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Carl Edwards leaving Joe Gibbs Racing, will not compete in 2017

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With NASCAR driver Carl Edwards deciding not to compete in 2017, The Dan Patrick Show crew talks about what they would do with a year off from work.

Carl Edwards will leave Joe Gibbs Racing and not compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2017, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to NBC Sports but requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Foxsports.com first reported the story.

Daniel Suarez will be announced as Edwards’ replacement at a 10 a.m. press conference Wednesday at Joe Gibbs Racing.

FACEBOOK LIVE: Steve Letarte and Dustin Long will be live at 1 p.m. on NBC’s Facebook page.

Edwards, 37, completed his 12th full-time Cup season last year, placing fourth in the standings after a late-race wreck in the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Edwards earned his spot in the championship finale by winning at Texas two weeks before the season finale.

Edwards’ title hopes ended when he went to block Joey Logano’s move on a restart with 10 laps to go. Edwards hit the wall hard and his race was finished. He walked down pit road and went to Logano’s pit box to shake hands with Logano’s crew chief, Todd Gordon, and offer his best luck.

“This is life,’' Edwards told NBC after the accident. “We did our best. I just risked too much.’'

Edwards has 28 career series wins and 220 top 10s in 445 career starts. He finished second in the championship twice, most notably in 2011 when he lost the championship to Tony Stewart on a tiebreaker. Edwards won the 2007 Xfinity title.

Edwards has competed in NASCAR’s top series since 2004 when he moved up to Roush Fenway Racing’s Cup program with 13 races left in the season. He finished 10th in his Cup debut Aug. 22, 2004, at Michigan International Speedway.

Suarez, who celebrated his 25th birthday Saturday, won the Xfinity championship this past season for Joe Gibbs Racing. Suarez scored three wins in his second full season in the series. He was scheduled to have competed in the series again this year until Edwards’ decision to not drive this season.

A few days before the season finale at Homestead, Suarez described Edwards and Kyle Busch as his “mentors.

“They are very good friends of mine,’' Suarez said.

For crew chief Dave Rogers, this will be his fourth different driver in the last four years. He served as Kyle Busch’s crew chief in 2014, moved to Denny Hamlin’s team in 2015, then went to Carl Edwards’ team in 2016 and will now have Suarez this season.

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