | Surfing | Skydiving | Any movie, especially action or sci-fi | Bananas | Hanging out with 11-year-old Jacob Delling |
| Brad Keselowski | Personal growth | Winning another Cup title | Forrest Gump | Flowers for my girlfriend | All of them-it’s not fair to rate them! |
| Spencer Massey | Traveling and driving | Winning an NHRA Mello Yello title | Caddyshack | Frozen pizzas | Their reaction to Gatornationals win |
| Brendan Gaughan | Kids | SCUBA diving in the Galapagos | Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, and The Princess Bride | Toilet paper | Too many to choose from |
| J.R. Todd | Hanging with high school buddies | Winning an NHRA championship | Get Hard | Water | There’s one oddball at every race… |
| Landon Cassill | Anything outside | Visiting Europe | Game of Thrones on Netflix | Avocados | A little girl named Riley |
| Del Worsham | Boating | Nothing; done it all | A drama | Milk | Sharing 10,000 HP margarita machine with them |
| Austin Dillon | Playing soccer | Flying an F-16 fighter jet | Top Gun | Coca-Cola | Signing a baby |
| Richard Childress | Something outdoors | Winning another Cup championship | Something with Clint Eastwood | Childress Vineyards wine | A lot of them! |
| Morgan Shepherd | Roller skating | Getting the No. 89 in some more races | Doesn’t watch movies | Broccoli and carrots | A girl who wanted her underwear signed |
| Matt DiBenedetto | Driving my Corvette and playing racquetball | Racing in the Sprint Cup Series | Days of Thunder | Steak | Whenever people appreciate you |
| Carl Edwards | Backpacking | Winning the Cup championship / base jumping | Smokey and the Bandit | Cereal…lots of cereal | When little kids come up who love the sport |
About the author
What is it that Mike Neff doesn’t do? The writer, radio contributor and racetrack announcer coordinates the site’s local short track coverage, hitting up Saturday Night Specials across the country while tracking the sport’s future racing stars. The writer for our signature Cup post-race column, Thinkin’ Out Loud (Mondays) also sits down with Cup crew chiefs to talk shop every Friday with Tech Talk. Mike announces several shows each year for the Good Guys Rod and Custom Association. He also pops up everywhere from PRN Pit Reporters and the Press Box with Alan Smothers to SIRIUS XM Radio. He has announced at tracks all over the Southeast, starting at Millbridge Speedway. He's also announced at East Lincoln Speedway, Concord Speedway, Tri-County Speedway, Caraway Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
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I always admired Eddie Haskell’s restraint in keeping his family private, as some others are attention hounds with the wives/girlfriends (from a parental perspective) exploiting their children as part of the “Daddy Brand”, knowing social media is a very dangerous place, and the fact that these children can’t say no. They are setting their children up for undo scrutiny and ridicule down the road for their own ego in the present. I admire the restraint of some of the NASCAR parents to have their children exposed every so slightly and that is it. Keep it up Carl!
Good point kb, never thought about it that way