Penalty debate up in the air
Bob Pockrass
Bob Pockrass began covering NASCAR in 1992, primarily covering short-track racing and events. He has worked for Street & Smith's Motorsports Group since 2003.
Separating Carl Edwards’ retaliation versus Brad Keselowski’s car flipping is one of the main issues in the Edwards-Keselowski debate.
NASCAR officials view it as two separate things. They put Edwards on probation for three races (in addition to parking him Sunday) for the retaliation. They gave him nothing for the flip.
In some ways that’s understandable. There was no intent to flip Keselowski and retaliatory acts happen all the time.
But for me and others, it’s impossible to separate the two. The car got in the air as a result of Edwards’ bump and that deserves a bigger penalty than just spinning someone out.
There would be nothing wrong with NASCAR saying that retaliation is fine as long as the car (or other cars that get involved) are still drivable. If a driver gets hurt from a retaliatory act, that should be a bigger penalty, too. A driver who is going to retaliate must weigh the chances of the damage done before going through with the move.
Every time a picture of Keselowski’s car in the air comes on the computer screen or the television, it’s hard to believe that the parking Sunday and probation were enough.
