Edwards put Keselowski, others in danger at AMS (AP Photo/File)
There are differing opinions regarding how NASCAR should discipline Carl Edwards for his reckless payback, which happened to send Brad Keselowski airborne and nearly into the grandstands at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Countless fans believe that NASCAR should drop the hammer on Edwards, park him for a race or three. Others feel as if NASCAR brought this upon themselves with the infamous statement ‘have at it, boys’. Dropping the hammer on Edwards would somewhat retract the ‘have at it, boys’ proclamation.
NASCAR parked Edwards immediately following the retaliation, which occurred with three laps remaining in the race. Edwards finished five laps behind Joe Nemechek, so if he continued without immediate punishment, he would have gained just one position after the final two restarts. Keep in mind, the race went sixteen laps over the scheduled 325. Technically, the parking was a five-point penalty.
On Tuesday, less than 48 hours following the incident, Mike Helton announced that Edwards would serve a three-race probation for his actions on Sunday.
“We made it very clear to (Edwards) that these actions were not acceptable, and did go beyond what we said back in January, about putting driving back in the hands of the drivers. I believe (Edwards) understands our position at this point,” Helton said in a press conference.
NASCAR did not drift from their preseason vow, which should please a number of fans. However, fans who feel as if Edwards deserves a harsh punishment will begrudge NASCAR’s verdict. As with any case, approval from every fan is unfeasible.
In my opinion, NASCAR made the correct call, solely based on the ‘have at it, boys’ edict. By no means am I pardoning Edwards and his actions. I am all for some beating and banging, as well as retaliation. I appreciate drivers who refused to be manhandled. Nevertheless, Edwards made a bonehead decision when he clipped Keselowski going over 190 miles per hour. Edwards knows first-hand that these cars have the tendency to lift off the ground at excessive speeds. Although his intent was to send Keselowski spinning into the grass, he had to know that the possibility of the car flying airborne existed. It was impetuous, and there was too much potential for multiple injuries, possibly fatalities.
Obviously, those fans, as well as their families, sitting in the grandstands in front of the flying No. 12 Dodge have every right to take a dim view of Edwards’ punishment.
If it were me, I would have bided my time, subtly reminding Keselowski that payback is looming. Several bumps and knocks at Bristol and Martinsville would have Keselowski fully aware of the forthcoming wrath, which could occur at any point in time.
Clearly, Edwards’ temper prevailed over soundness of mind. If this were a year ago, I would have to agree that a suspension would fit the crime. As mentioned before, due to NASCAR’s new self-policing policy, they had no choice but to hand Edwards a soft penalty. There is no turning back now.
Probation in NASCAR is still a mystery to me. I guess NASCAR will put Edwards on a short leash for the next three races. If Edwards steers out of line in any way whatsoever, it would behoove NASCAR to drop the hammer. No one takes probation in NASCAR seriously. It is time for NASCAR to change that, and they should if the opportunity lends itself.
Did NASCAR make the right call? For me, the answer is yes and no.
Comments
I agree with your views, Jeremy ... there really wasn't another way to handle it, given the parameters ... and, although the potential was there, no one got hurt, so it will stand as a good example of what *not* to do when drivers get ticked off in the future (and, btw, Edwards had good reason to be ticked, regardless ... Keselowski is a complete jerk).
NASCAR made the perfect call.
"Keselousy" had it coming, and he'd better hope some of his other non-admirers don't take out their bad feelings on him.
If the next person who has a beef with him is smart, he will just punch Brad the Brad out in the motorcoach lot.
I think the whole "double secret tell your mommy no Santa this year sit in the corner no dessert for you slap your hands and slap you down" probation is ok...IF it actually meant something. NASCAR is notorious for not following up...SO if they are "in the mood" to please the fans..they WILL change that policy too...and actually ENFORCE probation...at this point it is a joke.
I agree that it was a fair punishment and would have agreed on a 1 race suspension.
Has everyone forgotten how when Hamlin spun Keselowski last year he made a joke out of it. I would like to also point out that the first major network broadcast of the Daytona 500 had "The Fight" that started off with a bumpin' and beatin' on the back straight (not exactly the slowest part of the track).
A driver putting on a helmet is like taking a stupid pill. It's reactions first, think second.
You know Sue..I agree with your comment on the helmet and the stupid pill....but to me there is an exception here. Carl went above and beyond stupid..he had such malicious intent..and there was something truly scary about the fact he could mount such anger and get back on the track and hunt Brad down, stalk him per say...swipe at him a few times..then punt him. The look in Carl's eyes and his body posture in his interview was very much like his wild eyes and body posture when he confronted Junior in Victory lane after their altercation...and when he "faked" a punch at Kenseth after their altercation. There is something "off" there...something above and beyond "paybacks". Something most folks would run from if confronted in a dark alley...the problem here is Carl does it in front of God and everyone...in bright daylight...very strange.
Gotta admit Brad Krashemallski deserved what he got. He does NOT race clean and never has. Good to see he still has a target on his back for Bristol. Sick 'em Denny!
carl edwards got a real problem, head wise thatis,just remember when he went after matt,his own teammate with a closed fist, he needs help,should not be drivung a race car, should be in a straight jacket,an nascar what a joke,,
Look to me that Carl Edward did what needed to be done, Brad Keselowski has be picking a fight with Edwards even last season in the Nationwide serises. Keselowski took out Edwards at Daga last season, and for some strange reason, he started the same old crap this year. It was a job that needed to be done, Edward stepped to the bat.
Brad Keselowski is an overaggressive jerk who needs to tone it down. But.....
In this race Carl Edwards caused his own misfortune and made Keselowski the scapegoat for his misjudgement. For NASCAR to just give Carl Edwards a slap on the wrist and a sly wink is a joke. He certainly deserved much more than a 3-race probation. But, we all knew NASCAR would never do more than that to Cuzzin' Carl.
I bet Robbie Gordon and Kevin Harvick wish the same NASCAR had handled their punishment.
I still fail to see what you are justifying Carl Edwards retaliation on. He clearly came across Keselowskys nose while his spotter was telling him "inside", "inside". Edwards wrecked himself and Joey Logano and blamed it on Keselowsky. So now you have drivers delivering payback based on their jilted version of what actually happened. This is gonna get ugly. Nascar just can't seem to get anything right. If wrecking a driver for "NO"
reason (except in your own twisted head)is not crossing the line....Please, please tell me what is.
Brad needed a wake-up call, but not a this point. Dega was Carl's fault. The incident earlier in the race was Carl's fault.
Penalty should have been another race suspension. I like agressive driving while racing, but not for the purpose of just wrecking someone. Bad call by NASCAR!!
i said it before and i will say it again carl edwards is an IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is why I disagree. "Have at it boys" to me means be aggressive, there will be a little bumping and banging as drivers fight for turf. There will be some spins and wrecks. Noone need to worry about being fined when that happens. This is NOT what CE did Sunday. So as I see it, if you get bumped, you have the green light to become a hothead with no regard for anything or anybody. I hope the this doesn't interfer too much with the real racers. Or is real racing a thing of the past. Hopefully, the spinless wonder (mike helton) didn't put the final nail in the coffin.
Exactly, Jeremy!
This was a hard one for the guys in the truck. There is no driver out there that thought "taking the gloves off" and "let 'em race" meant using their car as a weapon. If Cousin Carl had gotten spun like that, he'd be calling for someone's head. He knew he was deep in it when he left the car. Just listen to his spin to the network as he went to the Nascar hauler!
Brad IS a rough driver, but he's following a LONG tradition. His driving style looks a lot like Rowdy's early days, which copied Dale Sr's style, which was like ol' DW's, which followed Buddy Baker's, an exact copy of his old man, Buck. Some time in the future, just like Kyle, he'll see the advantages of give-and-take.
Nascar had a problem in that they HAD said "let 'em race" without clarifying it (a famous NASCAR tradition, in itself), AND the story of the month (on national NEWS, no less!) wouldn't be be a part of Bristol in two weeks if they penalized Carl as they should have.
So, self-policing,
carl will be suprised when he ends up being slamed into the wall just for spite and the driver that did it gets slap on the wrist
The only good out of this deal (for NASCAR) is that there is no attention towards how many people showed up at Atlanta dressed up as seats. This only seems to be a problem at Auto Club Speedway or MIS. At those tracks the broadcasters make issues out of attendance. Didn't hear a peep outta them about it at Atlanta. Yeah, it's possible that something was slipped in and I missed it, but as much as coverage as I did see, that's highly unlikely.
Double standard in progress.
Crazy Carl is a idiot. He wrecked himself at Talladega, caused the lap 40 wreck at Atlanta, but as usual he has to blame someone else for his poor judgement. For some reason the talking head's on fox buy into his nice guy act. Maybe there afraid they will get punched in the mouth. I like the "let em race" idea. There is a place for retaliation in racing, but not at 190 mph. So now the precedent has been set, smash em up boy's, hope nobody get's hurt or killed.
Okay Carl this week, Denny did his last yer, hey Biffle is it your turn, you all need to let Brad know that you will not tolerate his behavior.
Cousin Carl is an IDIOT! They should have givin Brad his 25 points and see what Carl has to say about that!
Let this all be a lesson to Crashalotski. You can't come into the series and show no respect for the veterans around him, and that's exactly what he has done. while a great deal of the general public thought Carl Edward's went overboard, I believe inside the garage there is a consensus from the drivers that Brad had it coming. Nobody could have predicted the car would be airborne, which is the only reason this whole thing has gotten this much attention. Blame Nascar for the car taking flight with the silly wing. Brad needs to be humbled and act like its a privilege for him to even be on the same track as these guys. He hasn't earned his stripes enough to be as aggressive as he has been. I hope Brad has learned something, but he seems pretty cocky and hardheaded, so I doubt it. Now that the other drivers know what they can get away with, there are others like Stewart, Harvick, Hamlin, Montoya, etc that will happily give him another lesson on respect.
Someone had to do it, Carl had little to lose Sunday. Was Talledega any less scary? BK got off with nothing there. Do not see where BK can come off with his comments about killing drivers or fans with this action since he previously did the same and got Carl airborne into the catch fence.
The Little dirt track association I was part of in the past had twice the balls to deal with dirty drivers than NASCAR ! When ,not if , there is a fatality the blood will be on Mike Helton`s hands ! Makes little difference to the corporate big wigs nascar has in charge now that for the first time in 40yrs I no longer consider myself a nascar fan !!! I hope no real fans watch a race till Helton behaves like a man ,not a puppet !
I don't see how anyone would think Brad Keselowski had this coming. He's a hard charger with a lot to learn but I hardly think holding your own on the track is driving dirty. Carl Edwards should have been suspended. If it had been one of the less popular drivers like Carl Long, he would have been suspended for life.
edwards fans are jerks!this has nothing to do with respect,it has to do with a guy[carl]who likes to put his car in spot where it doesnt belong!at talladega brad had a run on carl,brad held his line while jerk carl cut back and forth trying to block brad and ended up taking himself out.And at atlanta ahole carl came down on brad who was down on the yellow line.So carl fans if your driver is such a tough guy why didnt he take brad behind the wood shed instead of acting like a little girl and take brad out!
NASCAR blew it again. They just can't seem to get it right. With the slap on the wrist for Carl and the anything goes attitude, this is going to be an interesting season. Just imagine the Chase going into the last few races, Johnson leading the points, oh oh, can't have that. Take him out, he's fair game. This could very well happen,with the "have at it" stance.
Dont kid yourselves people. Edwards got off light because his sponsor (AFLAC) buys ad time for every race. Money talks and Nascar listens.
you people.pull your heads out of your $$$$$,it's racing..and the way it should be,so shut to $$$ up...the only problem here is the spoilers and the new little wing they put on the cars this year,nascar needs to adjust the cars not the drivers.
My thoughts is this is no different than last year when Denny Hammlin said he was going to spin the pollock and did.It would not have even raised an eye brow if the 12 didnt get airborn and who would have thought that would happen.
what about brads reckless driving. he has basically done the same to other drivers.why hasn'the had any punishments for his behavior on the race track???????????????
Carl Edwards has caused 3 wrecks that he blames someone else for or blew it off. I loved watching Nascar but this is it for me. I hope they lose all there fans. I'll not watch or go to another race.
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