Edwards was born on August 15, 1979 in Columbia, Missouri. He graduated from Rock Bridge High School in 1997. Edwards initially did not plan to attend college, but he received some state assistance and decided to attend the University of Missouri in his hometown of Columbia. After three semesters studying engineering, Edwards decided that university attendance was not working as he pursued his career goals in racing. Prior to becoming a full-time driver, Edwards was working as a substitute teacher while pursuing his racing career.

Edwards’ big break came in 2002, when he competed in 7 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events for MB Motorsports. His best finish in the seven races was 8th at Kansas Speedway. He also ran one Busch Series race for Bost Motorsports, finishing 38th at Gateway International Raceway. However, it was enough to impress Jack Roush, and Edwards became a full-time Truck Series competitor for Roush Racing in 2003, driving the No. 99 Ford F-150, and won his first race at Kentucky. He won Rookie-of-the-Year honors in addition to three race wins, eventually finishing 8th in the points standings at the end of the season. In 2004, he notched three more race wins, including the season-opening Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at the Daytona International Speedway. At season’s end, Edwards finished 4th in the points. In August 2004, he made his Nextel Cup Series debut, replacing Jeff Burton, who left the team, in the No. 99 Ford Taurus for Roush Racing, at the Michigan International Speedway. He finished 10th. He drove the No. 99 Ford for the remainder of the 2004 Nextel Cup. He also once again ran one Busch Series race; this time for Bobby Benton’s RAB Racing team at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In 2005, Edwards became a full-time driver in both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series; although he had already ran races in each in prior seasons. Shortly into the season, on March 19, 2005, Edwards made history in the process of winning. First, Edwards won the Aaron’s 312 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, recording his first Busch Series win. The next day, he beat Jimmie Johnson by 2 hundredths of a second to win the Golden Corral 500 at the same track for his first Nextel Cup Series win. Until this took place, no driver had ever won both the Busch and Nextel Cup Series races in the same weekend at Atlanta, although the feat had been pulled off numerous times before at other tracks by other drivers. Also, Edwards became the first driver in NASCAR history to pick up his first career Busch and Nextel Cup Series wins in the same weekend and became the eleventh driver in NASCAR history to win races in all three of the organization’s major racing series.

On June 12, 2005, Edwards picked up his second Nextel Cup win by taking the checkered flag at the Pocono 500 at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The weekend was somewhat bittersweet for Edwards, as the Busch Series race at the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee had been rained out the night before, and rescheduled for the same day. Also, qualifying for that race had been rained out, and in NASCAR, when qualifying is rained out, the starting grid is set by owner points. Through this process, Edwards was awarded pole, but Hank Parker, Jr. ended up driving the car to a 20th-place finish. Since Edwards did not start the race he was not awarded any points, and as such lost a 74-point lead in Busch Series points and dropped to fourth in the standings; Edwards never recovered from the missed race and finished the season third in points, well behind series champion Martin Truex, Jr.. Edwards got his third win of 2005 on October 30 in the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, sweeping both of the Nextel Cup races at Atlanta for the 2005 season.

On May 2, Edwards announced that he had signed a multi-year contract to remain with Roush Fenway Racing. On August 3, Edwards got his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup victory of the season, surviving a rain delay and fuel shortage to win at Pocono. On August 17, Edwards dominated the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway capturing his fifth win of the season and surpassing his career high season win total of four in 2005. On August 24, Edwards earned another victory by winning the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The win was his second consecutive and sixth of the season. He did a bump and run on Kyle Busch in the closing laps to take the win from the dominant driver of the night. Busch showed his displeasure with Edwards after the race by driving into the side of Edwards’ car, after which Edwards retaliated by spinning Kyle out. On October 26, Edwards earned his seventh victory of the season with a win in the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta. On November 2, Edwards tied Kyle Busch for the series wins lead by winning his second Dickies 500 at Texas, his eighth win of the season. He reduced his deficit in the points to 106 behind Jimmie Johnson. On November 9 at Phoenix, Edwards finished fourth behind race winner Johnson, who by virtue of the win and the 10 bonus points he earned for leading one lap and the most laps took a 141-point lead over Edwards. Edwards won the season finale at Homestead to take over the series wins lead for the season, extending his career high win total to nine. However, he did not finish far ahead enough of Johnson to take the Sprint Cup championship, as Johnson finished fifteenth and led at least one lap to win the championship by 69 points over Edwards.

In 2006, Edwards and Roush Fenway Racing struggled to keep up with the competition. Edwards did not win a race in 2006. Despite scoring 20 top tens. His best finishes came at Michigan, Loudon, and Dover in the fall where he finished 2nd. At the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 in Richmond, he missed the chase by getting wrecked and finished 35th three laps down.

Edwards is popular among fans for celebrating his wins by doing a backflip off his car (or truck), a style of celebration he took from sprint car driver Tyler Walker. Seizing on the popularity of Edwards’ trademark celebrations, Ford ran several “Overactive Adrenaline Disorder” commercials in 2006 featuring a “young Carl” performing backflips in his baby crib, off a couch, and off a doctors exam table. Edwards also appeared in a recent This is SportsCenter commercial when he tried to excite anchor Neil Everett following a bad show. He has appeared in Aflac Commercials with the Aflac duck when Edwards was sponsored by Aflac, from 2009 to 2011.

On May 18, 2007, Edwards won the pole for the 2007 Nextel Open, and while he led almost the entire 40 lap race, he faded to third in the last few laps, just missing the feature event. On June 17, 2007 Carl Edwards broke his 52-race winless streak in the Nextel Cup by winning the Citizens Bank 400. Shortly thereafter, on July 23, he dislocated his thumb in an eleven car pileup at a late model race at Nebraska Raceway Park (formerly I-80 Speedway) near Lincoln, Nebraska. Edwards won his second race of the 2007 season, and sixth career Cup race, at the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 25. During the post-race interview on Victory Lane, Edwards commented on the race, saying, “This is the biggest win of my career”. At the conclusion of the first 26 races, the 2007 “regular season”, Edwards ranked 6th in overall standings, with 3372 points, 477 points behind overall points leader Jeff Gordon. Edwards entered the 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup in 4th place, with 5020 points, based on his two wins in the 2007 season, clinching a spot in the Chase after his win at the Sharpie 500 at Bristol. Edwards struggled through the Chase despite winning at Dover during the Chase. The Hendrick duo of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon dominated the Chase for the Championship winning six of the 10 races and finishing No. 1 and No. 2 in the final 2007 standings. Edwards finished ninth in the final 2007 standings.

On November 3, 2007, Edwards clinched his first NASCAR Busch Series Championship by finishing 11th at the O’Reilly Challenge. This came despite struggling in the second half of the Busch Series season. Edwards became the 19th different Busch Series Champion in the 26 years of the modern-era series.

On June 6, 2007, Edwards won the 2007 Nextel Prelude to the Dream at the Eldora Speedway. The Prelude is a dirt late model race organized in part by Tony Stewart, owner of Eldora, to benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp and other worthy causes. Over 20 Nextel Cup drivers participated in the heat races and 30-lap feature, along with other drivers from different forms of motorsports. Edwards started second in the feature and held off Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon to win.

He is also dedicated to fitness by biking and long distance running off the track, but also his sponsors, which included Subway and Vitamin Water. He also appeared on “Eat Smart, Move More” Campaign ads in 2007.

The 2008 season was Edwards’ strongest year, finishing second to Jimmie Johnson in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Edwards won the 2008 Auto Club 500, his first Sprint Cup win of the year. The following week, Edwards won the UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his first back to back victories since 2005 when he won in Atlanta and Texas. These victories put Edwards at the top of the point standings for the first time in his career.

Following the Las Vegas win, on March 5, 2008, NASCAR penalized Edwards, owner Jack Roush, and crew chief Bob Osborne for violations found in post-race inspection. The No. 99 car driven by Edwards was found to be in violation of sections 12-4-A, 12-4-Q, and 20–2.1J of the 2008 NASCAR rulebook, specifically, the cover was off the oil tank. The violations were found during post-race inspection at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 2. The following penalties were levied by NASCAR: Edwards was fined 100 driver points and stripped his 10 bonus points for the Las Vegas win which would be used to seed him in the Chase for Championship (should he make the Chase). Roush was fined 100 owner points and Osborne was suspended for six races and fined $100,000. Edwards was leading the Kobalt Tools 500 looking for his third consecutive victory, but on lap 274 his car began to smoke and his crew diagnosed the problem as a broken transmission. Edwards went on to finish 42nd. On April 7, he won the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway for his third win of the season.

Edwards participated in the 2008 Race of Champions, partnered with Tanner Foust. While in the individual event Edwards faced 7-time Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher and defeated him. In the next round, however, Edwards was defeated by eventual runner-up David Coulthard.

He experienced another winless season in 2009 as his best finish was second at Pocono Raceway. Although Kyle Busch won the Nationwide Series championship, Edwards finished second in the series and scored five wins, finishing 210 points behind the winner.

Edwards appeared on The Price Is Right, where he presented both showcases on the episode which aired on November 10, 2009. The Showcases were NASCAR-themed, with a trip to the Coca-Cola 600 and a Camping World trailer featured in one Showcase, while the other featured the debut of a new garage door prop for the “ultimate garage” Showcase that featured tools and a hybrid version of his Ford Fusion racer. Previously, Edwards had appeared in a small guest role during the fifth season of the hit Fox drama series 24.

He played in the annual Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game in 2009 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. During the game he sported a Boston Red Sox cap because of the affiliation his race team Roush Fenway Racing has to the owners of the Boston Red Sox.

Edwards’ season was a slow start in 2010. Going into Daytona in July, he was in danger of missing the Chase while barely running in the top 12 in points. The whole Roush Fenway team marks Chicagoland as the turning around point for the organization, where Edwards would finish 2nd to David Reutimann. Edwards performance increased from this point, with him winning the pole at Watkins Glen and Richmond, and leading laps at Atlanta and Richmond.

On November 12, 2010, Edwards broke the track-record for the fastest qualifying lap at Phoenix International Raceway scoring his 6th career pole. Carl went on to win the Kobalt Tools 500 on November 14, 2010, with his Aflac Ford Fusion and breaking a 70-race winless streak going on from the 2008 Ford 400 at Homestead. The next weekend, Carl Edwards would qualify second at Homestead, and go on to dominate and win the race with season champion Jimmie Johnson finishing 2nd. The late season rally would take Edwards to 4th in points.

Edwards guest hosted on WWE Raw on February 8, 2010. Edwards also appeared a few weeks before the 2012 Daytona 500, saying to John Cena that he could wave the green flag for the start of the race; weather postponing the race to Monday kept Cena from doing so as he had to honor a WWE commitment in Portland.

On March 6, 2011, Edwards won the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas, his only points win of 2011. On May 21, 2011, he won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. On August 4, 2011, Edwards re-signed with Roush Fenway Racing to continue driving his No. 99 Ford Fusion. The deal was reportedly worth over $40 million, with Ford talking Edwards into sticking with Roush Fenway Racing for the rest of his career. It was rumored for many months that Edwards would go over to Joe Gibbs Racing to take over the No. 20 Toyota Camry then driven by Joey Logano. Joe Gibbs was rumored to have offered Edwards an $8 million deal a year with a $10 million signing bonus.

In January 2012, Edwards announced that he would not be competing in the Nationwide Series during the 2012 season, concentrating on his Sprint Cup championship effort.

On August 11, 2012, Edwards entered and won his only race of the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide season at Watkins Glen. On September 8, 2012 during the race at Federation Auto Parts 400, he finished 17th and missed the chase for the first time since the 2006 season.

In the 2013 Daytona 500, Edwards was caught in a crash in turn one after Trevor Bayne slid, and Edwards was sent into the wall. Edwards led the most laps the following week at Phoenix and prevailed late, the second time he broke a 70-race winless streak at the short track.

On July 6, 2013, at the 2013 Coke Zero 400 he had a good run until turn 2 on the last lap. He got pushed up the track by Marcos Ambrose and created a mini-pileup, putting Edwards at the end of the lead lap. The caution did not fly. The next week, he was 11th most of the day and finished 8th at the 2013 Camping World RV Sales 301.

At the 2014 Food City 500, Edwards won a rain-delayed race. He led the last 78 laps.

In late May 2014, it was rumored that Edwards was leaving Roush’s team for good. Edwards kept quiet for months over the rumors. During NASCAR RaceDay, Edwards stated he declined an offer from Richard Childress Racing which made everybody speculate that Edwards already had plans for 2015. On June 19, 2014, Jayski’s Silly Season Site stated he heard “that the deal between Edwards and Joe Gibbs Racing is done, no word when it will be announced.” On July 27, 2014, RFR announced the 2015 lineup, with Edwards not listed.

On June 22, 2014, Edwards led the final 19 laps of the 2014 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma for his 23rd career NSCS win, his first road course win of his career and his second win of 2014.

Rumors arose of Edwards potentially joining Joe Gibbs Racing, which were confirmed on August 19, 2014 with Edwards signing a multi-year deal to drive the No. 19 Toyota for the team, a 4th entry for JGR.

On the day of the 2014 Brickyard 400, Edwards admitted to the media that he was switching teams in 2015 effective immediately after 2014; but because a rule in his contract forbade him to mention his destination until September, he only mentioned the switch from Roush. According to Jack Roush, the parting was mutual and not because of any falling-out.

In 2015, Edwards was a NASCAR on NBC guest analyst for the Xfinity Series race at Richmond. In 2016, Edwards was a Fox NASCAR guest analyst for the Xfinity Series race at Texas.

He is a first cousin once removed to fellow driver Ken Schrader, who told Edwards early in his racing career to get dirt track experience before going to Cup; he would later take the advice. In light of this relationship, Edwards is often referred to as “Cousin Carl.” During a visit to the USS Constitution Museum in 2016, Edwards revealed that his great-great-great grandfather is Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th President of the United States.

On January 9, 2017, FOX Sports reported Edwards planned to step away from NASCAR to pursue other opportunities; Daniel Suárez replaced him in the 2017 season. In his retirement press conference on January 11, 2017 Edwards said, “I don’t have a life raft I’m jumping onto, I’m just jumping. And in a way, that makes it easier. This is a pure, simple, personal decision.”

Edwards has a cameo appearance as a West Virginia state trooper in the 2017 film Logan Lucky. He would also make an appearance in the music videos for Justin Moore’s 2011 song “Bait a Hook” and Sara Evans’ 2013 track “Slow Me Down”.

He was rumored to be considering a run against Claire McCaskill for her U.S. Senate seat in 2018, however decided not to run. Josh Hawley defeated McCaskill in that Senate race.