he most certainly needs suspended, completely absurd what he did

This, got a chance to see video of it and if he doesn't take a seat for at least a week something is wrong.

He deserves multi-weeks off but it's probably not going to happen. Even if he gets one week off his season is basically over Chase-wise. But, it's all about sponsors so it's not an easy decision for NASCAR. He needs to be penalized but do AFLAC and Subway and Miracle Gro or w/e else sponsors him. They pay the bills.

That's part of the deal imo. Hopefully, sponsors have protected themselves with clauses that cause partial refunds for weeks where a driver is suspended. Edwards suspension isn't just a hit to his chase chances, it's a message to sponsors that the guy is likely to draw a suspension that will keep him off the track.

It's way too early for a 1 race suspension to be gg chase. Interested to hear if liga's seats were in the area of that wreck.

WOW

no suspension, no points penalty, no fine. probation for 3 races.

i dident feel a suspension would be needed. but this is crazy.

lol NASCAR

lol, I knew they wouldn't suspend him. Carl's too much of a hero for them. Plus, iirc there's only been one suspension for on-track stuff in the last 10 years or so (Jimmy Spencer).

The probation thing is standard, but it's telling in it's length. They usually do it for half a season or til the end of the season. 3 races say they come down firmly in Carl's camp and are spitting in BK's face. Probation doesn't mean anything anyway, nothing's ever happened to a probationed driver that wouldn't happen to a driver not on probation afaik.

i knew they werent gonna bench him. i also know that... hes probally not gonna finish at bristol or martinsville.

like i said in one of my last posts, he should have had a big points penalty and fine, and a year of probation.

only getting a 3 race probation is horrable, and more crashes are gonna happen because of this imo.

Would be hilarious to see BK get his revenge when he's down 1+ laps and Carl is leading.

seats were near wreck but i only caught when keselowski was airborne ... i missed the beginning when he was clipped

Trip Report follows (tl;dr ... cliff notes for that)

cliff notes: had a great time at my first nascar race, broke down and put in ear plugs after 20 laps, like other spectator sports nascar has some clowns in the stands, early on thought kahne was going to easily win, think tweaks need to be made to GWC, not knowledgeable enough to comment on Edwards' probation.


was meaning to do a TR so here goes ...

the girl and i get to the track early and park away from the track (about a mile away) so we won't be stuck with the masses leaving. we had a cooler loaded with a 12-pack and seat cushions and headed to our seats.

arrived at the seats a good 2 hours before the start. some southern rock band was playing. it was funny b/c the band had lyrics talking about getting high and such and there were plenty of kids sitting with their parents. i found this odd that the band didn't tone things down a bit for the "family friendly" nascar circuit.

i didn't realize that every driver got introduced to the crowd which was cool. each driver then got into a Corvette (cars from the 50s on up it seemed) and did a lap before getting into their cars. the fly over wasn't timed with the anthem as it was a bit late. i called it though and said it would be an old school bomber and not a stealth or fighter jets.

then the engines were fired up and i was like holy ****. i couldn't get over how awesome that was. the excitement as the field left turn 4 for the first green flag was great. the stands actually rumbled and shaked!

about 20 laps in i was glad when the group behind us offered ear plugs to me. i took them up on the offer. most ppl rented scanners/headphones and i would do that if i had to do it over again.

the pit stops were cool. i don't know how they jet in and out without hitting each other. and when they leave the pits (even if it is one car) you can hear them spin out and get up to speed. very cool.

unfortunately, there were some ppl that were out of line two rows in front of us. they were getting ripped and causing drama. one of them threw an empty coke plastic bottle about 15 rows. then one of the girls gets pissed at her man and stumbles over the row in front of her and bashes into a couple. she is so wasted she gets up and rolls over the next row and the bites it head first into the row in front of that. they were pretty embarrassing but you see this at NFL games and cfb games so i shouldn't harp on it too much.

kasey kahne and montoya really looked like the cars to beat early on. jimmy johnson was in the mix and i was just thinking he was keeping his cards close to his vest, so to speak, and would be in the mix late. but then towards the end it was hamlin and kurt busch who really had it going.

busch did his victory lap backwards which i thought was odd but the group behind me told me it was a tribute to another driver (i forgot that driver's name) i was disappointed he didn't go into the grass infield and peel out.

as for the edwards/keselowski wreck ... it was probably 100 to 150 yards past the start/finish line (my seats were on the s/f line) and i just caught the tail end of it (right when keselowski was airborne). that was something else. i can't really comment on whether the 3 race probation was appropriate as i'm a novice at the sport.

i will say that i think changes are needed for the GWC finishes. i think the top 12 cars should be involved with GWC finishes and that all other cars are locked into whatever position they were in and must leave the track and go to the garage. their day is over. i don't think it is fair that so much movement can take place during a GWC b/c it seems like a huge wreck takes place like half the time on a GWC sequence.

i would recommend ppl taking Tylenol or aspirin towards the end of the race and then later that day. i had a slight headache at the end of the day due to: (1) the sounds of the race, (2) the fumes of exhaust and rubber, and (3) a long day in the sun. i didn't feel like myself again until Monday afternoon really. not sure if any long range studies have been done on the health consequences to drivers, pit crew, and crew chiefs who breath in these fumes 40+ weekends a year (probably more since you have testing, qualifying and practice).

i see myself going to another race in about 5 years. my girl wants to go to Bristol but i don't like the small tracks. i'm holding out for 'Dega or Daytona.

ty for the trip report, good read.

Also, listen to your girl. Bristol is considered by most to be the best place to watch NASCAR.

PS. I didn't like short track racing either when I first got into NASCAR, but now they are my favorite.

confirmed. there is a reason why tickets to bristol are fought over in divorces and given in wills.

You will quickly realize that for the most part, the shorter the track, the more exciting the race will be, Atlanta probably the notable exception. Dega and Daytona have really awesome finishes, but ever since Dega was repaved, the first 85% of the race is usually very boring and at times the top 15 or so cars follow each other single file around the track for laps on end. I would put Martinsville or Richmond on the top of my list of best races. Bristol used to be the best, but repaving it and adding a better outside groove really ruined what made Bristol so special.

interesting to hear the consensus that smaller tracks are better for pure racing. i guess i can see it b/c you have more contact and passing going on.

she says that the stands are very vertical in Bristol and even at the top you feel that you are literally on top of the action and the track.

do 43 cars start on the smaller courses too?

While we're talking tracks I really hate Louden...can't believe it rates 2 Cup races/year.

Plus Adam Petty died there

I don't watch NASCAR or follow it or anything but I did catch this story and video.

Pretty hillarious that in NASCAR this warrants a meaningless slap on the wrist and if you did this on the highway you'd be charged with attempted murder.

Can't believe you guys thought Edwards was going to get any serious type of penalty. He was just unlucky that Keselowski got upside down, even though it was still pretty boneheaded.

Anyways, short tracks are pretty good in NASCAR, but I find NASCAR kind of boring at most points (even though I'm a huge racing fan and watch it quite a bit). If you want good racing, take in a show at your local dirt track. Much more exciting, imo. Sprint cars are the ultimate nuts. Best type of racing in America iyam.

Pretty hilarious that you think NASCAR and driving on the highway are comparable in any way.

You'd probably get a similar charge if you were driving 180 MPH on the highway, but its standard in NASCAR.

Ya, 43 cars start every race. Here's a pic of Bristol:

Just because the cars are built with alot of saftey equipment doesn't make it any less bad to wreck someone going 200 mph.

That's like arguing it's more ok to shoot someone wearing a bullet proof vest.

Which is why I said it was a boneheaded move by Edwards.

I am pleased with NASCAR sticking to its preseason decision though. 9/10 times Keselowski spins through the grass or something and there's no harm, no foul, this time he freakishly went airborne.

for some reason the moniker that stuck with me for Bristol was 'The World's Largest Cereal Bowl'.

it's a fun fun race to watch.

Loudon would probably barely make it into the top 50% of tracks I like to watch. The racing isn't really that bad, the really boring tracks to me are the cookie cutters like Cali and Michigan. Really boring racing and usually one car is pretty tuned in and blowing away the rest of the field. Pocono is terrible as well. Not sure if I'm in the minority or not, but I love the 2 road courses and wish there were a couple more RC races and maybe even one in the Chase.

Like someone else said, 9/10 it's a fairly harmless wreck, but the thing that makes it blatantly wrong imo is A) Brad didn't even really wreck Carl, it was Carl's own fault as he was trying to race the middle lane for some reason and getting squirrely and came down on Brad's nose before Brad could really react and B) It's near the end with Carl like 120 laps down wrecking a top 6 car. It's a pretty chicken shyt move to wreck a guy on the lead lap, much less a guy in the top 10 when you're 20+ laps down. If you're gonna make a statement, then do it when you're both on the lead lap or when the other guy isn't in contention with the best non-plate race run of his career going.

A one race suspension was probably too much to ask, but I think a 100 point deduction should have been assessed.

If Martin Truex or Robby Gordon or some other low-tier non rookie driver pulls that move, they get at the very least a point deduction and most likely a 2-4 race suspension. Edwards is lucky he's popular and sells merchandise or his season would be over already. That said, Nascar did state they would let the drivers handle things more this season before any racing even happened, so hopefully they stay consistent with their punishments since I'm sure we haven't seen the end of blatant retaliation this year.

Bristol is by all accounts the greatest place to see a race in person. The only place I've ever seen a cup series race is at the Indy Motor Speedway, and it's a great atmosphere, though obviously not a great race to see in person since the place is so huge. Indy Raceway Park or O'Reilly Park or whatever it's called now is a very awesome place to see any type of race, great short track oval racing and incredible drag racing. If you ever have a chance to go to the NHRA Nationals, don't pass it up, it's really an awesome event.