Carl Edwards' intentional wrecking of Brad Keselowski at the end of Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Gateway International Raceway, on top of his putting Keselowski in the fence at Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this year, has NASCAR drivers and fans wondering whether his actions are acceptable even in a time when series officials have told the boys to "Have at it."
Kevin Harvick, speaking on the Speed television network Sunday night, said Edwards has moved beyond what most consider reasonable racing.
“Hooking someone in the right rear is different than rubbing on somebody and just leaning on somebody,” Harvick said. “And wrecking half the field is something that’s pretty tough to swallow for a lot of those guys that were involved in that at the end.”
Harvick said that in this era, when drivers have been told to handle matters among themselves, he probably wouldn’t have been as muted as Keselowski in his reaction had he been the one getting wrecked.
“I probably wouldn’t have reacted as kindly as Brad did,” Harvick said. “I probably would have walked down there and punched [Edwards] in the mouth.
“I just think that’s way, way out of bounds as far as hooking somebody in the middle of the straightaway.”
In his post-race comments Edwards said he simply retaliated against Keselowski for an incident in Turn 1 just before the major crash at the end of the race.
Jeff Gordon, speaking on the NASCAR teleconference Tuesday, said that what Keselowski did to Edwards to get the lead was far different than what Edwards did to wreck Keselowski to win the race.
“It looked to me like Brad got into [Edwards] a little bit getting into [Turn 1], but was just racing hard for the position, for the win,” Gordon said. “Then what Carl did, I felt like, was definitely out of line.”
Harvick urged NASCAR to respond.
“I like to race as rough as anybody, but there’s still a line when somebody has to rein somebody in and ... you hope that it doesn’t get to the point where you wind up hurting somebody or you end up killing somebody.
“Hopefully it doesn’t take that long for NASCAR’s reaction to come, to just get everything under control,” he said.
On Wednesday, NASCAR rput both drivers on probation for the rest of the year and fining Edwards 60 points and $25,000.
Ganassi goes for record
Car owner Chip Ganassi will try to make another entry in the racing history books this weekend. He has a chance to become the first car owner to win the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same year.
Ganassi won at Daytona with Jamie McMurray and at Indy with Dario Franchitti. He'll have McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya, who dominated the Brickyard 400 last year before a pit-road speeding penalty took him out of contention, working for him Sunday.
Speaking on a teleconference this week, Ganassi sounded optimistic about his chances to grab another big trophy.
“Our drivers get up for big events,” he said. “Our guys like the places, and they seem to be good at the places where the big races are.
“So many times you have drivers who are good at a particular type of track. Fortunately, our guys are good at the tracks that have the big races.”
Red Bull hires Said
Red Bull Racing has hired road-racing specialist Boris Said to drive its No. 83 Toyota at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 8.
"He's better than the best available," Jay Frye, Red Bull Racing vice president and general manager, said in a statement. "He's a phenomenal talent and an even better guy. He's been close to winning one of these things in the past.
"We have great history with him, and we have high expectations with him in the car."
Said will drive the car that was driven earlier this year by Brian Vickers, who is out of action for the rest of the season because of blood clots. Reed Sorenson will drive the car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
