Carl Edwards' emergency shopping trip for 'something nice to wear'

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Carl Edwards admits he’s not the snazziest of dressers. "Dumb" shorts and black shoes are his standard issue when not in a Joe Gibbs Racing fire suit.

He had better in his motor home, but that broke down en route to Homestead-Miami Speedway, and he was in a bit of a bind for an engagement on Thursday night aboard the $37 million, 190-foot yacht Skyfall in downtown Miami. Owned by major Toyota dealer John Staluppi, the nautical beast required a more upscale attire.

So, police escort secured — "It was awesome," Edwards said — the championship-eligible driver made a last-ditch shopping raid on a local Macy’s with a group including assistant Randy Fuller and approached a clothier.

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"I said, 'Man, I'm panicked, I've got to be on a yacht in, like, 15 minutes, I need something nice to wear,' " Edwards recalled. "So while I'm trying everything on, shirts, pants, Randy is doing — Randy's deal is he's standing over there looking at his watch, ‘Yeah, whatever, that's fine, that looks great.' "

The employee then turned to Fuller asking if he needed assistance.

"Randy said, ‘No, I'm with him.' The guy said, ‘All riiigghhht.' " Edwards recalled, mimicking the employee's knowing tone and thumbs-up. "Anyway, I was dressed well for the boat. Randy was like, 'I'm not sure what just happened there.' So it was pretty exciting."

Follow Brant James on Twitter @brantjames.

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