nascarfrontpage.com

By now, we’ve all seen the incident between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski at Gateway International Raceway at the end of Saturday’s Nationwide Series race.

Member 2putt has posted a poll asking what, if anything, should be Carl’s penalty for wrecking Brad?

25 points

50 points

100-150 points

100 points and a one race suspension

No penalty; he did nothing wrong

Follow the link to cast your vote and post your comments!

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Bob Pockgrass
scenedaily.com

NASCAR ran 93 races with the wing on the car since 2007 but will switch to a spoiler beginning this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. To allow teams to get ready for the change, NASCAR sanctioned a two-day test Tuesday and Wednesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“Other than being around other cars, I really didn’t feel a big change,” said Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon. “Most of what we’ve been learning with this car is in the front end with the splitter and the bump stops and shocks. There are a couple of little things that I can’t tell you about that we feel like we learned with the spoiler with the old car before that we tried to back up with this car, that we do feel like is something that can be a gained here that was not with the wing.

“The information we’ve been gathering over the last several years is certainly not obsolete by any means. But it is slightly different now and we’ll learn as we go. The more time we put on it, the more obsolete that wing information might be. But at this point, I can’t say that it is.”

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Associated Press
foxsports.com

“As far as the fake comment,” Harvick began, “you can’t be the nice guy, you can’t be the bad guy, and you can’t be the bully. So, I mean, that’s just how I feel about that.”

Edwards, widely lauded for being polite, personable and approachable, quickly fired back.

“I have absolutely no respect for Kevin Harvick,” he said. “I think he’s a bad person. That’s my opinion. I’ve told him that. We’ve had our deal before and his actions through that interaction were so devious and underhanded and cowardly that, it’s like, I just have no respect for him.

“When people like that question me, it makes me feel better because if those people were lined up patting me on the back I’d be on the wrong side of what’s right and wrong. And I truly believe that.”

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Eddie Gossage
President of Texas Motor Speedway
espn.com

Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage hesitated to go with this ad campaign, but NASCAR’s decision to not suspend Carl Edwards helped him to make his final decision.

“Have at it, boys.”

NASCAR said those words in a January press conference. While we knew it would change racing no one thought it would occur in such a spectacular manner in only the season’s fourth race.

Remember: The old-school way in NASCAR is to defend yourself. Sometimes it’s immediate, sometimes it’s on the track, and sometimes it’s off the track. It has been going on for decades. Both of these guys know and embrace “old school.”

After finding out that, fortunately, nobody was injured, thoughts immediately turned to — what else? — promotion. We’ve riled some people up over the years with some of our advertising. That’s typically a very good thing in advertising and marketing.

But understanding the sensitivity of this terrifying accident and recognizing the potential injuries — or worse — that could have occurred, how do you use this incident in promotion without going over the line?

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Jay Busbee
Yahoo Sports

Imagine for a second if it was Dale Earnhardt Jr. flying through the evening Atlanta air Sunday night instead of Brad Keselowski.

Imagine if it was a start-and-parker who sent Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson airborne with a deliberate tap to the bumper.

Still think we’d be talking about a three-race probation?

When NASCAR handed down its penalty for Edwards on Tuesday — three races of probation, the equivalent of being told “I’ll let you go this time, but next time, mister, next time … ” — reaction was immediate and split right down the middle. Some fans and media indicated they were satisfied with the punishment (particularly the media who made sure to pat themselves on the back at how right they were in guessing the sentencing). Others screamed that this was far too weak of a punishment for such a violent act of retaliation.

But those were the fans. Let’s look at some of the drivers’ reactions, via Twitter (all responses sic’d]:

• Robby Gordon: Just heard the news. I wonder what would of happened to me in that situation? Hmmm someone playing favorites? :)

• Kevin Harvick: huh! suprised by the penalty lack there of … i’m thinkging about asking for a refund for all of my penalties!!!!

• Kyle Busch (responding to Harvick): Me too! Let me kno how that goes. Lmao.

• Regan Smith: Gotta say I think NASCAR handled the situation the right way, glad 2 c they ackowledged the car getting airborne is the biggest issue

• Kyle Petty: For me I am deeply saddened by the decision that #NASCAR made on this issue. I love this Business,will always support it, but not this…

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Holly Cain
fanhouse.com

While the verdict is still out from NASCAR officials on whether to penalize Carl Edwards for a dangerous retaliatory crash he caused late in Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, there has been plenty of judgment rendered elsewhere.

Opinions have varied from those calling for Edwards’ suspension to others shrugging off the whole matter with a wink-wink, “boys will be boys.”

On the far extremes, fan reaction on FanHouse has ranged from calls for this to be considered a criminal matter to those who think Edwards’ target, the young driver Brad Keselowski, “had it coming.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who fielded a car for Keselowski in the Nationwide Series the past two seasons, said he didn’t see what happened but was glad Keselowski wasn’t injured.

“What happened there is between them,” Earnhardt said. “I’ve got nothing to do with that.”

Third-place finisher Juan Pablo Montoya didn’t witness the accident either but didn’t sound entirely surprised it happened either. Last year, he even suggested that Keselowski’s team would be well-advised to bring older cars to the track.

“I said that last year because he wrecked a lot of people,” Montoya said. “I’m sure a lot of people wanted to pay him back. And looking at the TV, somebody did.”

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NFP Member: 2putt
nascarfrontpage.com

How do you believe NASCAR should handle Carl Edwards’ admitted intentional wrecking of Brad Keselowski during the Cobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway?

NFP member 2putt has set up a poll and you’re invited to vote and share your opinions.

Click here to visit the forum and share your thoughts.

Thomas Bowles – frontstretch.com

Did You Notice? … Big-time teams swimming in a mountain of money problems?I know most people come back to that sobering reality from Vegas, but these appear to be worse than that few hundred lost on a bad hand at poker. We’ll start with Rusty Wallace, Inc. whose team revealed Tuesday they’re owed $535,439.18 by former primary sponsor U.S. Fidelis. Considering a competitive Nationwide Series sponsorship can run you at least $5 million these days, that’s a significant chunk of change that went unpaid (seven races’ worth, in fact).

 Did You Notice?… Richard Childress’ sudden, unnecessary distraction? I know you’re thinking about the underage drinking charge leveled against john Wes Townley. No, to me the real issue for RCR right now is the sudden partnership with the once-defunct Hall of Fame Racing, led by San Diego baseball execs Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel. The duo plans to get marketing assistance in finding sponsorship while hoping to return a car to the track under their name.

Did You Notice? … Denny Hamlin taking a swipe at NASCAR media?

Here’s the backstory, in case you missed it: Hamlin and Carl Edwards finished second and third in the rain-delayed Nationwide race on Saturday. They were brought up to the media center for a post-race press conference, standard procedure for anyone that finishes inside the top 3. Once there, each driver gave their usual statement before NASCAR PR director Ramsey Poston opened it up to questions from the floor. But that’s when things got a little quirky: there were none. Even when given a minute of extra time, nobody raised a hand – and just like that, the post-race “presser” was over before it started.

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Jeff Owens l Sporting News

Excitement is in the air as NASCAR’s Sprint Cup teams descend on Daytona International Speedway and fans get revved up for the Daytona 500 and the 2010 season.

But NASCAR faces some serious issues as it heads into a new season.

Attendance is down. TV ratings continue to decline. Souvenir sales are in the tank. And the tough economy is taking a toll on the sport, forcing teams to tighten their belts and making sponsors more difficult to find.

All this means one thing: Fan interest is on the decline.

How does NASCAR address these issues, appeasing disenchanted fans and curbing declining interest?

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