NASCAR officials are reviewing whether to punish #60-Carl Edwards for intentionally wrecking #22-Brad Keselowski on the last lap of Saturday night’s Nationwide Series race at Gateway International Speedway, multiple sources told ESPN.com. A decision will be made Tuesday or Wednesday. Edwards turned Keselowski sideways heading for the checkered flag on the straightaway coming off the final turn. The incident triggered a multi-car wreck that allowed Edwards to win and left point leader Keselowski 14th. Edwards received a three-race probation from NASCAR in March for sending Keselowski’s car into an airborne flip in the final laps of the Sprint Cup race at Atlanta. His intent in this incident is being scrutinized by the governing body, which has shied away from penalizing points and money after issuing a “have at it boys” edict in January.(ESPN.com)(7-19-2010)
PENALITES: NASCAR has penalized the #60 team and the #22 driver for rule violations committed during last Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Gateway International Raceway. The penalties come as a result of violating Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing/ aggressive driving) of the 2010 NASCAR Rule Book. Carl Edwards, driver of the #60, has been penalized with the loss of 60 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship driver points, fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. Car owner Jack Roush has been penalized with the loss of 60 series championship owner points. Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22, has been placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.(NASCAR), the probation for both drivers applies to the Sprint Cup Series as well.(7-21-2010)
STATEMENTS: Statement from Keselowski: “The incident at the end of Saturday night’s race at Gateway was unfortunate not just for Penske Racing and the #22 Discount Tire Dodge team, but for all of the teams that were caught up in the aftermath. There was unnecessary damage done to a lot of race cars as a result of the incident, including one of our best cars. We support NASCAR’s decision and we look forward to putting this behind us. Our focus continues to be working hard to get Discount Tire, Ruby Tuesday, Dodge, Mr. Penske and Penske Racing a Championship this season.” (Penske PR)(7-21-2010)
AND: “We have received notification of NASCAR’s penalties against Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski and Roush Fenway Racing related to Saturday night’s race at Gateway International Raceway,” said Roush Fenway president Geoff Smith. “As with all NASCAR actions of this nature, we will internally evaluate the penalties, and the underlying explanations, prior to making any decision about next steps. We look forward to watching Carl and Brad as they continue to compete on a weekly basis for the championship in the Nationwide Series.”(RFR PR)(7-21-2010)
UPDATE: NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said the punishments would have no effect on a renewed commitment to an unwritten code of frontier justice that allows drivers latitude for banging fenders at 200 mph in the goal of self-policing the sport. “Absolutely,” said Pemberton, who set the tone for this year’s aggression with his oft-quoted “Boys, have at it” pronouncement in January. “We think it works well. We think the vast majority of competitors throughout all our series have handled themselves accordingly and measured their actions and reactions accordingly. We feel they’ve done an outstanding job. We’re not changing the policy. We just have two competitors who have gone over the edge.” The probations apply across all three national series, as Edwards and Keselowski are racing full time in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series.(USA Today)(7-22-2010)
UPDATE: Carl Edwards announced during a media session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that he does not intend to appeal NASCAR’s imposed penalties against himself and Brad Keselowski. Team owner Jack Roush said the team supports Edward’s decision and will similarly not appeal the owner’s penalty.(RFR PR)(7-23-2010)
