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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: NASCAR Places Edwards On Probation
NASCAR has not dealt a heavy hand for the Edwards Keselowski incident Sunday at Atlanta..
Mike Hembree  |  Posted March 09, 2010   Charlotte, NC
NASCAR president Mike Helton announced Tuesday that Carl Edwards will be on probation for the next three races. (Image: SPEED)

Carl Edwards – and NASCAR’s new “Boys, have at it” approach to racing – survived the Atlanta weekend.

NASCAR president Mike Helton announced Tuesday afternoon that the sanctioning body has placed Edwards on probation for three Sprint Cup races after Edwards crashed Brad Keselowski in a spectacular wreck near the end of Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500.

The probation, which essentially means that NASCAR will keep a close eye on Edwards and that another problem could result in a suspension, will begin with the March 21 race at Bristol, Tenn. There is no Sprint Cup race this weekend.

Helton said Edwards’ penalty also included being black-flagged near the end of Sunday’s race.

He added that NASCAR officials plan to discuss the incident and the Edwards-Keselowski rivalry with the two drivers and their team owners, Jack Roush and Roger Penske, prior to the Bristol race. A date for that conversation has not been established.

“We plan to meet with both drivers and owners to get this matter resolved,” Helton said, “to clean the slate, if you will, so that they can go back to some hard side-by-side racing that is NASCAR.”

Edwards ran into the rear of Keselowski’s car with two laps remaining in Sunday’s race, sending Keselowski’s racer into a slide and then into the air. The car crashed on its roof near the grandstand fence and then flipped onto its wheels. Keselowski was dazed but not injured.

Early in the race, contact between Keselowski and Edwards had sent Edwards sliding into Joey Logano’s car and then into the wall. Edwards returned to the race more than 100 laps down after extensive repairs and retaliated against Keselowski in the closing laps.
Brad Keselowski is in the air following contact with Carl Edwards in the closing laps of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

The dramatic nature of the crash made news across the country, even in areas and on media outlets that typically ignore NASCAR. Keselowski said after the crash that NASCAR should step in to take control of the situation or “someone on the track or in the grandstands is going to be killed.”

Helton stressed Tuesday that the most visible result of the accident – Keselowski’s flying car – was separated from Edwards’ actions as NASCAR discussed the situation.

“It’s important for all of us to step back and separate the issue of what happened on the track and the fact that the 12 car (Keselowski’s) went airborne,” Helton said. “We’re going to study that very closely. This is a very important element of all this. All of us need to be reminded that the car getting airborne is a very serious issue. We’ll take a look at that very quickly to figure out how to prevent that from happening.”

Although flying cars have become almost an expected part of NASCAR events at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, airborne traffic at intermediate tracks like the 1.5-mile AMS are relatively rare. Helton said NASCAR is studying Sunday’s incident and crashes last season.

In January, NASCAR emphasized that it would loosen the reins on its drivers this season and allow more aggressive racing. The key phrase, in the words of NASCAR vice president Robin Pemberton, was “Boys, have at it.”

Helton said there is a line that can’t be crossed, however.

“It’s a function of us wanting to do the right thing, to allow them to race,” he said. “The other side is that we have to maintain law and order within reason. There is a line that can’t be crossed, and we will step in when we think that line is crossed.”

Where is that line?

“I think we see it when we see it,” Helton said. “Us stepping in to maintain law and order isn’t just always a result of a penalty being issued or public reaction. There are a lot of things we do behind the scenes with owners and drivers to balance these types of things out.”

PHOTOS: EDWARDS-KESELOWSKI WRECK

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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