When does “have at it boys,” become the fight club… Carl Edwards (pictured) admits that when he turned Brad Keselowski, on Sunday it was payback.
Payback not only for a crash earlier in the Kobalt 500 at Atlanta, but a series of other incidents. The problem was that Keselowski not only spun, but, flipped over at speeds approaching 195mph and threatened paying fans in their seats.
Reading tweets, blogs, columns and emails opinions are all over the place on what, if any punishment, is to be meted out to the Missouri-born Edwards.
But first let’s put all of this in perspective.
For the last few years NASCAR has suffered, mightily in the image department, because drivers appear to be too bland. This is, partially, as a result of NASCAR officials keeping a private “score card,” of previous incidents. Those included infractions like bumping of a rival’s car in pit lane post race or even a post race brawl, which are lumped into actions detrimental to the sport.
The scorecard itself came as a result of a decades-long policy of virtual slaps on the wrist for various on-track infractions.
When Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s vice president of competition, spoke during the NASCAR media tour in Concord, NC in January he said that series’ officials would take a hands-off approach to driver’s giving payback. He said there would be a return to “have at it boys.”
That’s where the problem lies, in best NASCAR fashion there is no black letter rule when payback is permitted and when it’s not.
While many NASCAR rulings can appear arbitrary; I believe that they have been relatively consistent over time.
What I’m talking about is that NASCAR, usually, says that intent is not the main consideration in considering penalties.
In Sunday’s race Edwards did not intend for Keselowski’s car to flip over, but it did. In law there’s a saying that “intent follows the bullet.” In other words look at the results not the intent.
NASCAR will announce their decision Tuesday. If they are going to be consistent they cannot punish Edwards. On the other hand, if they want to discourage risky payback then they’ll have to take points and announce a cash penalty against Edwards. They might even park him at Bristol.
I think the results speak for themselves, there’s a need to be a tough penalty.
photo: NASCAR Getty Images
Payback not only for a crash earlier in the Kobalt 500 at Atlanta, but a series of other incidents. The problem was that Keselowski not only spun, but, flipped over at speeds approaching 195mph and threatened paying fans in their seats.
Reading tweets, blogs, columns and emails opinions are all over the place on what, if any punishment, is to be meted out to the Missouri-born Edwards.
But first let’s put all of this in perspective.
For the last few years NASCAR has suffered, mightily in the image department, because drivers appear to be too bland. This is, partially, as a result of NASCAR officials keeping a private “score card,” of previous incidents. Those included infractions like bumping of a rival’s car in pit lane post race or even a post race brawl, which are lumped into actions detrimental to the sport.
The scorecard itself came as a result of a decades-long policy of virtual slaps on the wrist for various on-track infractions.
When Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s vice president of competition, spoke during the NASCAR media tour in Concord, NC in January he said that series’ officials would take a hands-off approach to driver’s giving payback. He said there would be a return to “have at it boys.”
That’s where the problem lies, in best NASCAR fashion there is no black letter rule when payback is permitted and when it’s not.
While many NASCAR rulings can appear arbitrary; I believe that they have been relatively consistent over time.
What I’m talking about is that NASCAR, usually, says that intent is not the main consideration in considering penalties.
In Sunday’s race Edwards did not intend for Keselowski’s car to flip over, but it did. In law there’s a saying that “intent follows the bullet.” In other words look at the results not the intent.
NASCAR will announce their decision Tuesday. If they are going to be consistent they cannot punish Edwards. On the other hand, if they want to discourage risky payback then they’ll have to take points and announce a cash penalty against Edwards. They might even park him at Bristol.
I think the results speak for themselves, there’s a need to be a tough penalty.
photo: NASCAR Getty Images