Joe Gibbs Racing has officially confirmed that long-time Roush Fenway driver Carl Edwards will join its outfit in a fourth Toyota next season.
The worst-kept-secret in NASCAR was finally announced at a media conference on Tuesday.
“This is one of the biggest days in Joe Gibbs Racing’s history,” declared owner Joe Gibbs.
“To be able to bring a driver the calibre of Carl Edwards on board to launch our fourth team is just a thrill.”
Edwards’ Camry will sport the #19 and be backed by communications technology company Arris for 17 races.
Runner-up in the 2008 Sprint Cup season, Edwards has spent a decade at Roush, and says that a change of teams will refresh his career.
“It’s something new and different and I think in life, you’ve got to have those things,” Edwards said of the switch.
“If you look across our sport and look at the people who made changes and just the results of the change… If you look at where people move, sometimes two guys will basically switch teams and both of them do better.
“So for me, I think it’s an opportunity to shake things up a little bit, have some fun and hopefully win some championships.”
Edwards joins existing JGR drivers Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, who defected from Roush at the end of the 2012 season.
In addition to Edwards, Arris will also sponsor full-time JGR Nationwide and part-time Truck Series entries for 22-year-old Mexican Daniel Suarez next season.
One of the world’s richest individuals, Carlos Slim, will also be a part of the deal through his Escuderia Telmex program.
Slim currently backs Suarez’s efforts in the NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series and is keen to develop Mexican and Latin American talent for NASCAR.
“Over the past 12 years we have worked very hard together with NASCAR in the development of a racing series and building a strong ladder system for our drivers,” said Slim.
“Having the opportunity for Daniel Suarez to demonstrate his talent to compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series is very rewarding and encouraging to us all.”
Slim’s Escuderia Telmex was founded 12 years ago and backs drivers in a variety of categories including Formula 1, the Tudor United Sports Car Championship, the NASCAR Camping World Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
As previously confirmed, Trevor Bayne will move into a full-time Roush Fenway drive alongside Greg Biffle and Ricky Stenhouse following Edwards’ exit.
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