Nascar’s Call for Aggressiveness Is Met by a Deliberate Crash
In the midst of a ratings and attendance slump, Nascar went back to its bad-ol’
Energy saving lamps-boy roots this season in the hope that more aggressive driving would draw fans back to the sport. The message to the drivers before the start of the season was a simple one.
“Boys, have at it and have a good time,” Nascar’s vice president for competition, Robin Pemberton, said in January. If drivers wanted to use their fenders to bump others on the track — “Rubbin’ is racin,’ ”as they say — Nascar would not necessarily penalize offenders.
An inevitable result of that approach came Sunday during a Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Carl Edwards drove his No. 99 Ford deliberately into the rear quarter panel of Brad Keselowski’s No. 12 Dodge. The hit sent Keselowski’s car airborne in a wreck that could have injured not only the driver but fans as well. No one was hurt, but Keselowski and the former driver Kyle Petty called for Nascar to penalize Edwards.
Nascar idled Edwards for the rest of the race as punishment after the accident — he finished 39th — and met with him at the track. Officials are expected to decide on further penalties as early as Tuesday.
“It looked like it could have been payback from the No. 99 on the No. 12,”Pemberton said after the race. “We talked with Carl after the race and we have an understanding about it..”
Edwards freely acknowledged the hit was deliberate after Keselowski wrecked him earlier in the race. Edwards wrote this on his Facebook page Sunday night:
“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? I want to be clear that I was surprised
Energy saving lampsat his flight and very relieved when he walked away. Every person has to decide what code they want to live by and hopefully this explains mine.”
阅读(105) | 评论(0) | 转发(0) |
