The Edwards-BK flip flap

Carl Edwards had a choice to make. How would he show his displeasure toward Brad Keselowski? His intentions to wreck the brash young driver at Atlanta had an unintentional result. As Joe Menzer writes, he made the wrong choice.

NASCAR studying incident | Video: BK taps Edwards | Edwards flips BK | We discuss
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Posted Yesterday by `Duane

 

Below posted yesterday by `Richard

 

 

I like Carl, I don't care for Keslowski, think he's too cocky for his own good. However there are at least 3 tracks that drivers have to keep their heads at and not look for paybacks. Talladega, Daytona and Atlanta (the three fastest). I'm sure Carl was shocked and perhaps a bit scared when he saw what had happened, certainly he had no intentions in flipping the car. Earlier I had given him kudos for admitting after watching the tape that Brad may not have done him wrong, but then to come back and do what he did... The earlier contact... perhaps Keslowski could have/should have lifted quicker. He did admit that he had but not soon enough to save the contact. Did he??? IDK but he held his line and Carl did come down into him. Flashback to Talladega same thing Brad held his line and Carl tried to block him, granted then it was for the win and this past weekend it was basically for nill, but Carl knows Brad. He knows how he drives. Why would he have pushed the issue there? He knew Keslowski was going to give no quarter and yet he tried to sneak in there. Now if Carl had waited until next weekend in Bristol, or Martinsville for his payback, it may have gone unnoticed and unpunished. I can't see NASCAR not suspending him for at least one Cup race, not Nationwide, he didn't commit the foul in Nationwide he did it in Cup, he should have to pay for it in Cup.

That being said NASCAR REALLY needs another Dale Sr. Someone that can and will pull these brash young drivers aside and give them a "smack upside the head". I don't see anybody in NASCAR right now that could fit the bill.

Of course that's my opinion and I could be wrong!

 

`Brian, we respect & value all our member's opinions 4-Sure
UPDATE from Nascar: 3/10/10


'Not acceptable' for Carl or `Space 4-Sure

NASCAR president Mike Helton said Carl Edwards "crossed a line" Sunday in Atlanta. Along with being parked during the race, Edwards will be on probation for three races.

Sound Off: Mike Helton | More: NASCAR sends out mixed message with decision
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I think it all comes down 2 the $'s
____________________________

NASCAR slaps Edwards’ wrist, crosses fingers

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports Mar 9, 2:19 pm EST


NASCAR won’t park Carl Edwards for purposefully wrecking rival Brad Keselowski on Sunday – a clip to the bumper that sent Keselowski and his car airborne before landing on its roof.
“We made it very clear to [Edwards] that these actions were not acceptable,” NASCAR president Mike Helton said in a teleconference Tuesday announcing a meager three-race probation. “We believe [Edwards] understands our position at this point.”
And with that wrist slap – if being put on probation for three races is even that – the “boys, have at it” era in NASCAR is in full effect. But as potentially reckless as such a policy is, it’s precisely what NASCAR could use at this point.
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The stock-car circuit has been plagued by dwindling interest, plummeting attendance and sagging television ratings the last few years. The shine has worn off what was once hailed as the nation’s fastest-growing sport. There’s little question the series got too dull, the drivers too corporate and the racing too predictable.
In January, Helton boldly stated that things were changing when he essentially relaxed the rules for the kind of frontier justice and retaliatory wrecks that the sport was built upon.
“There’s an age-old saying in NASCAR, ‘If you ain’t rubbing, you ain’t racing,’ ” Helton said in January. “I think that’s what the NASCAR fan, the NASCAR stakeholders all bought into, and all expect.”
Or as NASCAR vice president Robin Pemberton put when discussing a different rule change, “Boys, have at it, and have a good time.”
This is a dangerous game the circuit is playing, one that could backfire with serious injury or even death. That’s their gamble. Many racers would prefer the chance to settle their differences on the track and bristled in recent years at the repeated trips to the NASCAR hauler for postrace discipline. NASCAR heard the complaints – or saw the empty seats – and made a move.
Edwards tested NASCAR’s new policy to the fullest Sunday, the season’s fourth race. Early on in the event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he and Keselowski made contact, enough that Edwards had to go to the garage for repairs. When he returned to the track, he was 156 laps down. With just three laps to go in the race and Keselowski fighting for a top-five finish, Edwards smacked Keselowski’s back bumper and sent him flying.
It was a wild, frightening wreck. Keselowski could’ve been seriously injured. Had NASCAR suspended Edwards, there wouldn’t be much room for argument. First off, he ruined the end of the race (where Juan Pablo Montoya was trying to reel in eventual winner Kurt Busch) and afterwards didn’t even pretend it was an “accident.”
“My options: Considering that Brad wrecks me with no regard for anyone’s safety or hard work, should I: A) Keep letting him wreck me? B) Confront him after the race? C) Wait til Bristol and collect other cars? or D) Take care of it now?” Edwards wrote on his Facebook page.
“I want to be clear that I was surprised at his flight and very relieved when he walked away,” Edwards continued. “Every person has to decide what code they want to live by and hopefully this explains mine.”
So there you go – hard-core retaliation at 190 miles per hour.

Brad Keselowski was fighting for a top-five finish when he was hit.
(Geoff Burke/Getty Images)

And NASCAR doesn’t seem too upset about it.
“We were willing to put more responsibility in the hands of the driver,” Helton said Tuesday. “But there is a line you can cross and we will step in and restore law and order if we think that line is crossed.”
And where exactly is that line?
“I think we see it when we see it,” Helton said.
Helton tried to make a big deal about “parking” Edwards immediately after the incident in Atlanta, but it was hardly a penalty considering how many laps down Edwards was. And the three-race probation is essentially nothing.
Helton’s idea on how to end the feud is to have “the two drivers talk it out.” Maybe at the end everyone can have lemonade.
The entire Helton teleconference on Tuesday was pretty comical. Diane Sawyer’s interest in the story was mentioned and “Inside Edition” was even on hand to ask a question.

By the end, the message was pretty clear: Keep banging, keep fighting and keep retaliating. NASCAR wants to return to its roots – wants to bring back the don’t-miss-a-lap action that made it so popular in the first place.
So have at it, boys. Keep watching, fans. And let’s all hope no one gets hurt. What We need the $'s

 

I still feel they are missing the point of the severity of this wreck. The WING that made it airborne in the 1st place. The roof flaps not working because of the lack of air from the wing. I haven't liked the wing from the start, and I STILL dis-like it. The wing can't go away fast enough IMO. I like the other changes they made.
Personally, I feel that NASCAR should make the teams use FACTORY sheet metal, and not these generic shapes they come up with. Add some ground effects, spoilers, canards, etc, but the basic shape is PURE factory. And the engines MUST be made production available in 500 cars minimum, as they used to be. Mod' from there.
Did Edwards wreck Brad K? YES! Did he deserve it? YES!
My 2 cents.

 

He was definately mad at Brad. They say hindsight is 20/20 and I'm sure that Carl regretted what he did when he saw the car in the air. I imagine his own flight at Talladega went thru his mind when he looked in the mirror.

I do like Carl. Even if he does drive a Ford.

I love it when they beat and bang on each other and can finish the race. Don't like to see them wreck, but since that stupid wing has come along nothing has been right. Hate those ricer wings!!! Ready for the spoiler's return.

 

ok, we have not heard from Brent (juniorcar) in quite a long time! Brent where are you, please post up some info, I really hope everything is ok! mia on juniorcar..............