Not watching Daytona this year

[Va Beach VH Fan]

My idea is that you only allow 5 Winston Cup drivers, cap it in a way, the top 5 who have the best time get to qualify for the race

That way, you get to the ability to devolop more new talent AND allow fans to still seem some drivers that race on Sunday.

Nah, make it the BOTTOM five, justification meaning they would need the extra track time....

[sadaist]

Geeze, is Danica the only driver running today or something? the way ESPIN is covering things you'd think it was.

Isn't that the GoDaddy stripper chick? She races cars now too?

[PETE'S BROTHER]

With Keselowski contending for a top-five finish, Edwards banged into him as they came to the start-finish line. Keselowski’s No. 12 car went into a spin, lifted off the track, turned upside down and slammed into the barrier in front of the stands with the roof. The battered machine flipped back onto the track, landing right side up.

Edwards and Keselowski 'have at it' again - NASCAR - Yahoo! Sports

edwards was a complete asshole for this move, they gotta make an example of him for punishment.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

especially cause the lap before he tried the same shit and missed.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

Another season, another Carl Edwards flip drama. As soon as Edwards' collision sent Brad Keselowski flying into the Atlanta dusk on Sunday night, the screaming began -- was it intentional? Was it payback? Did Edwards realize he could've killed somebody?
Edwards took to Facebook to explain himself, and the answers were, in order, yes, yes and no. In short, Edwards himself confirmed what everybody already suspected:
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.
So there you have it. Carl Edwards likes the frontier justice.
On a related note, no, Carl is not interested in playing Farmville with you, though he'd be happy to rub someone out in Mafia Wars. Poke him.

[chefcraig]

I love this, as it points out what a total fraud the sanctioning body of NASCAR is. Facing declining ratings, a month ago they made the idiotic statement "Have at it, boys", implying that the drivers should settle things on the track. Well look what happened: a guy over 150 laps down wrecks another, coming dangerously close to sending the car into the grandstand. So what is NASCAR going to do Tuesday? More than likely park a driver for doing exactly what he was told to do a month ago. What sort of hypocritical horseshit is that?

Nicely done, NASCAR. And you wonder why people are turning away in droves.

[chefcraig]

This is really surprising. In order to keep with the program of letting things be settled on the track, even if people (including fans) get hurt, NASCAR has elected to do...nothing.


NASCAR puts Edwards on probation for Keselowski incident

By AL PEARCE

NASCAR gave Carl Edwards nothing more than a slap on the wrist as punishment for intentionally wrecking Brad Keselowski in last weekend's Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

During a Tuesday afternoon conference call, NASCAR president Mike Helton said the sanctioning body has placed Edwards on probation for upcoming races at Bristol, Martinsville and Phoenix, but the driver was not fined, suspended or docked points. The Sprint Cup Series has the coming weekend off, but Edwards, crew chief Bob Osborne and their No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford team will be at Bristol Motor Speedway to compete as scheduled for the March 21 Food City 500.

Helton explained NASCAR's thinking in the matter.

"We made it clear to Carl that this wasn't acceptable [behavior], that it went beyond what we said in January about letting drivers police themselves," he said. "We've talked with [Keselowski's team owner] Roger Penske and [Edward's boss] Jack Roush, and we'll meet with the drivers to clean the slate before they race again. Yes, there's a line, and we'll step in when it's crossed. We want to let them race hard and we want to maintain law and order. We parked Carl [after the incident, though he was already 154 laps behind the leader] and gave him the three-race probation for what he did."

The punishment--really, the nonpunishment, it seems--is in stark contrast to the penalty that many NASCAR watchers felt Edwards would receive. The loss of points and a heavy fine were almost a given, most thought, with some even thinking a one- or two-race suspension would be appropriate. Instead, he'll be on probation for three races, the sort of reaction to a payback situation that may encourage other drivers to take the law into their own hands.

Edwards created a firestorm of controversy when he admittedly tried to spin Keselowski late in the Kobalt 500 at Atlanta. Instead of a minor single-car spin, though, the contact turned Keselowski's car around. The rear of his No. 12 Penske Dodge caught air and lifted, then rolled over and slammed roof-first into the outside wall. The car finally settled back on all four wheels, virtually destroyed. Keselowski was dazed but uninjured.

Afterward, to the media on hand and later on his Web site, Edwards accepted responsibility for the wreck. He spoke of several other on-track incidents with Keselowski in the Cup and Nationwide Series, including one early in the Atlanta race. He did not deny his that payback was his motive, but he said he did not expect Keselowski to get airborne and crash as he did.

"Brad knows the deal between him and I," Edwards said. "The scary part was his car went airborne, which was not what I expected. At the end of the day, we're out here to race and people have to have respect for one another, and I have a lot of respect for people's safety. I wish it wouldn't have gone like it did, but I'm glad he's OK and we'll just go on and race some more and maybe him and I won't get in any more incidents together. That would be the best thing."

The next day, on his Web site, Edwards added: "My options: Considering that Brad wrecks me with no regard for anyone's safety or hard work, should I: A-Keep letting him wreck me? B-Confront him after the race? C-Wait until 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."

On Sunday, after the race, Keselowski put NASCAR squarely on the spot.

"It'll be interesting to see how NASCAR reacts to it," he said. "They have the ball. If they're going to allow people to intentionally wreck each other at tracks this fast, we'll hurt someone either in the cars or in the grandstands. It's not cool [for Edwards] to come back [into the race after being so many laps behind] and intentionally wreck someone at 195 mph. He could have killed me or someone in the grandstands."

Keselowski went on to recognize that he has been involved in plenty of incidents himself but said there is a difference to what Edward's did to him.

"I know it's a little ironic that it's me saying that [about someone causing me to crash], but at least I didn't do it intentionally," he commented, referring to the crash between he and Edwards last year at Talladega that sent Edwards into the catch-fencing on the last lap.

Keselowski defended his actions in the first incident at Atlanta, which sent Edwards into the garage for extensive right-front repairs.

"He cut down on me on a restart and I lifted," he said. "I couldn't lift fast enough for him. I lifted to let him in, but I was there. I don't know what more you can do. [Keep the] car low is what they say. So I was underneath him and tried to cut him a break. It was too late, though; he turned down. I apologized to him, but there was nothing that I could do in that situation."

NASCAR puts Edwards on probation for Keselowski incident