Courtesy of NASCAR.com http://tinyurl.com/2eyh9ng
The usual day for announcing penalties in NASCAR came and went Tuesday with no news on what, if anything, will be done regarding the latest Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski dustup in last Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Gateway.
That left several participants in the sport wondering just how far the sanctioning body is willing to let drivers go when it comes to exercising their self-professed "have-at-it, boys" policy on the race track.
Edwards won after deliberately dumping Keselowski just before taking the checkered flag. Edwards candidly admitted this fact, citing it as payback for Keselowski making contact with him earlier on the final lap as the two drivers guided their cars through Turn 1.
Four-time Cup Series champion driver Jeff Gordon was among those left wondering aloud if NASCAR was going to do anything to police Edwards' aggressive actions. Earlier this season, NASCAR did place Edwards on a three-race probation when he admitted intentionally wrecking Keselowski while going nearly 200 miles per hour down a straightaway at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That sent Keselowski's Sprint Cup car airborne before it eventually landed upside down.
On both occasions when Edwards intentionally wrecked Keselowski, a multitude of other cars trailing them ended up violently wrecking as well.
"I think it's been well documented this year that NASCAR is allowing the racing to be more in the drivers' hands, to try to stay out of some of those incidents that are judgment calls," Gordon said.
"Probably it's hard to really say [what should happen], just because there is a little bit of a past history with those two. You don't really know what all has gone on over the years with them that has brought it to this point."
That was Gordon's diplomatic opening statement. Then he revealed what he really thought.
"Just looking at the incidents, it looked to me like Brad got into him a little bit getting into [Turn] 1, but was just racing hard for the position, for the win. Then what Carl did, I felt like was definitely out of line. I felt like it was over and above what needed to be done," Gordon said.
"Again, you don't know what kind of bad blood there is between the two. Whether or not NASCAR gets involved in it, I think two, three, four, five years ago, I would have thought absolutely they would do that. Today, it's letting the guys race. That means that I'm sure you'll want to watch the future Nationwide races and those guys battling one another, and in the Cup Series as well. You just know there's going to be more to come."
Gordon said he has questions for NASCAR officials, who, for their part, indicated that the Edwards-Keselowski situation is still under review and no "final determination" has been made regarding whether or not any fines or penalties will be forthcoming.
"That's kind of where I'm anxious to see how far it's going to be taken before they do step in or if they step in," Gordon said, adding that one specific he and "a lot of people" have in mind to ask is, "This is great, but what's too much?"
Dale Jarrett, another former Cup champion who now is retired as a driver but works as a television analyst, admitted he was left wondering the same thing.
"Ultimately it's between the drivers. What we see a lot of times what we see on TV or even if you're there watching it live looks totally different than what actually takes place in the driver's compartment," Jarrett said. "But certainly looking at it, it looked like Carl maybe stepped over the line a little bit there. It looked to me like Brad gave him plenty of racing room and had done his job, had gotten himself in position.
"We've seen guys being a lot more aggressive driving in Nationwide and in the Cup Series, and I think it's just a product of what our sport has become. That's not saying it's right or wrong. It's up to these drivers more to police what is happening between themselves, and what NASCAR determines and what they decide to do will be interesting to see. If I had to guess, I would say they'll put Carl on probation or something like that and make him think about what he's doing."
As of Wednesday afternoon, that had not happened. Gordon admitted that if NASCAR doesn't do anything to Edwards, it's likely some form of payback might be headed Edwards' way on the track in the future. That's just the way it works, he explained.
"Right now what I saw happen Saturday night, to me that was right there on that edge of crossing the line, if not possibly crossing the line," Gordon said. "So it's kind of a new era now. In the past, like I said, I would have immediately thought something would have been done [by NASCAR].
"The thing is, the drivers have always taken care of these things on track, whether you knew about them or not. They just weren't maybe as much out in the open because there would be a fine or there would be some kind of penalty handed down immediately. So from an outsider's standpoint you thought, 'That's over.' Trust me, as a driver that was not over, that was not the end of it. That's just how racers go about it. They log that in the back of their mind -- and there is going to be a time and a day."
Car owner Chip Ganassi of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates said he believes NASCAR will handle the situation properly in the long run.
"I think someone has to be the referee in this, and I think NASCAR does a good job of that," Ganassi said. "Let me preface this by saying that it's very hard to police. I think each guy should be allowed one move -- but I don't think you should be allowed to use your car as a weapon.
"I just thank God that nobody gets hurt in any of these things because I wouldn't want to see that happen. I don't think that's what NASCAR had in mind when they said, 'Boys, have at it.' I'm positive that's not what they had in mind."
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