March 10, 2010
By Chuck Abrams
The race at Atlanta on Sunday started out with a decent story line seeing Dale Jr. on the pole with a blistering speed that no one else came close to. A resurgent RCR came into the race with all three of its teams running very well and a lot of talk about a possible Harvick win at Atlanta. Johnson had just run circles around all the other teams with two wins in the first three races.
But the race quickly devolved into a so-so race -- with half-empty grandstands.
That is until Lap 40.
On a restart following Ragan’s blown tire, Carl Edwards decided that he wanted to be where Brad Keselowski was. We’ve seen that show before. Carl seems to think that he is owed a spot no matter what. So Carl moved down and Brad held his line, he really had nowhere to go. Brad claims he slowed but he can’t slam on his brakes and allow Carl to take his spot. He could have been smacked in the rear and caused a larger wreck slowing drastically for Carl as everyone else is speeding up.
Carl got a bit loose from what was a relatively minor bump and slams into Joey Logano and the wall -- thus ruining both of their days.
While unhappy, Carl did not really blame Brad for the move. Brad even apologized on the radio claiming he just could not slow down fast enough for Carl.
So we thought all was OK between the two drivers. Until Lap 323.
150 laps down, with Brad running in the top 10, Carl drives up and purposely hooks Brad, turning his car upside down and into the wall, narrowly missing sending his car into the fence and spraying fans with debris.
And this was for what reason? Because Brad could not slow fast enough on lap 40 to let Carl take the position he felt he was owed?
Let’s be realistic here. The Keselowski/Edwards wreck at Talladega last year was due to Carl blocking Brad at an inopportune time. Carl purposely blocked, fully expecting Brad to slow for him and not try to race for the win. A calculated gamble and he lost.
Now Carl’s arrogance got the better of him again. Finding himself out of position at the lap 40 restart, he forced his way into the front of Brad’s car instead of waiting for a better spot top open up. It was only lap 40 after all. He had plenty of time to make up any lost position. But Carl gets what Carl wants.
And he got himself parked and called to the NASCAR trailer.
Carl said he did not expect Brad to get upside down, he just wanted to spin him out through the grass. And once again, on purpose. This was not an accident in close racing, this was a calculated move to take another competitor out of the race.
NASCAR said at the beginning of the year that they wanted to see more personality, rivalries and let the drivers “have at it”. Well, be careful what you ask for, you might just get it.
Brad is an aggressive driver and it is his first full season in Cup. He will learn or he will wreck a lot of cars, and that will be that. Carl has been around a while and has fooled many with his “aw shucks” attitude and big smile. But the other side of Carl is his arrogance and aggressiveness. Remember his “fake” punch at Matt Kenseth a couple years ago when things were less than rosy between them? Carl is not all duckies and bunnies, he has a less than nice side to him and he can hurt people.
NASCAR has a really tough job right now. They need to ensure that their position of “have at it” is not really “do whatever the heck you want out there”. They need to foster rivalry in the sport. And they will inevitably be criticized for whatever decision they make.
But the right move would be to punish Carl Edwards for two reasons: 1) set the bar for what is and isn’t allowed and 2) serve Carl some humble pie.
Carl is danged lucky no fans were hurt during his histrionics. That would have been an act that could have landed him in an Atlanta courtroom facing unbelievable charges.
Sometime on Tuesday, NASCAR will have announced their plans for Carl and his car owner. A fine and a loss of points are most likely. A one race suspension is possible, although I believe less likely. Not unwarranted, but less likely. But it is the one punishment that I think will make Carl a little less full of himself -- and a safer driver to be around.
Let me know your thoughts.
Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.
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