NASCAR fans were surprised earlier this month when Carl Edwards announced his retirement from full-time racing. Here was a highly rated driver still in the prime of his career stepping off the track for no apparent reason. But there may be a reason after all as reports emerge that Edwards could be making a run for public office – and at the highest levels, at that.

Emerging reports suggest that the former Xfinity Series champion is planning a run for the United States Senate to represent his home state of Missouri. The speculation was fueled by Columbia College political science professor Terry Smith in his Talking Points show on local public radio station KBIA. “Carl Edwards, the recently-retired NASCAR driver and hometown hero, will run against Claire McCaskill for the Senate seat in 2018,” said Dr. Smith. “Remember where you heard it first.”

The Democratic senior senator from Missouri, McCaskill replaced Senator Kit Bond in 2011 and was re-elected in 2012. She serves alongside Roy Blunt, a Republican, though it remains unclear at this point if Edwards would challenge McCaskill for the Democratic nomination or (more likely) seek to unseat her in the general election as a Republican nominee.

Edwards left the sport in shock, having come within spitting distance of winning the Cup last year. In addition to the Busch Series title he won in 2007 (as the Xfinity series was then known) Edwards has won top-level 28 Sprint Cup races, and was named rookie of the year in both the Busch and Craftsman series.

Though rare, Edwards wouldn’t be the first driver to make the jump from motorsports to politics. Ari Vatanen won the World Rally Championship and the Dakar Rally four times before being elected to the European Parliament. Former French prime minister (and Senator from the Sarthe region) François Fillon has been known to compete at Le Mans as well. Former Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo was also closely linked with a potential run for prime minister in Italy, but has yet to step up.

Given the popularity of NASCAR in the southern United States especially, and the charisma often embodied by its drivers, it seems somewhat surprising that none have successfully made the jump from one sphere to the other – particularly when celebrities like Donald Trump, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura, Fred Thompson, and Al Franken have made it into the highest offices in the land.

As it turns out, Edwards is not without the spirit of public service in his family, having purportedly descended from President Rutherford B. Hayes. “I believe firmly in the principles that the U.S. was founded upon,” Edwards said, stopping short of confirming the rumors. “If I could help, I definitely would consider it.”

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