03.07.10
Rubbin’, Racin’ and Wreckin’
Atlanta never fails to provide excitement, and this Sunday the old track delivered in her kind. Probably the most unexpected development was the tire issue. Almost every team had to deal with the new tire and the old track, and issues abounded. The many restarts resulted in lots of side by side racing, and yes, excitement. Sadly, much of that excitement was erased by an early on-track “incident” between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski. Carl was ahead and to the right of Keselowski and moved down to run in front of him. He said he saw him and thought he would let him in. Wrong! We know these drivers have a long history, since Keselowski’s entrance into Nascar. I admit, the first year in Nationwide, I thought he was a pretty good little driver and was glad to see him get a ride. However, I have soured on him race by race, as I count the number of wrecked vehicles he has left in his path.
Let’s face it –these guys don’t go out driving a car with 42 other drivers and try to run faster than all of them for 3 to 5 hours at a time just because they like to go fast. There is a drive and a spark that allows them to aggressively, door to door and nose to tail. That’s the nature of the beast.
So we have another tale of two drivers – both wanting to win a race desperately. The “newcomer” has made a conscious decision not to be intimidated by the other 42 drivers, never give an inch, and never say die. The veteran has had a history of some temper tantrums (mainly off track), a frustrating year of failed expectations, and some indication of mellowing on the track. We have all made comments on how “nice” Carl has been on track — choosing not to wreck someone intentionally. Today the history, the frustration and the opportunity converged on lap 323. Edwards found himself suddenly with the number 12 car directly in front of him. What did he do? He ran like heck until he caught him, and laid his bumper on the tail of the 12. Anybody with a right mind knows that you cannot INTENTIONALLY flip a car, so I won’t address any comments to that point. The problem for Carl will be the dramatic results of hitting Keselowski. The 12 car went airborne, hitting the safer barrier and flipping over.
Nascar quickly responded with a black flag for the 99, and calling Carl to the hauler. There will be consequences I believe. It will be interesting to see how Nascar will balance their pre-season statements to let the drivers “race” and their rulebook, which has a lot of “actions detrimental to Nascar”. Since Carl was 150 laps down, he was not “racing” per se, and thus will receive the full wrath of the Powers that Be.
That leads me to my last thoughts for the day. Obstacles, hard times, injuries and life changes are all opportunities to excel. Carl has always said “never give up”. This is an opportunity for the whole team to gather together in support for one another, refocus their energies and creative thinking and ultimately run a competitive season. If that happens, the 99 will start running up front consistently and will make the chase again.
Oh, and one thing for Brad. Wasn’t that an exciting ride?
