Aftermath, Atlanta: NASCAR Should Not – And Cannot – Punish Carl Edwards

I’ll say it!

Right on, Carl! Way to pay Brad back for the times he’s wrecked you! He had it coming!

Look how many people have it out for Brad. Is Brad really so dense he doesn’t realize he is going to have people wreck him when he wrecks so many others???

Carl didnt mean for the car to go airborne, but SERIOUSLY… asking for Carl to be suspended when Nascars done NOTHING to penalize Brad after all the wrecks he’s caused is ridiculous. If Nascar had done something about Brad LAST YEAR when everyone could see a line forming against Brad, then Carl wouldn’t need to police himself.

If Nascar wants to let drivers like Brad out there wreck people every single week more than once, then this is what is going to happen.

From my perspective, Carl is the cause of the wreck at Taladega as well as the first wreck at Atlanta so I’m not really sure what he expected from BK. In fact, if you think about it, Carl is the cause of a lot of wrecks in both Cup and NW. BK should let it pass by no matter what NASCAR does and then lay the bumper to him at the first opportunity. Carl has a hell of a lot more to lose this season than BK.

Agreed, Jeff. Can’t realistically punish him further than parking him. The only reason this is news is because Krashalowski got airborne. He said he got lucky when he walked away. He’s also been lucky that all the other times he’s destroyed other teams’ equipment that THOSE drivers haven’t ended up airborne.

I so very agree with what you said. Carl did not set out to hurt Brian but to knock his butt of this high horse and bring him into reality. How many times have we seen Brian do exactly what he did to Carl yesterday both in Sprint Cup & Nationwide? I think Brian needs to be the one who is taken out if Nascar until he grows up and learns how to interact with others properly! In only my opinion Brian constantly ruins races not for the drivers he wrecks but for the fans who love the sport. Carl was trying to do everyone a favor sadly it just went horribly wrong…

Brad is a cocky kid who has no respect for other drivers so why should they have any respect for him. Brad will continue to have issues on the track as long as he continues to act the way he does. Maybe he’ll figure it out maybe he won’t. I vote for he won’t.

I disagree theres a line and Edwards crossed it. Edwards knew the car was going to go flying he was trying to do worse then what Hamlin has done. He also admitted it was intentional. The man has some serious anger management issues he needs help. Nascar should send a message with this one he’s pulled alot of stupid moves like in the nationwide race at Daytona with Dale Jr. I even said after Daytona to my family that someone is going to get killed because of the stupid moves he pulls. I seriously hope that doesn’t happen it came close yesterday. In my opinion if nascar allows drivers to continue to use there cars like weapons like that and someone get’s killed there wont be no more nascar. I’m sure “nascars have at it boys” didnt include trying to kill each other on the track.

NASCAR penalized Edwards plenty. They can’t penalize him based on how the wreck looked. It’s not figure skating. Edwards is already more penalized then the other two recent paybacks (5 laps)

Hamlin (Homestead Nationwide = 1 lap)
Monotya (Homestead Cup = 2 laps)

Edwards was penalized 5 laps. I would bet Joey Logano was probably going even faster when Keselowski wrecked him at the end of California in front of a pack of cars. The Edwards retaliation was a track isolated incident. No other drivers were around.

I don’t know how being 1, 2, or even 150 laps down should make a difference in how drivers choose to self police the sport. Should it only happen when everything is peachy and there having a good day?

Carl has my support, he’s not the one who made the car flip, NASCAR’S stupid wing did that. He showed Brad he’s not gonna take it though & that is the message he needed to receive.

I try to like “Cousin Carl” cuz he is Kenny Schrader’s cousin. But have had a hard time since he attempt to take Dale Jr. out while doing his Victory Lap after a Busch race in Michigan – I believe 2006. Carl literally left pit road AFTER the race was completed and attempted to crash Jr. while passing pit exit.

Should Carl be fined and/or suspended? No.

NASCAR set it up, and it happened. I have a feeling that ‘self policing policy’ will take affect on the track. The fans might not see it, but I bet Mr. Edwards and his team owner will.

Nice post, Jeff. Well done.

I agree with you Jeff. I think Carl realizes that the circumstances, time and place were a mistake, but that his desire to get some payback was anything but. Let’s thank God no one was hurt and move onto to Bristol.

That’s the theme this season, you all asked for it, and now NASCAR needs to uphold it. Retaliation is nothing new. Parking 99 immediately for rough driving was sufficient; there should be no further penalty from NASCAR regarding the wreck. Let the drivers and owners handle the aftermath. Let the garage and fans talk and decide for themselves how stupid Carl’s move was- or wasn’t.

The only fine NASCAR should impose is for Carl not immediately going to the garage following parking and when he drove the wrong way down pit road (off track endangerment).

Respect the Veteran Driver is a Crap Line the Vet Driver love to use it , but forget that they all started out as Rookie’s and made some bad judgement calls them self. They all will do what ever it takes to win or improve there results in a race. I just think that there is alot more Cry Babies out there now that think Rookie’s should just drive around the track and don’t you dare to try and go for a win. For some reason unknown to me they are taking it all out on BK…It seem’s to me if it’s BK it reckless ,if it’s RaganSmith or Hornish it’s a rookie move and just stay away from them..Vet Driver knock car’s out of the way all the time so what makes the Vet driver right and the Rookie Wronge…My answer to that is EGO !!!!!

It makes me sick to the people who think Keselowski deserved it no driver deserves that.

First, take intent out of it, that’s actually a nonsense argument on many levels. If he didn’t even consider what turning a car at 190mph on the front “straightaway” of a tri-oval would do, then he’s not fit to be behind the wheel. Flip or no flip, just spinning harmlessly into the grass is only one of several outcomes, and slim when you drive thru the other car’s backend rather than just tap and let off. NASCAR has treated these guys like i would my 3 boys. I’ll give you enuff room to settle things on your own, but at some point they are going to push things way too far, and i’m going to come down hard. NASCAR has given an inch and Carl took a mile, well, it’s time to come down hard and let the drivers know where the boundaries lie.
Second, i’m still trying to figure out what exactly he’s retaliating for. Looking back at video from Dega and his own comments after that race, he was mostly to blame for that wreck for blocking, not once, but twice, and BK had actually gotten inside of him when he pulled down. Unfortunately at plate tracks, that’s the box NASCAR has put the drivers in, but that’s a debate for another day. As far as the other wreck earlier in the day, that’s one of those “racing deals” as they say. Could BK have lifter a little earlier? yes. But just because he’s Carl Edwards doesn’t entitle him to the space around him. On any given raceday, he’s still a number, a competitor just like the 42 other drivers out there. He even said that BK was there and not necessarily his fault. Then after the massive flip Carl states that BK keeps wrecking him. When? Even if you think that both times were BK’s fault, that’s just twice. Looking back at some of races last year, Carl’s had run-ins with other drivers more than that.
Third, yhat leads into the question, who gets to decide for what you do or don’t retaliate? This “keeps wreckin’ me” statement is still debatable. How about who you retaliate against? Hamlin obviously had a problem with BK last year, but let’s not fool ourselves, looking back at video of races it was not one-sided. I had no problem with what Hamlin did, but why did he only do it to BK? JJ put the bump and run on him at Martinsville last year. Why didn’t he retaliate against JJ? To me to only go after one guy is a little hypocritical. If you have a problem with how one guy races you a certain way, shouldn’t you also have a problem with another driver who does/did the same thing?

Bottom line in Edwards’ case is that he has had a horrible year and a half on the track and is frustrated, and he let that get the best of him on Sunday. If NASCAR doesn’t act now, then it sends a message to the other drivers that this kind of retaliation is acceptable on any other given Sunday. Unfortunately the only thing that will send a message is parking you for a race. Go as Kevin Harvick about that.

Agree with you on Carl’s intentions but the bigger issue is where he hit Brad, in front of the stands on the straight away, going extremely fast. And replays show he was gunning for him the lap before. It is the extreme irresponsible way in which he retaliated. Denny’s version (which I feel should have been delt with a bit more harshly than it was) was a bit more thought out and really calculated (meaning that as a compliment). Carl was just acting out, not considering anything else but revenge. That was the scary part of the incident. And going the wrong way on pit road was a clear F.U. to Nascar that was definitely uncalled for and dangerous to crew members. I think some points penalty is in order to make him remember to think before he acts next time. Money is nothing to him, so that is not necessary. And although parking him at Bristol would be good, I don’t think that is fair to the fans that maybe can only go to that one race this year and miss their favorite driver. But points would send a message to retaliate appropriately and use a bit of common sense.

Should Carl have waited and just talked to Brad about it…..Yes!

Did Carl intentionally wreck Brad….Yes!! He admitted it to the media afterward.

But the real problem here isn’t the fact that Carl used his car to get back at Brad (honestly, Brad has made NO friends in NASCAR because he’s a jerk who can dish it but he can’t take it and complains any time someone retaliates) the real problem is the fact that when Carl simpply tapped Brad’s car it went airborne!! Why didn’t the car stay on the ground?! The roof flaps came up and still Brad’s car went up in the air!!! NASCAR needs to see that the problem is the fact the car got AIRBORNE!!!!!

Great post, Jeff!!! Love It!!

The problem is nascar is all happy with self policing so they can’t really punish Carl for what he did (Although being black flagged from 39th place doesn’t really count for much)

Nascar needs to come up with a better policy, how anyone thinks it is ok to ram someone at 170mph is beyond me, maybe the car spins, maybe it flips (Cars flipped before the wing) maybe it goes into the crowd.

Jeff you may say ‘Have at it, boys’ but ultimately someone will get seriously injured (Brad was very lucky yesterday) or killed by an idiot who is all hotheaded and out for revenge, Imagine where that will put the sport.

Not sure what the answer should be, maybe an intentional crashing penalty of sitting for 2 races? In Corporate Nascar that would not make sponsors happy and could end your chase chances. I am sure that would make a few drivers think a little.

On another note i think Carl has anger issues and is fairly dangerous in the car, it isn’t exactly the first time the red mist has descended and he has done something stupid

You know I was sitting in the stands and I was having a hard time deciding what to watch…JPM closing on Kurt for the lead or Carl all over Brad at the end. I decided on Carl and Brad cause I pretty much knew it was going to happen, cause Brad has caused so many wrecks before…not just with Carl and so that would change the end of the race anyway.

I hated seeing Brad go up in the air, scared the heck out of me. But at the same time I was going, well you know what the kid had it coming….you just cannot go out and wreck people every week and not care and not expect to it to happen to you. I hope this is a wake-up call for Brad that there have been many times he’s punted someone out of the way and they could very easily have taken that flip in the air like he did yesterday. I was listening to Denny Hamlin and you could tell Denny didn’t like the fact that Brad flipped, but he also said “when is that kid going to learn” and I agree with him….when? Hopefully yesterday’s incident was the learning process Brad needed. But if not Bristol and Martinsville may be real fun coming up!

I don’t like that drivers intentional wreck people, but I’m sorry Brad fans, but he’s intentionally wrecked people before. Many times in fact so for him to be calling for Carl to be suspended is just plain stupid. Like Jeff said, Carl didn’t mean for him to go flipping through the air, it just happened and just as easily could have happened the many times Brad’s wrecked someone. A lot of drivers go through the phase, Denny and Carl both included, of being too aggressive. But, in my opinion, Brad’s aggressive nature is the worst I’ve ever seen in the sport. In talking to many people, there are a lot of other drivers in the garage that aren’t happy with Brad. So if Brad doesn’t change his ways just a bit, this probably won’t be his last wild ride. I’m not saying Brad shouldn’t be aggressive, cause you have to be aggressive to do well in NASCAR. You can be aggressive and not be wrecking people constantly.

And you know what for a standpoint of payback, this was the best time for Carl to do it. Carl’s day was already shot, he so getting payback wasn’t going to hurt his day. Had he waited for Bristol or Martinsville, he could ruin a good ruin by trying to get payback and hurt his team’s chance at the Chase.

I agree with everything if it had been 2 cars on the same lap. 156 laps down??? I think it is setting a bad precedent if NASCAR allows lap down cars to come back on the track to take out cars running on the lead lap.

Nascar .said that they can police themselves. That doesn’t mean that if you bump into another car and it is your fault, you get to do what Carl did. That is not policing yourself, that is just unacceptable.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. Carl handled it like many have over the years. The severity of the wreck was not his intention.

I think after everyone really thinks about it and what happen last year they will agree with you Jeff. I was screaming the same things last night at the TV. Once it all sinks in people will be like hey your right. And the thing is I like Brad and Carl. I also like hard racing. Remember a few years ago when Ryan Newman put Dale Jarrett in the wall at Bristol? well DJ went a few laps down way out of contention and went out there after his car got fixed and put Newman in the wall. Same thing here.

On a side note Nicole Briscoe tweeted saying it was different when Brad put Carl in the wall at Talladega because it was for a win. of course she is bias because she is part of Team Penske.

You really can’t compare dumping someone at Bristol to doing the same at Atlanta, ones going to wreck your day the other could kill someone.
Just saying…..

I respectfully disagree, but that’s what’s great about this. Everyone’s allowed to have their opinions. I am neither a Brad or Carl fan, but I tell you what I lost all of the respect I had for Carl. I know that retaliation is a part of Nascar and this year it’s “have at it boys” but there has to be a line. There’s a difference between having a heated battle on the track for position and things getting out of hand and someone just not using their head.

Does Brad need settled down? Probably. He’s very agressive, reminds me a little of Carl when he first started out. I don’t like it that all these “veterans” need to set these “rookies” in their place…when in actually makes them look like the rookies.

My problem with this whole thing is that Carl was 156 laps down… 156! And he took a couple of swipes at Brad first, really!? That was the wrong place and time for that to happen. That first wreck can’t even be blamed on Brad.. not fully anyway!

Yes, the severity of the wreck may make me more angry and I’m sure Carl didn’t want to flip him (if he did, that’s just wrong)… but I can’t always judge on intent… sometimes things to play out the way you want, you have to be responsible for the outcome though too.

I’m sure Nascar won’t do anything, they won’t want to look like hypocrites, it’s Carl Edwards and Jack Roush.

Sorry that was kind of long… just not a big fan of the way it went on. Bring on Bristol though, I guess!

Jeff I agree somewhat with you say but I think Carl will not be sat because NASCAR can not afford to have one of it’s major stars not in a race. I read that the stands in Atlanta were 60-65% full (even with them having the $1 sale for some tickets) and as of this morning there are still tickets available for the Bristol race. Can you imagine the Carl fans who will NOT go to the race at Bristol because he is not racing? Can you imagine the pressure that Carl’s SPONSORS will put on NASCAR if they don’t let him race? No AFLAC duck during the TV Broadcast, no SUBWAY commercials? No AFLAC, SUBWAY, or SCOTT’s hospitality tents? No Carl will not be sat only because of what money the companies he represents mean to NASCAR. NASCAR will not let money be lost foolishly.
I will say that if this was another driver (Robby Gordon, AJ Allmendinger, Scott Speed) to name a few, they would be PARKED. They don’t have the sponsorship or fan base pull that Carl does. Nascar parked Robby for a Pocono race because he did exactly what Carl intended to do. Get his point across without hurting Ambrose at the Montreal race.

But I’ll start here. When cars start nearly flying into the catch fence and grandstand a line has to be drawn SOMEWHERE! Or do we wait for another woman with a shattered jaw or a death to finally realize, hey, this might not be the best of ideas? Now before anyone gets all huffy with me about vanilla racing let me actually make my point.

I have ZERO problem with rough, hard, tight racing. I’m a fan of over 15 years and I remember Earnhardt, Waltrip, Wallace and how all those guys raced and how it was handled. Rubbin’ is racin’ and always has been. I agree with that. What I don’t agree with is a car over 100 laps down coming out, taking three swipes at another car (after admitting they were at fault for the previous incident) and nearly sending the car into the catch fence. That’s not racing. That’s WWE fake drama that has nothing to do with REAL racing. And it could get someone killed.

Everyone is saying this is no different than Homestead but I’ll be honest, I though Homestead was ridiculous. Here’s the thing, I like RACING. Not watching 2 year olds use 3400 lb lethal weapons to settle vendettas at 180 mph. If Carl has a problem with how Brad races, not giving an inch etc, then he should just race him the same way. I guarantee at some point Brad would be on the losing end of a racing incident, we’d all go ah well he deserves that and no car would be flying at the fans. And that would be racing!

If Carl can’t handle his psychotic temper, ie trying to punch Kenseth, take of Junior’s hand, and all his other crazy stunts, then he just needs to have another throw down with a driver in the garage. But maybe he’s afraid of getting his butt kicked again and looking like an idiot. Either way, it shouldn’t be happening on the track. PERIOD.

NASCAR needs to draw a line before a fan IS maimed or killed because if not the family of that person could state inaction here as proof of NASCAR’s negligence in providing a safe experience for the fans and sue the pants off them. This needs to end. Now. Hopefully by Carl sitting and thinking about this at home during Bristol.

Personally, I just wish we could get back to racing. Not the vanilla PC stuff we’ve been living with and not the childish and dangerous temper tantrums it’s become. What happened to just hard, down and dirty racing? Does it really have to get this contrived and pathetic? Carl should have just waited and cut Brad no slack later then let the cards fall where they may and shame on NASCAR if they do nothing about this.

Robby Gordon was suspended a race for ignoring the black flag, NOT for the incident that got him flagged.

Agree with you Jeff on this. Carl cannot be punished further. Nascar said "Have at it Boys and in this case Carl obliged. If this had been Dale Jr would there be this uproar..no way. Jr’s fan would be out there saying “atta boy now your driving like your Daddy”!!! That’s why Dale Sr. was called “the Intimidator”. The fans..Nascar..drivers and sponsors were all getting tired of the “Vanilla Racing”. I can’t wait for Bristol where we all know we will see some paybacks..it’s easier to get away with @ Bristol

Many good points have been made on both sides of this argument and I will not quibble with those that I thought less relevant except the suggestion that any off-track activity should exceed polite discussion.

Drivers should certainly try to resolve issues by discussion but not by pugilism. Like it or not the tradition in racing is that if issues can not be resolved by discussion, they are resolved on the track
.
In my opinion it boils down to this; if a driver, any driver, feels that retaliation is required, weeks of contemplation are called for so that anger can fade and sane decisions about what is appropriate can be made.

This allows a moment to be chosen when retaliation is not expected, when the speeds are lower and no one risks injury, when it appears to be “just one of them racin’ deals” or at least no more than I just raced him the way he races me.

Carl’s remark that it was his fault was clearly sardonic, go back and listen to Waltrip’s repeated commentary about that. It appears Darrel thought Carl had just cause to be upset about the contact. I sorta consider him fairly expert on these matters. Carl also owned up squarely to his action in the post race interview. However, Carl should not have acted while still upset. I am sure he would have exercised better judgment had he remembered that revenge is a dish best served cold.

You’re right Jeff. NASCAR would be total hypocrites if they further punished Carl. Your thinking makes total sense. Carl was the one lacking in common sense yesterday. He should have waited till Bristol or duked it out in the garage later.

Here is the Deal…. you can not park Carl b/c you would have to park every other single driver who caused a wreck each time after this. If they did not punish Greg Biffle who on the radio said he should wreck Joey Logono and the he did you can’t punish Carl.

Face it people if he had not flipped you all would be singing Carl’s Praise. And it is funny how some people complain NASCAR is to “boring” and where is the action and now you have action and here you are complaining?!
And yes the question should be asked Why are these cars turning over?
So No I don’t think Carl should be punished!

I agree with the fact that Carl shouldn’t be punished furher, but I do think his move was reckless at best, and classless. I also think there are some significant differences between Hamlin’s move and Carl, if he was trying to “be Denny”. Denny took care of Nationwide business in Nationwide, an end to a repeated problem that had gotten quite personal-what exactly was Carl retailiating for? As he himself said the earlier incident wasn’t completely Keselowski’s fault….I’m just wondering how much “old business” Carl was taking care of….and if it was all in Cup Series. Plus Denny went after Keselowski early, when they were on equal footing, not at the end of the day when he had nothing to lose and the other guy was having the best cup drive he’s had in forever. If you will recall they both had decent finishes that day. I looked at the crashes (on youtube), and I’m no expert so I can’t tell why one ended badly and the other didn’t. Perhaps the differences in the Natiowide and Cup cars (which maybe someone should be noticing).Finally, Brad knew Denny was coming, NASCAR knew Denny was coming-Carl was much more sneaky and interfered with the outcome of the race for several of the guys who could win it-unlike the position he was in. So does this mean he should be punished harsher, no-its done. I defended Denny and I’m not bashing Carl, but I think his timing was disrespectful to a lot of people and the overall move was dirty and classless. It’s obvious I’m a Hamlin fan, so I’m sure my view is skewed, but I think BK needs to understand that “what goes around comes around.” Perhaps so should Carl.

You make very good points, and once again I found your article interesting and thought provoking. The reasons you listed are the reasons I think he should be punished further then he was. Yes, I want more personality, but in all fairness I was against the Hamlin thing too. I applaud a driver coming up behind another driver and giving him a “lovey tap” type of bump-draft saying “I didn’t appreciate that, and watch your step”. Get out of the car and tell him and everyone else what you think.

Personally I have always thought that this type of accident and retaliation should result in a 1 race suspension. Ok yes, you are p.o.ed at BK, but what about the drivers he was racing around, or the fans watching the race? Do any of them deserve the retalatation and the possible life-changing consequences this 1 single act could have caused? I never put up with outbursts of anger being an acceptible reason for action. You think about your action carefully, and then deal with it in an appropriate manner. This is inappropriate for the incident at hand.

I appreciate your point of view, and the fact that people have different views and discuss them like civilized people!

You Bet!!! They abide by the parking of Carl Edwards car as the only punishement. Race fans are of different opinions on the wreck yesterday..are all fired up…Bristol is in 2 weeks…it sells tickets which NASCAR badly needs..we’ve all seen the empty stands this last year..Nascar needs the help..if they take Carl Edwards out of race it’s only going to p’off a bunch of ppl…for the next 2 wks we are going to read about this..see replays and the rivalry hopped up to sell tickets…this is what the fans asked for ….btw I’m not saying what CE did wasn’t stupid….wrong time and wrong place…but this will help NASCAR

If I was Carl, I would have taken a more calculated approach to the situation. Put some heat on him by drafting, laying low in the turns to see if he would come down on me, ya know keep the pressure on him as much as possible in hopes he would slip up.

That way if he did wreck, then it was on him. I dont think i would lower myself to BK’s standards. You end up hurting your reputation with all the drivers.

What penalty did Carl receive by being parked? He was already as far back as he could go. No penalty. Now Mr Jones decided to stop at a bar after work to have a few drinks to unwind. He doesn’t realize that he is setting in motion the events a few hours later. In the meantime, Mr Smith and his family are coming home from vacation. They are glad to be almost home. They stop for dinner, and go on their way. Mr Jones has finished his few (6) drinks and is feeling no pain. Unfortunately the Smith car and Jones car meet at a red light which Mr Jones runs. The two cars wreck violently killing Mr Smith and his family. Mr Jones survives. What should his penalty be? He didn’t intend to kill four pelple, but he DID. He set this event into action when he drank too much to drive safely. Carl on the other hand with premeditation stalked Brad waiting for the chance to wreck him. He couldn’t know how big the wreck would be but he WRECKED him nevertheless. He had hours to get over his rage…to calm down…but he was simply out of control. We don’t need malicious drivers in Nascar. There is too much at stake. If Carl can’t control his anger, he must be taught to. This is not his first act of “roid rage”. Carl/Dale Jr, Carl/Kevin, Carl/Matt, and now Carl/Brad. Will his next act of anger be directed at his newborn daughter when he is sleep deprived and can’t hold it together? It has happened to many mothers. Sleep deprivation is a serious matter. Should Nascar allow this to slide, the next incident we hear about may very well be when he harms his own child.

I think Edward’s past history of anger management issues should play a role in the punishment process. The issue after the Busch race with Jr, the issue with Kenseth after the Martinsville race, spinning Kyle out after the Bristol race, getting into a scuffle with Harvick at Charlotte, and now this to cap it off. I say a one race suspension!

Whether or not BK12’s car flipped doesn’t really play into my opinion on what should happen to Carl. I have a problem with Carl’s clear anger management problems and coming back out on the track 150 laps down for the sole purpose to deliberately wreck a competitor (regardless of the fact that the two have gotten together before). That is just a … See Morechildish move and should not be tolerated in the highest level of the sport. In hockey if someone trips you, you don’t have the right to get back up and use your stick as a weapon and slash the guy across the face (if you do, you are going to get suspended). Carl used the car as a weapon plain and simple.

I agree 100%. But since when should drivers expect their opponents to just pull over and give up a spot. Brad’s Talledege win came because he held his line and wouldn’t give up a spot. Carl wrecked himself there and then apparently didn’t learn anything from it and tried the same move in Atl. Why do all these drivers expect everyone to just pull over and let them win, wheres the racing in that?

All the criticism from long time Nascar fans has been “racing is boring and drivers are too vanilla” and they are right! Why do you think Nascar ratings have been in a steady decline over the last decade?? BORING!!! I am a 20+ yr Nascar fan and this is exactly what the sport needs. Did you folks ready to string Carl up not see the new ad campaign? Nascar hired Carl to say “It’s gonna be bigger than 79”..

As for the the penalties being consistant to those of Harvick. Remember, we’re taking the gloves off, bigger that 79’ , racing the way it used to be. The old rules don’t apply. Those were the rules that made Nascar a snooze-fest for the last 10 yrs.

At the end of the day only 1 thing matters… RATINGS! The ratings spike Nascar will get from the excessive news coverage of the accident is just what the doctor ordered for declining TV ratings and ticket sales. Plus, it’s a hell of alot more fun to watch.