July 26, 2010
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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Carl Edwards has received nothing but criticism for his recent on the track altercations with Brad Keselowski. Unjust criticism, because the only thing that Edwards is guilty of is standing up for himself.
In both cases, Keselowski instigated the situation, while Edwards merely retaliated. The reason that Edwards has caught so much flak is because his retaliation resulted in a couple of spectacular and violent crashes. If Keselowski had simply spun off track and not hit anything, nothing more would have been said.
The media has tried to portray Edwards as the bad guy in this situation, when in fact the opposite is true. More of the blame should be placed on Keselowski. NASCAR officials realize this, which is why he was placed on probation until the end of the year. However, probation is nothing but a slap on the wrist. He should have received the same penalties as Edwards, because he was just as much at fault.
At the beginning of the season, NASCAR officials instituted its "Boy's Have at It" policy in an effort to increase their sagging television ratings. As part of the policy, they wanted drivers to "police" themselves.
Policing the situation is what Carl Edwards has done. Keselowski started both incidents by running into him first and Edwards took care of it. Yet, as a result of doing exactly what NASCAR asked him to do, officials fined him $25,000 and docked him 60 championship points. Makes a lot of sense.
Edwards has been accused of being reckless and dangerous on the track. Nothing could be further from the truth. He always races other drivers clean and doesn't intentionally wreck other drivers unless they give him a reason.
Edwards did not lose any respect for his actions; if anything, he gained respect. The odds are pretty good that every other driver will think twice about moving Edwards out of the way while contending for position on the track.
Moreover, Edwards didn't cross any line. No more so than what he did in Atlanta where the only punishment he received was being placed on probation. So why fine him and dock him championship points for doing essentially the same thing?
Perhaps what most people don't like is that Edwards has admitted that he intentionally wrecked Keselowski both times. At least he is honest, which illustrates that he is a straightforward type of guy. Race him clean and he will do likewise.
"It's not OK to move me out of the way," Edwards was quoted as saying in a David Caraviello article on nascar.com. "If somebody else wants to let people move them out of the way for the win, that's OK with me. They can do whatever they like, but I can't allow myself to be run over like that. I'm not going to win championships like that."
In both of these incidents, Edwards was the victim and Keselowski the antagonist. It is only bad luck that Edwards' retaliation resulted in such violent crashes. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured or killed. However, if Keselowski had left Edwards alone in the first place, neither of the incidents would have happened.
"The deal is he'll eventually learn he can't run into my car over and over and put me in bad situations," Edwards was quoted as saying in an AP article on nascar.com. "In every situation, there's an aggressor and there's someone who reacts. I was not the aggressor in this situation."
There is an old saying that applies very well to these circumstances. "Let sleeping dogs lie."
Keselowski needs to learn is that there are some people who cannot be pushed around. Carl Edwards is one of these people.
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