The stock-car circuit has been plagued by dwindling interest, plummeting attendance and sagging television ratings the last few years. The shine has worn off what was once hailed as the nation’s fastest-growing sport. There’s little question the series got too dull, the drivers too corporate and the racing too predictable.
In January, Helton boldly stated that things were changing when he essentially relaxed the rules for the kind of frontier justice and retaliatory wrecks that the sport was built upon.
“There’s an age-old saying in NASCAR, ‘If you ain’t rubbing, you ain’t racing,’ ” Helton said in January. “I think that’s what the NASCAR fan, the NASCAR stakeholders all bought into, and all expect.”
Or as NASCAR vice president Robin Pemberton put when discussing a different rule change, “Boys, have at it, and have a good time.”
This is a dangerous game the circuit is playing, one that could backfire with serious injury or even death. That’s their gamble. Many racers would prefer the chance to settle their differences on the track and bristled in recent years at the repeated trips to the NASCAR hauler for postrace discipline. NASCAR heard the complaints – or saw the empty seats – and made a move.
Edwards tested NASCAR’s new policy to the fullest Sunday, the season’s fourth race. Early on in the event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he and Keselowski made contact, enough that Edwards had to go to the garage for repairs. When he returned to the track, he was 156 laps down. With just three laps to go in the race and Keselowski fighting for a top-five finish, Edwards smacked Keselowski’s back bumper and sent him flying.
It was a wild, frightening wreck. Keselowski could’ve been seriously injured. Had NASCAR suspended Edwards, there wouldn’t be much room for argument. First off, he ruined the end of the race (where Juan Pablo Montoya was trying to reel in eventual winner Kurt Busch) and afterwards didn’t even pretend it was an “accident.”
“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 til Bristol and collect other cars? or D) Take care of it now?” Edwards wrote on his Facebook page.
“I want to be clear that I was surprised at his flight and very relieved when he walked away,” Edwards continued. “Every person has to decide what code they want to live by and hopefully this explains mine.”
So there you go – hard-core retaliation at 190 miles per hour.