Did you intentionally wreck him?
“Well Brad knows the deal between him and I. The scary part was that his car went airborne which is not at all what I expected…” blah, blah, blah.
I heard a yes or no question. I didn’t hear a yes or no answer, which was what we were all looking for. Or I will admit that at least I was looking for it. I already knew the answer. But I was listening for Carl Edwards to say it.
And let me state I like Edwards. I have met him before and he was extremely nice and friendly. I won’t misrepresent myself here and pretend to be good buddies with him either. Over the years he has said and done things I like and said and done things I didn’t like. In Sunday’s Atlanta race I didn’t like.
Backing up the time machine, let’s take a look at the day’s first incident between Edwards and Brad Keselowski. Edwards approached turn one in the middle groove and once in the turn moved to the lower lane. Keselowski was already there. The pair bumped and up to the fence went the Edwards machine, damaging Joey Logano’s ride in the process.
Keselowski said he lifted but couldn’t slow enough to let the Edwards car in. Watching the race, that explanation seemed very plausible. There is a history of tension between the two so maybe Keselowski isn’t exactly looking to help ‘Cousin Carl’ either. The crash appeared to be a racing accident. If anything more, percentage lay with Edwards for the rapid lane change.
Fast forward roughly 280 laps and here comes the revenge move. Edwards turns right along the frontstretch and spins Keselowski. The car does one of the infamous backward lift pirouettes that high-speed stock cars are known for and crashes back to earth.
If Keselowski simply spins into the infield this discussion is not nearly as emphatic. But he didn’t. He took off flying. That is a huge problem.
The reverse turnovers are rare at Atlanta despite the car’s top speeds exceeding the superspeedways. They can happen. Elliott Sadler and Johnny Benson have shown their tailpipes to Michigan fans.
But if any driver hits another in front of them to send that person out of control then the hitter is responsible for whatever happens. If it a lazy spinout, he bears responsibility. If the car flies into the grandstands and spectators have consequences, he bears responsibility.
The blame for the 2009 Talladega crash between these same two also falls at Edwards’ feet. He blocked Keselowski, the trailing Brad simply held his line and into the fence goes the Roush-Fenway driver.
The other Keselowski crashing instances have no place in judging this issue. I agree that he made some mistakes and some drivers will not give the Michigan native any extra room. But no matter who did what to whom, the fans in the stands do not need to be dodging pieces from two guys’ attitude match.
“Have at it boys” was the slogan following NASCAR’s session on the offseason’s media tour. Robin Pemberton’s words were very clear that day. NASCAR would back off in policing bump drafting and other aggressive moves on the track. But there still was a line of dirty and over aggressive driving to cross. Words cannot be printed to outline a rule for every single racecar situation. There needs to be wiggle room for common sense. And everyone knew that.
Anyone who wants to throw this back in NASCAR’s face has no place to do it, unless they have selective memory and hearing. What happened Sunday was obviously over the line for Pemberton’s comment. NASCAR was specific in explaining that fact in that very same press conference.
Carl Edwards was parked for the remainder of the Atlanta race for the crash. And then proceeded up pitlane in the opposite direction, creating a second dangerous situation. His punishment is three weeks probation.
Probation is not a punishment. Any driver I have ever seen on probation and then makes another bad decision simply gets their probation extended. Probation has never been defined to the public. There is no consequence.
I am glad for a rivalry. I love to see raw emotion. But a car flew through the air after a deliberate dump, and created a dangerous scenario for the fans. This is the reason why restrictor plates exist at all, to keep cars on the ground and out of the grandstands.
If you purposefully spinout a car in front of you then you must accept responsibility for whatever that car does, intended or not. Carl Edwards did something wrong on Sunday. In my opinion he got away with it.
(Patrick Reynolds is a former NASCAR mechanic who co-hosts the One and Done auto racing talk show Tuesdays at 11am ET on www.wsicweb.com)
{ 13 comments }
Why has it always been so hard for NASCAR to do what is right? This “double secret probation” means nothing..and I am SURE NASCAR knows the fans have caught on..but they continue to go along as if the fans were stupid toads sitting on a log watching the world go by. A few years ago Stewart was put on “double secret probation” (I could be wrong but I thought it was for more like 6 races) for stating on his radio show NASCAR was beginning to be like World Wrestling League…and folks here we have it…Stewart’s words came true…”STEP ON UP FANS AND WATCH YOUR FAVORITE DRIVER RIP, SHRED, RUMBLE, TUMBLE, PUNT, PUNCH, AND ROLL HIS COMPETITORS OUT OF THE WAY TO THE CHECKERS!!” Hey man…we could have a fan contest to give your favorite drivers those cool names wrestlers always have! If we keep this up all we have to do is give the drivers each a stick to hold out their windows, put the cars on an ice rink..and we have ROOTIN TOOTIN SMASHEM BASHEM ICE HOCKEY! I’m just trying to figure out how they’ll get those 3400 pound cars in that little “time out box”!
What have you done for me lately? this could be signed by:Jack Roush,Brad, and every body else hit by Carl and Brad,this is ridiculous ..no fine ,no suspension, no it doesn’t matter it sells tickets that is all and I mean ALL Nascar cares about..prove it wrong!
You know, Patrick, I usually agree with you. That Edwards did wrong, I do not dispute- though KEz has piled up enemies and someone else would have turned him sooner or later. It wasn’t a good place to do it. This is a place where pit road or a cool down lap bash would have been better.
On the other hand….what Kez has done before DOES matter. A LOT. Think of how many times he’s in the middle of something, because of over-aggressiveness and carelessness. If NASCAR won’t stop him…not to your point, but others….this WILL NOT spur a rash of crashes and incidents. The drivers have to live with the results of what they do and how it affects points and sponsor relationships, not to mention other drivers. They are also the ones putting their lives on the line.
I think we’re making WAY too much of this.
Ok, I have been a race fan since way back in the Fireball Roberts days. I have a real problem with the way NASCAR (for lack of a better word) is handling today’s races anyway. When Bill France jr. turned the reins over to that wimp Brian France and his two other stooges it has gone downhill and the popularity has gone with it. I am not saying that what Carl did should go unpunished but hey, you guys said ‘have at it’!
Dale Earnhardt made a living and a name for himself by very similar moves. I ran out of fingers and toes trying to count the times I have seen him take someone out, not necissarly to win the race but because he felt like it. NASCAR never had a problem with him doing it, why? Because it put fans in the stands and that is what they WANTED to see.
So now we have a new breed of driver out there with BIG sponsors and such. Well NASCAR stop catering to these millionaires and think about the people in the stands who don’t mind seeing a car turned backwards or taken out if the situation calls for it. Again, I’m not saying it is not dangerous for a car to get airborne, it is very dangerous. BUT, you know they didn’t do that before you put that radio control car ‘wing’ on them now did they? I wonder who, if anyone, making the decisions has any mechanical training or engineering experience whatsoever! Oh where is Smokey Yunick when we need him!
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.
Rivalries have always been good for the sport. And yes, sometimes someone takes it too far. And as Patrick pointed out, if Kes didn’t get airbourne, we wouldn’t be having these conversaions. My thought is what would happen to Carl if someone was seriously injured or even worse, killed? We all know it was intentional. Could a driver be looking at man slaughter charges if something like that happened? It’s just a thought.
It’s one thing to retaliate immediately after an alleged incident, but to retaliate 2 hours later and 156 laps down is wrong.
NASCAR should eliminate the double block on super-speedways and high speed tracks. Edwards would have never got into trouble at Taledaga if allowed one attempt at blocking at the finish of the race. Admittedly this would be tough for NASCAR to enforce.
Good article Patrick! Deliberately punting someone on Nascar’s fastest speedway is just wrong! Carl never accepts any responsibility for his own actions. The Dega wreck was self-inflicted, not Keselowski’s fault! The earlier Atlanta scuffle could have gone either way…Carl or Brad’s fault. The retaliation at 190 mph was only by Carl’s premeditated plan for revenge! If someone would have been killed as a result, I wonder if Nascar would still take the “have at it boys” attitude? If the line wasn’t crossed with this deal, I’d hate to see what would qualify!
patrick no wonder u are a writer now as u must not could hold a job as mech in naSCAR. LOL
ONLY THING WRONG WAS BKK IS STILL ALIVE HES A PUNK NEVER BEEN A DRIVER ALL WAYS RUNNING OVER EVERONE NEVER BEEN A EDWARDS FAN BUT # 1 FAN NOW HOPE NEXT TIME BK RUN OVER SOMEONE IT BACKFIRES ON HIM AND BREAKS HIS DAM NECK SO HOPE HE CANT RACE ANYMORE. HE LOOK LIKE A DAM QUEER ANYWAY HE NEED TO GO BACK TO JR OR ONE OF HIS BOYS AS HE JR USE TO CALL THEM.
Another reply after much thought,I don’t think you will see Brad as aggressive as before because he drives for Mr. Roger and I personally think Mr.Roger took alot of gunpowder out of Kurt and will do the same with Brad.Penske is a gentleman and expects the same from his guys because you are representing him..in fact,I think he demands good behavior..okay Jack its your turn to calm down your video racer.2nd thought anyone 100+ plus laps down stays PARKED ALL DAY.Fini
Ok so NASCAR has 2 different set of rules depending on what kind of Carl you are, Edwards or Long. Nascar enforces infraction differently, park and suspend Kevin Harvick vs. JD Gibbs as opposed to Carl vs. BK not let Carl finish the last 2 laps of the race and take him out to dinner for a free meal later in the week and tell him “don’t do it for the next 3 weeks or we will take you to dinner again and tell you the same thing”!
Everyone fails to see the real story here! Every time the COT get turned backwards at more then 100 MPH it takes off like 1 of the Teams private jets. honestly they do not know if the spoiler replacement on these cars “to improve competition” will actually clip the COTs proverbial Wings either. I certainly do not want to be any where near the track, especially in the stands, when we really find out.
NASCAR’s rule book has always been written in pencil and changes regularly to suit their needs at the time. They actually buy pencils that have more eraser then wood and Graphite(lead).
Billy
I have been following this, following what was said on Both Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski’s fan page on facebook, become fans of both. I’ve watched footage of the Talladega Crash, and the Crash in Atlata that Flipped B.K. Now From everything I’ve read and seen footage of that took Edwards out for 156 laps, I agree you can see Carl what is looking to try to block or change lanes, could that be what caused it, that he might not have seen Keselowski? So Edward’s gets wrecked and called himself innocent, nope he bided his time and waited until the last 2 laps, and then went after Keselowski an purpose, you saw the hands move the steering wheel to the right. The fact that he didn’t deny it, even though he doesn’t admit he did it on purpose, we all know he did.
Now we are talking revenge
Bad move at 195 mph.
Keselowski may have made some bad moves, but Carl Edwards beef with him is as much as his own fault if not more. Yet he won’t be a man and own up to it. That right there has lost all respect I have for him.
Am I a Brad Keselowski fan? No, but if Edwards keeps this up I think I just might become one.
Carl Edwards should KNOW the danger of purposely hitting someone at 195 mph, he should know that those speeds could do anything, and if he keeps up his tantrums on the track he WILL kill someone.
Does anyone ever think he’s setting himself up to be hit by Keselowski on purpose? Or am I the only one that thinks that……
I believe that the drivers that are complaining about Keselowski are somewhat worried about him and his resolve to win. He is an old time racer that is there to win. Second place is the first loser.
Maybe he has gotten into someone in a Nationwide race, but what cup driver hasn’t move someone out of the way on the way to the front of a Nationwide/Busch race and have everyone chalked it to earning your way in NASCAR racing. I would give my right arm to have Carl or Brad shove me out of the way at Martinsville, Bristol or Texas. These guys need to stop whinning.
Brad has got what it takes and there are some drivers and NASCAR personalities that are intimated by that.
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