By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I totally missed the Nationwide race this weekend–I was lulled into complacency by the fact that Sprint Cup is on hiatus. But from what I hear, it was Carl Edwards FTMFW, Brad Keselowski again bore the brunt of it, and the ensuing hellacious wreck got Brad’s dad threatening to bring on some serious fisticuffs (“he ain’t gonna kill my boy”). Wow. I kind of think that Brad should tread lightly with Carl, (otherwise a very nice guy until you mess with him), if he doesn’t want to get ganked. It’s like Denny Hamlin said a season or two ago: you throw a rock at me, I’m going to throw a brick right back. Your thoughts–was it just hard racing for a clean win, or is outrage in order?

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

This much is true: putting a rival in the fence is a time-honored tradition in stock-car racing, and a recognized if not officially sanctioned way of doing business on the track. Still, when veteran Sprint Cup driver Carl Edwards sent newcomer Brad Keselowski hurtling airborne into the wall at nearly 200 mph yesterday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, I kind of had to wonder if things had gotten out of hand. Sure, NASCAR’s been encouraging drivers to show their passions and race hard, in its effort to counteract the tedium of today’s sanitized, sponsor-dominated version of the sport that has become so far removed from stock-car racing’s hellraising roots. But some things don’t change: when you tell a bunch of rowdy NASCAR drivers that it’s time to take the gloves off, the outcome is going to be pretty predictable: beatin’ and brawlin’. See the wreck and read more below the jump!

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NASCAR driver Carl Edwards told me about Back 40 Racing when I chatted with him at Dover this weekend—basically, it’s an informal field-racing series in which competitors run cars they’ve pulled out of the junkyard. Carl was more involved in Back 40 before full-time racing duties took over—it bears the same name as his record label—but apparently, he still goes out racing with them once in awhile. And yeah, running junker cars through back fields against the current Sprint Cup Series points leader sounds like my idea of a total blast! Check out video of a typical Back 40 lap, below.