Another Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski incident turns ugly...and NASCAR again ignores it
Carl Edwards in St. Louis' victory lane, with his mangled car (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
By Mike Mulhern
mikemulhern.net
Looks like that Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski thing isn't over yet.
And it looks like NASCAR's continuing to incidents on the track that in other years might have drawn stern rebuke from officials of the sanctioning body.
At Atlanta in March the two tussled twice, and Keselowski's car went flipping nearly into the grandstand. But NASCAR -- under its 'Boys, have at it' policy -- brushed off the incident.
Saturday in a Nationwide race in St. Louis, Edwards and Keselowski got into it again, and this time Keselowski went hard into the wall. Video coverage here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZY-ZeQU9yg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2PZicO2P8Q
Edwards blames Keselowski for starting this incident, earlier. The two were battling for the win in the final miles when Keselowski wound up in the wall
Kevin Harvick, on Dave Despain's TV show, said he didn't like what he saw. Of course Harvick and Edwards have had their moments too.
"That was pretty tough," Harvick says of the St. Louis crash.
"I went back and watched it... and I have a tough time with people just hooking -- Hooking someone in the right-rear is different than rubbing on somebody and just leaning on somebody.
"And wrecking half the field is something that's pretty tough to swallow for a lot of those guys that were involved in that at the end.
"In the end I know it probably won't be Carl's fault...but I think that's a little bit overboard in my opinion."
Perhaps not unexpectedly Charlotte Motor Speedway's Marcus Smith was quick to take advantage of the brouhaha by inviting Edwards and Keselowski to take out their frustrations at the wheel of of two 13-ton school buses during Tuesday night's Kangaroo Express Summer Shootout Series.
"There's been no love lost between these two aggressive drivers," Smith says. "If they'd like to settle the score here, we'll have a couple of school buses tuned up and ready to go. There's no better way to beat and bang than in a 30-foot school bus on a quarter-mile oval!"
Brad Keselowski, again on the losing end of an encounter with Carl Edwards (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
Harvick says he's worried this 'Boys, have at it' philosophy NASCAR executives ordered in January may have gone over the edge: "Earlier in the race I saw Brad - and I was right there racing with both -- Brad split up front of Carl, and Carl got in back of him," Harvick said.
"I think you can debate it all day long. At that point, the reaction wasn't the same as it was at the end of the race.
"I know you're going for a win and everything is fine...but hooking someone in the right-rear down the straightaway...I probably wouldn't have reacted as kindly as Brad did.
"I probably would have walked down there and punched him (Edwards) in the mouth.
"I just think that's way, way out of bounds, hooking somebody in the middle of the straightaway."
But this season NASCAR is letting drivers "self-police" themselves in situations like this. And Harvick has had his moments with Joey Logano, for instance too.
"I like the idea of letting us handle it, to a certain extent," Harvick says. "But this was kind of like Atlanta all over again.
"You put a lot of people in a really bad position when you have stuff happening like that.
"I like to race as rough as anybody, but there's still a line when somebody has to rein somebody in. And you hope that it doesn't get to the point where you wind up hurting somebody or you end up killing somebody...and hopefully it doesn't take that long for NASCAR’s reaction to come -- to just get everything under control.
"There has to be a boundary drawn at some point before everything gets to that point."
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NASCAR's Boys, have at it policy has been getting a little rough. But maybe this type of Roman gladiator battling is just what Daytona wants, to boost TV ratings and crowd appeal. Brad Keselowski here hard into the wall (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
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CE v. BK
If Nascar doesn't level any penalties, it'll show how much ratings mean as opposed to driver safety. Harvick got it right. And Nascar has to do something to stop this before it becomes a tragedy.
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What "Boys Have At It" Doesn't Mean
People seem not to have realized that "Boys Have At It" is not what they think it is. Reckless endangerment is not "Boys Have At It."
Carl & Brad Again
I like Both of these drivers a lot. I don't fault either, it's just a racin deal. Brad gave Carl a shove, no doubt, which was a chickenshift move, so Brad got what he paid for.
If ya dont want to get turned, then dont bump a guy who is very hungry for a win and also tired of being bumped out of the way. Carl had a very fast car. fast enough to catch Brad and administer the pay back.
You Go Carl.!! (And Brad.)
Crashalotski drove in over
Crashalotski drove in over his head a little in Turn 1 and pushed Edwards high. He earned a little rubbing or crowding from Edwards, but to be blatantly wrecked like that was ridiculous. The front straightaway at Gateway is a cattle shoot, and if someone gets wrecked like that it's just going to cause a big pile up. Only a Bowman Gray regular would say that Brad "got what he paid for". Edwards, just like at Atlanta, went way over the payback line. This time Edwards had a little cause for something short of wrecking Crashalotski, but not what he wound up doing. At Atlanta, he was not justified for ANY retaliation. Edwards cut Crashalotski off, not the other way around. I just hope Crashalotski returns the favor sometime when it cost Edwards the most. He owes Edwards one wreck for each series. If NASCRAP is not going to police the sport like they should, then Crashalotski better be allowed to settle the score.
Would Mr. Happy went down and
Would Mr. Happy went down and punched Cousin Carl...or would he send his wife?
Payback (to everyone else)
Penske & Roush should have to pony up every cent for all costs of fixing / or rebuilding entirely all the cars that their boys wrecked on the last lap. Money is an equalizer & I'm sure Rog-n-Jack won't like having to pay out the millions of dollars to do so. Maybe then they'll reign their drivers in.
Have At It
NASCAR has been promoting, “Have At It” so they must be really happy with this most recent bit of dangerous, over the line driving. It’s all fun until someone gets killed and then NASCAR will discover that they have been an accessory to manslaughter.
Edward's Punishment
I don't think that they should publicly punish Carl, Brian just needs to handle it like his father did. Call Carl to Daytona and tell him if he doesn't straighten up, they will black flag him to do an inspection on his car in the middle of the race. Then, after the race is over Carl's crew can put the car back together.
That would send a bigger message than a public fine or punishment.
Nascar Reactive, Not Proactive
Nascar won't do anything until someone gets hurt or gets killed. They are reactive instead of proactive on everything in the sport so I wouldn't expect this to be any different.
And if they don't assess any penalties, it makes you wonder what was said in meetings that Nascar had with both of them after the first incident.
Harvick is right
I've been around racing my whole life. Edwards is a punk of a driver. You don't hook someone on the straight away. You also don't make a move on them that is going to wreck them and others. You do something that punishes that driver and team only. Like getting them loose and staying on them in the corner until they pancake the right side hard. Edwards decision making process about where to wreck Brad is poor. Both times on the straight and in such a way that it was more than just Brad that he wrecked. The other car owners should be screaming at NASCAR for all the torn up cars. The drivers that wrecked at Gateway should be ticked at Carl because it cost a few of them more spots in the finish. Either way Carl has a bullseye painted on him if NASCAR decides to do nothing.
60 vs 22
Why doesnt anyone interview Roush or Penske? Their silence is deafening.
Sit him down
This was not just a racing deal. I am afraid that if Keselowski had taken this hit in the drivers side that he may not be with us anymore. At the bare minimum Edwards should be sat down for the next 4 Nationwide events. Period. And Krash Keselowski is no saint as evidenced from his previous misdeeds, but he did nothing wrong at Gateway. He washed up into Edwards in 1 and backed off, let Edwards get it gathered up and then they raced some more down the back stretch. Carl..you have some serious issues going on here. And people think that my guy Kyle Busch is bad ? Right.
Call it the Penske Influence....
Given the calm demeanor of Brad after the wreck, I'm sure Roger Penske is mentoring him about his actions on/off the track. To stay cool, calm and collected and Mr. Penske handle business. Penske carries WAAAAAY MORE CLOUT than Carl Edwards and Jack Roush behind closed doors. Had Brad been with JR Motorsports when this had happen, it would have been a brawl in Victory Lane.
I expect NASCAR to levy a one-race NATIONWIDE (who cares) suspension and probation for the rest of the year. The same for Cup, probation, but no race suspension. If Carl loses a race or more in both Cup and Nationwide. Wow, NASCAR will have finally done something right for a change.
NASCAR MUST TAKE CONTROL
If NASCAR, as the governing body, doesn't take firm control of this situation once and for all, it just goes to prove to all the non-NASCAR fans that the joke they think NASCAR racing is, is true. For Joe Balash to say the incident was just 'hard racing' is complete ignorance of what everyone saw and knows happened, especially after Edwards admitted so in victory lane. Doesn't he watch the post race stuff too..? Wake up NASCAR, and finally do 'the right thing'. Or just maybe, you don't know what 'the right thing' is..!!