NASCAR'S "Have at It Boys" Plan Facing Test After Edwards/Keselowski Feud

We scream bloody murder when a pitcher throws a bean ball at some batter's head in baseball. We cringe when a defensive back uses his head as a spear against a wide receiver going over the middle to catch a pass. But a race car driver that "rubs" an opponent to the point that his car goes airborne and flips over several times at nearly 200 mph? Why that's just god old fashioned NASCAR according to some fans (mostly of Carl Edwards) and that kind of "gamesmanship" has put the sport in a negative light at a time when ratings are slumping and attendance is down.

Maybe NASCAR should just settle this thing the old fashioned way with a duel? (In case you didn't catch it earlier, video of the crash below.)

The boys sure backed NASCAR into a corner on this one.  Determined to give drivers more leeway this season when it came to policing each other on the track, NASCAR opened the year with a relaxed "boys, have at it" attitude. It was interpreted to mean NASCAR would look the other way at a nudge here, a spin there, and all the retaliatory bumping and banging that goes on over a very long season.

No one could have predicted, though, that NASCAR's first true test would come a mere four races into the season following a frightening accident at Atlanta.  NASCAR on Monday found itself smack in the center of a dilemma over what to do with Carl Edwards, whose intentional wrecking of Brad Keselowski late in Sunday's race ignited a heated debate about just what's permitted under this new policy.  Emotions are high in almost every corner, and no decision NASCAR makes will satisfy everyone.  What first must be figured out, though, is what is everyone is so upset about?

Is it that Edwards returned to the track down 153 laps, intent on retaliating against Keselowski, and after trying for at least one full lap, finally succeeded with a deliberate nudge?  Is it that the high-speed contact sent Keselowski airborne in a spectacular flip that could have caused serious harm to Keselowski or any number of fans in the grandstands?  Or, maybe, the issue is that NASCAR wasn't properly prepared to deal with the ramifications of allowing drivers free rein on the race track.

Edwards paints NASCAR into disciplinary corner - USATODAY.com

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