Senior Auto Sports Writer
I'm no fan of Carl Edwards. Doesn't matter what series he's racing in - Sprint Cup or Nationwide - I'm just not a fan.
But, he's a race car driver and he's a pretty good one at that. Just for being a race car driver and doing what he does on a weekly basis I have to show him some respect. Unfortunately, all respect I had for him was lost this weekend at Gateway International Raceway when he dumped another race car driver into the wall on the last lap. The other race car driver was none other than Brad Keselowski. Edwards and Keselowski have tangled before. Remember Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this year where Edwards nearly put Keselowski over the fence and into the stands because of a small incident between the two earlier in the race? Edwards did that when he was 150+ laps down and Keselowski was racing for a top 10 finish. After the Atlanta race Edwards openly admitted his wrong doing and was handed a small slap on the wrist as part of NASCAR's "Have at it, boys" new motto. It was as if NASCAR was cheering him on for being honest about what he'd done. Well, guess what? Edwards has once again admitted that he pushed Keselowski out of the way because of an incident between the two earlier in the Gateway race. "I just couldn't let him take the win from me. We came to win. He took it from us there in Turn 1. And, man, I just couldn't let him take it from us. I had to do what I had to do," Edwards said.
That's where I draw the line. He's shown no remorse for what he did on either occasion. I can't say that he tried to hurt anyone buy wrecking Keselowski but he came really close both times. In the first incident at Atlanta Keselowski's car flew up into the fence and landed hard on the wall nearly crushing Keselowski in the process. At Gateway, Keselowski's car was pushed into the wall at a high rate of speed. But, because they were both going for the win, and doing so at full speed, there was nowhere for the rest of the traffic t behind them to go. 2 more cars were involved right away as they pummeled Keselowski's Dodge leaving many to wonder if Brad would emerge from the tangled wreckage.
Now, if he's smart, Brad Keselowski will stay calm and leave well enough alone. There's no need for him to become another idiot on the track with an attitude. If he can keep his calm, and not get on the track and retaliate in the next race, he''ll likely gain a few more fans and a lot more respect from his peers. Hopefully someone tells Keselowski's dad to do the same. After Saturday's Gateway race Brad's dad Bob Keselowski had this to say: [Edwards] "flipped out like he did at Atlanta and tried to kill the kid." Having once been a race car driver himself Bob Keselowski noted: "I'm sick and tired of this. I'll get my own damn uniform back on and take care of this. He ain't gonna kill my boy." This isn't Little League, Bob. Sit down next to Mr. Logano over there and shut up. Let your kids do the driving and learn for themselves.
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