The Right Choice: Carl Edwards

On March 7th, 2010 the Nascar Sprint Cup Series drivers headed to Atlanta. New this year is the rule, or lack there of, which allows drivers to police themselves rather than having NASCAR police them. This comes as a result of both driver and fan complaints that NASCAR was becoming too strict with the drivers and taking the fun out of racing. At Atlanta driver Carl Edwards took being allowed to police their behavior to the extreme.

In the closing laps of the race Carl Edwards spun the number 12 car, Brad Keselowski, causing the car to become airborne, fly towards the grandstand fence, land on it's driver side and flip over and land flat on it's wheels. The crash was oddly similar to the crash Carl Edwards himself had a year before which resulted in the injury of a fan in the grandstands because Carl's car hit the fence and debris was thrown into the grandstands.

Carl retaliated in this manner because early in the race, Carl attempted to jump into line just in front of Brad Keselowski. Brad didn't back off and Carl was clipped by Brad causing him to become loose and run up the track into Joey Lagano and the wall. Carl spent most of the race in the garage fixing the car and returned to the track with a mission, to teach Brad Keselowski a lesson.

After the incident fans and commentators alike asked the question;

What should the penalty be for intentional wrecking of a fellow driver?

Some say suspension is in order. Others say a hefty fine. What the fine may be won't be known until mid-week though and probably won't satisfy fans or drivers at all.

Most agree though that wrecking a driver is not appropriate. Carl Edward's though is of the belief that wrecking a driver is appropriate, after all he didn't intend for Brad Keselowski to flip over. The problem with this belief is, going 200 mph leaves a lot of unknown in regards to how a car will react to a spin. Bumping, causing someone to get loose, these are all acceptable ways of "teaching a lesson." Intentionally wrecking a driver is not.

On Facebook Carl Edwards posted the following in response to what he had done:

My options: Considering that Brad wrecks me with no regard for anyones safety or hard work, should I: A-Keep letting him wreck me? B-Confront him after the race? C-Wait til bristol and collect other cars? or D-Take care of it now? I want to be clear that I was surprised at his flight and very relieved when he walked away. Every person has to decide what code they want to live by and hopefully this explains mine.

Option A or B would have been the appropriate responses to the situation. Brad Keselowski is known for his rough and aggressive driving. Although annoying to many fans and drivers, Keselowski over time will learn that driving in that manner will not win him any friends and he will stop. So ignoring the behavior would in fact allow it to stop. It may not stop over night, but it will stop at some point.

Option B would also be appropriate. Taking Brad Keselowski off the side and speaking to him about how he drives and how it's not appreciated actually would probably be more productive than anything. It shows great maturity and responsibility as a driver to be able to not allow your temper to get the best of you and talk things out with a person.

Option C, waiting until Bristol could have been an option but still not the most mature or appropriate thing to do. Carl Edwards seems to lack understanding that even though this crash probably wouldn't have collected any other drivers it could have led to injury of Brad Keselowski or even fans in the Grandstands. His failure to think past revenge is most evident by this statement.

Option D, take care of it now, was totally wrong and in no way took care of the situation. Does Carl Edwards believe he's put Brad Keselowski in his place now? Hardly. The feud between these two will continue on into other races and if we use Carl's logic for doing what he did, they will continue at it and probably involve other drivers in the aftermath. Option D was also the most dangerous of all the options.

Whether Brad Keselowski is a horrible driver with no regard for others or not, Carl Edwards actions were and are inappropriate in a sport such as NASCAR. Drivers have to look past their emotions and look at what potential damage, injury, and pain they will cause by wrecking each other. Hopefully Carl Edwards gains a bit of perspective and maturity through all this and choses in the future to not wreck other drivers intentionally.