There are going to be a lot of opinions and lines drawn in regards to what occurred at Atlanta Motor Speedway between Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards. Although there a few drivers who have Brad Keselowski’s name etched on their blacklist, it was quite apparent that Carl Edwards had all that he could take from this young man’s aggressive style driving.
Last season sparked a lot of built up animosity due to the numerous track encounters (in the Nationwide & Sprint Cup Series) caused by the aggression shown to win a race. Yes, this is a competitive and high intense sport; however, at what point should a driver use some smart judgment calls not to cause undue damage or injury to another?
I think a lot should have been learned and taken into consideration from the incident which occurred last season when there were a few fans in the grandstands that were injured due to the High Flyin’ Flippin’ Carl being sent airborne into the Talladega fence by a determined to win Keselowski. Yes, he may have been avoiding going below the line; however, was it truly justified that he caused some undue injuries?
Payback has definitely been a huge part of this sport dated back to the early days of racing; however, I think that hand to hand combat would be more accepted than using your 3400 lb. race car to make a point to someone who has thoroughly ruined your day on the track. Did we forget about these few altercations: 1. Cale Yarborough & The Allison Brothers (1979)? Yes, there was a fist/helmet fight; 2. Kevin Harvick & Greg Biffle (2002)? Yes, Happy leaped over the car and was in the Biff’s face; and 3. Jeff Gordon & Matt Kenseth (2008) Usually calm, collected Gordon shoved Matt because of an on track encounter.
My point…let’s be smart about how we decide payback should be disseminated before somebody gets extremely hurt whether that is another driver, crew member, camera man/woman or an unsuspecting fan.
Until next time…Gear Up & Strap In For A Thrillin’ Ride
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