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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carl Edwards said he never expected to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, so when the announcement came down a week ago, he was unreachable for hours until his wife encouraged him to check his phone.

He was shocked to learn that he was joining Ricky Rudd as the 2025 inductees. Nine days later, he said he remains overwhelmed by the recognition; Edwards said he left a Bass Pro Shops in Missouri early Thursday and was greeted by a fan congratulating him.

Edwards won 28 races over 13 Cup Series seasons, 38 races in the Xfinity Series and six races in the Truck Series. He won one Xfinity title and finished second four other times.

The only thing missing from his résumé is a Cup title, which is a bit of a hot-button topic.

Edwards twice finished second in the standings and lost the 2011 title to Tony Stewart on a tie-breaker, but it is the 2016 NASCAR finale that will forever be a sore spot.

Edwards was in control of the winner-take-all race at Homestead-Miami Speedway until a questionable caution was called with four laps remaining. It set up a late two-lap sprint to the finish, and Edwards wrecked on the restart racing Joey Logano for the win.

Less than two months later, he abruptly retired at 36 and essentially vanished. His first big appearance was a year ago at Darlington Raceway, where Edwards showed up to be honored as one of the top 75 drivers in NASCAR history.

In his first comments since he was elected to the Hall of Fame last week, Edwards said at the time of the 2016 finale he was struggling balancing his job with his life as a married father of two. Those who know him well said he was left bitter by a caution that cost him the title and it was the reason he walked away.

“Definitely, I would have rather not have had a caution come out,” Edwards said Thursday. “But, you never know the outcome of that and like I’ve said, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Edwards then paused to collect his thoughts.

“I think things would have been a lot different if we won that championship,” he said.

Reflecting on the Past

Eight years later, Edwards has accepted the outcome and how NASCAR officiated the race.

“NASCAR is in the business of creating a sport for the fans,” Edwards said. “And I know from private conversations I have had that NASCAR is trying their best, and I respect that. The outcome at various points of my career, and that race specifically, I did not like it. But I 100% respect the sport and the people that run it. It gave me a life and opportunities that I never could have imagined.”

He insisted the outcome of that race did not lead to his retirement.

“As far as being an impetus for my stepping away, I’ll go right back to what I said when I did, and I said it clearly, but maybe not clearly enough: I just needed time,” Edwards said. “I woke up and I realized, at the end of my career, I’m not spending time doing anything other than racing.”

During the Hall of Fame voting session, one Edwards supporter argued that he had been robbed of a championship by a bogus caution. The 2011 championship he lost to Stewart wasn’t mentioned, though that was also questionable: Edwards drove a Ford at the time and Stewart drove a Chevrolet and there came a time in the race when it appeared the Chevys, which far outnumbered the Fords in the field, were moving out of Stewart’s way to allow him to beat Edwards for the title.

Asked by The Associated Press on Thursday if he felt wronged or cheated in 2016, Edwards carefully chose his words.

“I would just like to say that I officially respect the way NASCAR runs the sport in the way they need to run it,” he said. “I don’t want to say anything negative.” But he then added, “I may have been unclear, and I want to be explicit, that I did not leave the sport because of the way 2016 ended. Period.”

Life After Racing

Now 44 and living in his home state of Missouri, Edwards focuses on being a father and a husband to his physician wife. He said he has no plans to ever race a Cup car again.

“I respect too much what it takes to be great,” Edwards said. “I lived that life every day for 20 years and my idea of fun isn’t doing something just to do it. I want to be great at something and it would be disrespectful to everyone that is striving to be great to go do it just for fun.”

He said he fills his competitive nature with adventure — he sailed from Florida to Italy as the boat’s captain — and has taken up jujitsu. He’s also a pilot.

Edwards has also involved himself in community work and has popped up in Missouri news segments helping out after tornado strikes. He is mentioned as a potential Republican candidate for public office, something he didn’t rule out Thursday.

“There’s no place on Earth or in time where a guy can do what me and all of us have gotten to do other than the United States of America. The longer I live, the more I have realized this is not the norm,” Edwards said. “We have to protect this. So when politics come up, it comes from a place inside of me that cares so much about how great this country is. Some day, probably after my kids are grown up, if I can participate in that more, I want to.

“And so that conversation, that opportunity and that possibility, is always on the table.”

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Hurricanes: ‘Tough look’ not sticking up for Aho

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Hurricanes: 'Tough look' not sticking up for Aho

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Carolina Hurricanes regretted not sticking up for star center Sebastian Aho when he was mauled by Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk late in their Game 3 loss on Saturday night.

In the third period, with the Panthers cruising to a 6-2 win and a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals, Tkachuk went after Aho with a series of shoves and cross-checks, eventually putting him in a headlock and bringing him down to the ice. The incident was seen as retaliation for Aho’s low hit on Florida’s Sam Reinhart that injured him in Game 2 and kept the forward out of the lineup on Saturday.

“I don’t really look at it as intent or intimidation at all. It’s just sticking up for teammates,” said Tkachuk, who was given a roughing penalty and a 10-minute misconduct. “We’re a family in there. It could happen to anybody and there’s probably 20 guys racing to be the guy to stick up for a teammate like that. That’s just how our team’s built. That’s why we’re successful. I don’t think any of us would be thrilled at that play in Game 2.”

But while Tkachuk was on top of Aho, who remained in the game, there was no chaotic response from the Hurricanes, nor any retaliation for the rest of the game. Carolina forward Taylor Hall said, in hindsight, there needed to be some reaction.

“I think what happened is that we don’t want to take penalties after the whistle, and they’re very good at goading you into them. But we have to support each other and make sure all five of us are having each other’s backs,” Hall said. “That was a tough look there, but we’ll battle for each other to no end.”

Coach Rod Brind’Amour said there needed to be a response, especially since the game was all but over on the scoreboard

“In that situation, there probably does. There’s a fine line. You don’t want to start advocating for that kind of hockey, necessarily. But with the game out of hand, yes, we have to do a better job of that with the game out of hand,” he said.

The Hurricanes face elimination on Monday night in Sunrise. They also face a 16th straight loss in the Eastern Conference finals, a streak that stretches back to 2009.

“We’re going to give our best tomorrow,” Hall said. “I think that we have a belief in our room, honestly. We’re playing for our season.”

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Stars rule forward Hintz out for Game 3 vs. Oilers

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Stars rule forward Hintz out for Game 3 vs. Oilers

EDMONTON — Dallas forward Roope Hintz has been ruled out for Game 3 of the Stars’ Western Conference finals series against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.

Hintz was a game-time decision for Dallas after leaving the third period of Game 2 on Friday with an injury. The center took a slash from Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse less than four minutes into that final frame and was helped off the ice without appearing to put weight on his left leg.

Stars’ coach Pete DeBoer said on Saturday they were awaiting test results on Hintz before determining his status for Game 3. Hintz travelled with the team from Dallas and arrived at Rogers Place on Sunday without wearing a walking boot.

DeBoer still declared Hintz’s status uncertain about an hour before puck drop. Hintz took warmups with the Stars before Game 3 but left several minutes early without participating in line rushes.

Hintz has five goals and 11 points in 15 postseason games and ranked fourth on the Stars in regular-season scoring with 28 goals and 67 points in 76 games.

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Horse trainer Clement dies from rare eye cancer

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Horse trainer Clement dies from rare eye cancer

Christophe Clement, who trained longshot Tonalist to victory in the 2014 Belmont Stakes and won a Breeders’ Cup race in 2021, has died. He was 59.

Clement announced his own death in a prepared statement that was posted to his stable’s X account on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, if you are reading this, it means I was unable to beat my cancer,” the post said. “As many of you know, I have been fighting an incurable disease, metastatic uveal melanoma.”

It’s a type of cancer that affects the uvea, the middle layer of the eye. It accounts for just 5% of all melanoma cases in the U.S., however, it can be aggressive and spread to other parts of the body in up to 50% of cases, according to the Melanoma Research Alliance’s website.

The Paris-born Clement has been one of the top trainers in the U.S. over the last 34 years. He learned under his father, Miguel, who was a leading trainer in France. Clement later worked for the prominent French racing family of Alec Head. In the U.S., he first worked for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey.

Clement went out on his own in 1991, winning with the first horse he saddled at Belmont Park in New York.

“Beyond his accomplishments as a trainer, which are many, Christophe Clement was a kind and generous man who made lasting contributions to the fabric of racing in New York,” Dave O’Rouke, president and CEO of the New York Racing Association said in a statement.

Clement had 2,576 career victories and purse earnings of over $184 million, according to Equibase.

“I am very proud that for over 30 years in this industry, we have operated every single day with the highest integrity, always putting the horses’ wellbeing first,” he wrote in his farewell message.

One of his best-known horses was Gio Ponti, winner of Eclipse Awards as champion male turf horse in 2009 and 2010. He finished second to Zenyatta in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

In the 2014 Belmont, Tonalist spoiled the Triple Crown bid of California Chrome, who tied for fourth. Tonalist won by a head, after not having competed in the Kentucky Derby or Preakness that year.

Steve Coburn, co-owner of California Chrome, caused controversy when he said afterward the horses that hadn’t run in the other two races took “the coward’s way out.” He later apologized and congratulated the connections of Tonalist.

Clement’s lone Breeders’ Cup victory was with Pizza Bianca, owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Clement had seven seconds and six thirds in other Cup races.

“It was Christophe’s genuine love for the horse that truly set him apart,” Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National Horseman’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said in a statement. “He was a consummate professional and a welcoming gentleman whose demeanor was always positive, gracious and upbeat.”

Clement’s statement said he would leave his stable in the hands of his son and longtime assistant, Miguel.

“As I reflect on my journey, I realize I never worked a day in my life,” Clement’s statement said. “Every morning, I woke up and did what I loved most surrounded by so much love.”

Besides his son, he is survived by wife Valerie, daughter Charlotte Clement Collins and grandson Hugo Collins.

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