Auto Racing Insider Pete Pistone Posted Wednesday, March 10, 2010
After two days' worth of phone calls and discussion on "The Morning Drive"(M-F, 7-11 a.m. ET on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128), reading countless e-mails from fans (ppistone@motorracingnetwork.com if you'd like to contact me anytime), appearing on local radio shows around the country and talking to friends and family members almost non-stop, I am about worn out from the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski situation.
I strongly disagree with NASCAR's decision to basically look the other way after what I believe was one of the dirtiest moves in the history of the sport by Edwards. But the ruling has been made and we have no choice but to respect it and move on.
But since NASCAR is not back on track for another week or so, let's briefly re-visit some of the key points in my mind:
The "Have at it Boys" policy is the right one for NASCAR and taking a more hands off approach makes perfect sense. Drivers should be allowed to race - and race hard - without worrying about being penalized or over-policed. But within reason, like for instance actually racing for position. Coming back on track 156 laps down for the sole purpose of wrecking someone is way over the line from my view and has nothing to do with letting drivers compete as far as they're talents will taken them. It is terrible behavior and tremendously dangerous to use these cars as weapons and NASCAR missed a chance to show they can still govern the sport while adhering to the policy of relaxing its grip.
Some believe had Keselowski's car not flipped over the incident would have been over and done Sunday night. Well for me that's not true because even if Edwards had just spun out Keselowski, I would still view the incident as low and way over the line of sportsmanship. But the fact is the car did go in the air and while Edwards may not have intended for that to happen it did. He is responsible for his actions and by the grace of God we aren't mourning the loss of life by a driver or fan.
NASCAR has been in the spotlight all week from outside the sport's regular media world with the likes of "CBS This Morning," "Pardon the Interruption," "ABC Morning News" and even "Inside Edition" talking about the Atlanta accident. While all of that national exposure is good for the sport the circumstances surrounding this week's story is certainly not. For the second time in four weeks, NASCAR is in the news not for good racing or close finishes but for extra-curricular activities. While Daytona's pot hole problems weren't anyone's fault, the sport took a hit for the issues in the mainstream media. Now the Atlanta incident just reinforces the stereotype of NASCAR being nothing more than a motorized wrestling league with fights between drivers and cars flying through the air and endangering fans along the way. I don't subscribe to the theory that any publicity is good publicity.
If you think this kind of activity is a return to NASCAR's roots you're wrong. Oh there has definitely been some bad blood between a driver or two over the sport's 60-plus year history, but contrary to popular belief running into each other on purpose isn't the foundation on which NASCAR was built. If that's the kind of thing that floats your boat, watch "Madhouse" because Sprint Cup Series racing is so much more.
There's been a lot of talk about respect between drivers over what happened in Atlanta with some believing they were owed more of it while others felt they had earned their place. All I know is I lost a lot of respect for the driver of the 99 car the way things were handled and before I get inundated by hate mail from the Carl Edwards fan club hear me out. I can promise you I'd feel the same way if the driver in question had the last name of Gordon, Johnson, Earnhardt, Martin, Busch or any other current Cup driver. There's a saying about acting like you've been here before. The actions I watched unfold Sunday weren't worthy of a hobby stock consolation race at a dirt track in Wyoming let alone the supposed top level of the sport.
We now return you to the rest of your NASCAR season.
Pete Pistone is the Senior Editor of MotorRacingNetwork.com. Pistone is also the co-host of "The Morning Drive," which airs Monday through Friday from 7-11 a.m. ET on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 and is an on-air reporter for additional Sirius and MRN programming. Pistone is a sports reporter/anchor for Chicago's WGN Radio and also hosts weekly auto racing segments on the station. And he also serves as the national motorsports writer for CBS Sports.com.
