Carl Edward’s days of driving in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series might be behind him, but he still finds the time to reach speeds well over 200 mph.
In fact, the former driver of the No. 19 Toyota Camry probably is going faster than he ever has before.
The recently retired driver hopped behind the wheel of a 2,000-horsepower Toyota Land Cruiser in Mojave, Calif., on Friday, and promptly set a world record, according to a Toyota press release. Edwards pushed the custom SUV — dubbed the Land Speed Cruiser — to 230.02 mph, more than 19 mph faster than the previous “World’s Fastest SUV” record.
Check out the record run at Mojave Air and Space Port in a video uploaded to DPCcars’ YouTube on Friday:
Some guys just can’t stop scratching the itch.
“I went out there on the top speed run and it made some sort of noise,” Edwards told FOX Sports. “All I could think was that this might be our only shot at getting the record and so I kept my foot in it.”
Modified by engineers at Toyota’s Motorsports Technical center, the SUV actually managed just 211 mph on Edwards’ first attempt, after he ran out of usable pavement, according to the release. But after the team cranked up the vehicle’s boost, the SUV had more than enough power to get the job done.
“The front end kind of wandered at about 225 (mph) and I thought, ‘Holy crap, I don’t know what’s coming next,’ ” Edwards told FOX Sports. “Once I saw 230 — we actually got to 232 or 34 — I shut it down. Man, my heart was pounding. I’m not exaggerating. It was pretty exciting.”
Despite his clear enthusiasm, the former Joe Gibbs Racing driver doesn’t appear ready to step back into a stock car anytime soon. Although Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s seat is getting closer and closer to opening up, Edwards reportedly will not replace him at Hendrick Motorsports.
Thumbnail photo via Toyota
