Carl Edwards deserved stiffer punishment

Everything I've read, every video I've watched from Talladega last year to the incident between Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards at Atlanta has really left me upset with NASCAR and Carl Edwards.

Last year at Talladega when Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski got into an accident on the final lap of the race, just before the finish line, the move that Carl Edwards made to cut him off so that he wouldn't pass is what got the 2 tangled up, Keselowski had nowhere to go, that pretty much disabled his car. But yet to Carl Edwards that accident was Keselowski's fault, he of course had nothing to do with it.

So what does he do? Harbors a grudge for a year.

Now we are at Atlanta Motor Speedway this past March 7th. From everything I've read and everything that I've seen doesn't show me that Brad Keselowski could have avoided hitting him, Carl Edwards, taking him out of the race for 156 laps. So what does Carl Edwards do? Harbors a grudge and bides his time to the last 2 laps of the race, and then he taps, intentionally I might add, Brad Keselowski's car. Not rear ending him, not slowing down, intentionally turning into him going 190 miles an hour.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that when you are going those speeds that you can do some serious damage to a car, and potentially harm someone, if not kill someone. That was not a smart move on Carl Edward's part.

But since NASCAR said that 'boys could be boys' and they said that these taps bumps etc would be allowed. But now it's crossed the line. This was nothing more than revenge, and part of it was bad judgment on Carl Edwards part, but the man thinks he's some kind of racing god and can do no wrong.

Well he's done wrong, and NASCAR has felt that a proper punishment was a 3 week, 3 race probation. As one article I read said its not even a slap on the wrist, its more like NASCAR officials wagging a finger in his face. How wrong is that?

Totally wrong.

What it tells me is that NASCAR has no regard for the safety of its drivers, no regard for the safety of the fans in the stands. He should have in my honest not so humble opinion been suspended for one to 3 weeks. Of course Mr. Edwards fans side with him, and his story that its all Brad Keselowski's fault. I'm not buying it.

Brad Keselowski isn't perfect, and while he is new to the sport and is known to be somewhat on the aggressive side of driving, this incident between him and Carl Edwards doesn't appear to be solely his fault. If anything I think Edwards set him up to hit him. To appeal to his fans for support and give the impression that he's the 'good guy'.

Some day, Carl Edwards, your fans will see through your charade. And see you for the poor sport, and poor loser that you really are. Some day the grudge that you hold against a person will get the better of you and you will find out what its like to have their blood on your hands. Fortunately for you that didn't happen on Sunday. It could have. It could have been a fan.

Last year at Talladega, I had respect for Carl Edwards, for crossing the finish line on foot. He finished the race, car or no car. I didn't fault Brad Keselowski either. I knew what Carl Edwards was doing, going for a block. I knew what Keselowski was doing, going for the win.

But now its time for one of these men to step up and be a gentleman. Carl Edwards showed that he wasn't going to be a gentleman about it. Several of his fans want to see him take Keselowski out of the race. On the other hand Brad Keselowski has many fans that wouldn't mind seeing him take Carl Edwards out of the race as well. I hope for Brad's sake that he runs a clean race and stays away from swapping paint with Edwards.

Edwards showed what sportsmanship he has this weekend!
NONE.
And because of that display of sportsmanship---


Carl Edwards has not only lost my respect, but lost the respect of my 14 year old son. That says a lot. I would not tell my son that he can't root for Carl Edwards but I would point out that he's not a person that is worth looking up to and being a good role model for kids and race fans.

NASCAR has now put people at risk, drivers and fans, and it will be interesting to see if they step up the standards and safety during the races. Many people don't go to see crashes. The watch NASCAR for the race, for the love of the sport. But NASCAR seems to think that these disputes will draw attention to the race, and ratings on TV.

Sorry but for me it won't. I'll follow online if I must, but if NASCAR won't make safety of the drivers and the fans their top priority....then its not worth my time watching it.

If NASCAR is going to give a driver a finger wagging, slap on the wrist--its not worth my time watching. We all know that if Carl Edwards had pulled this stunt with any top veteran driver, the punishment would have been a lot stiffer. But because it was essentially a new, and still rookie driver, he can get away with it.

My New saying is Carl Edwards feels he needs to crash the competition because he drives a FORD. And we all KNOW that FORD cars Fail On Race Day!