March 19, 2010
By Rebecca Gladden
For the past two weeks, the NASCAR Nation has been in a state of continuous debate regarding the Carl Edwards / Brad Keselowski incident that took place in the Cup race at Atlanta.
There are really two parts to the discussion and a wide array of opinions -- first, about the incident itself, and second, about NASCAR's response to it.
Predictably, those who took Carl Edwards' side in the argument -- that his on-track actions were justified and fell in line with NASCAR's new 'have at it' policy -- were equally supportive of the very light penalty he received: probation for three races with no money or points fines.
Fans who felt that Edwards had crossed the line, intentionally wrecking Keselowski to teach him a lesson (as per Edwards' self-described "code"), considered NASCAR's slap-on-the-wrist penalty far too lenient.
Many also contend that the ruling was grossly inconsistent with previous penalties leveled by the sanctioning body for, arguably, much less blatant and risky moves than the one Edwards pulled at Atlanta.
Regardless of where you fell on the spectrum of opinion, however, NASCAR's ruling was widely seen as proof that the sanctioning body was standing by its preseason message to drivers and fans -- that it was "putting things back in the drivers' hands" and telling them to "have at it" on the racetrack.
But, now comes word from former three-time Cup Champion Darrell Waltrip, currently a race commentator and columnist with FOX Sports, that NASCAR will be changing -- or at least clarifying -- its hands-off approach -- starting this weekend at Bristol.
On his Twitter page Tuesday, Waltrip wrote in a series of tweets: "When the drivers meeting is over Sunday, new deal, no more getting even … I think Mike Helton will 'splain to the boys, if you're racing and make contact, we understand, if its a pay back, woo (sic) be unto you! … If you fix your car and come back on the track and wreck someone intentionally, Driver, crew chief and owner are all in big trouble, not just 1."
Waltrip emphasized that harsh future penalties for similar occurrences would befall not just the drivers, but the crew chiefs as well, tweeting: "Thats the one question I have for Bob Osborne, Carl's crew chief, did you have any idea Carl was going to do what he did, was he surprised! … one more thing, the crew chief is responsible for any action that involves his car, crew members, anyone that works on that car, driver too."
Whether Waltrip has real inside knowledge of the situation (as I suspect), or was simply postulating, is unclear. But, as his Twitter messages clearly indicate, if you took the soft penalty on Edwards as proof positive that things have changed in NASCAR, you are probably mistaken.
When the penalty against Edwards was announced last week, NASCAR President Mike Helton -- foreshadowing this weekend's pending announcement -- said, "Historically, if you look back at NASCAR's reaction to things, we may react to the first incident differently than we react to the third or fourth or fifth incident. So, it's how much interaction or reaction does NASCAR have to have to turn the tide back in the direction where it should be."
Helton's statement is the closest thing yet to an admission that NASCAR is guilty of the very thing that drives fans crazy: by stating that it reacts differently to one infraction than it does to another, Helton confirmed that NASCAR is, indeed, inconsistent in its rulings.
Consistently inconsistent.
And that's one thing that hasn't changed and probably never will. Helton said that NASCAR will continue to crack down on drivers who cross the line -- but, when asked where that line was, replied, "We see it when we see it."
Ah, ambiguity at its finest.
So, if you've been riding a high since last week under the mistaken assumption that the Carl Edwards' ruling indicates a true transformation in NASCAR's thinking -- think again.
One penalty does not a paradigm shift make.
Follow Rebecca on Twitter: @nscrwriter
You can contact Rebecca at.. Insider Racing News
You Can Read Other Articles By Rebecca
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
