Your turn to weigh in on the Edwards-Keselowski incident

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Carl Edwards' frustration at his recent slump may have boiled over, causing him to endanger pit road officials as well as fans in Atlanta, not to mention Brad Keselowski. Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Did something happen in NASCAR? I thought I might have seen a car flip, but I wasn't sure ...

Seriously, the uproar over the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski incident has you guys up in arms. My email inbox overflowed to the point where it needs its own secretary, so let's not waste any time. Let's get as many of your thoughts out there as possible.

Here's a quick reminder of how to reach me before we get started: tbowles81@yahoo.com or Tweet Me at @NASCARBowles.

OK, so let's start with your reactions to the penalty itself. The general vibe among fans seems to be that a three-race probation was somewhere between "not enough" and "incredibly insulting:"

I think it is pathetic the "slap on the hand" NASCAR gave Carl Edwards. So would it have taken KILLING Keselowski in Sunday's race for officials to have really punished Edwards? NASCAR has the power to keep these drivers from retaliating against each other -- a few real punishments would make a driver think twice before endangering another driver and fans. It is totally NASCAR's fault -- the drivers have been given no incentive not to retaliate. When someone does get killed from the actions of those like Edwards, blood will be on the hands of the NASCAR officials. It is a dangerous enough sport without allowing drivers to INTENTIONALLY try to injure someone else....and as far as you go, Mr. Edwards -- I hope you never win another race and all of your sponsors drop you. Obviously, your mother never taught you that two wrongs don't make a right.
-- Judy Spinks

Carl should be arrested and charged for his cowardly attack on a defenseless fellow driver, Brad Keselowski. Is he that gutless and childish that he pulls a stunt like he did over the weekend? I always liked Carl prior to his antics in the most recent race. Not anymore. The only rooting I will be doing when it comes to him now is cheering for and hoping that he is arrested and charged by the Henry County District Attorney's office for what he did and then serve a significant jail term.
-- Sincerely and totally disgusted, James Scott, Rochester, NY

I used to like Carl. I don't now. He could have killed Keselowski and some fans. He should be suspended for a year ... I would boo him if I saw him in person.
-- MistieIsADollToo

I agree that NASCAR is in a tight spot given the edict passed down this offseason, but I feel it would be justified in at least a one-race suspension, characterizing Edward's actions as "not in the spirit of racing." I'd be agreeable with Edwards' actions had he been in contention for the race, but he had nothing to gain except putting another driver and fans in harm's way. It comes across as plain ol' thuggery, and I liken it to the Marty McSorley/Donald Brashear incident in the NHL a few years back.
-- Erik, Apex, NC

These were the best of literally hundreds of emails I got on this subject. Great points here, but I want to make an important distinction: Edwards was NOT attempting to injure Keselowski.

Yes, Edwards wanted to return the favor after getting wrecked out on Lap 40. You can debate whether it was the right thing to do, or if the "eye for an eye" principle should even apply. But when Edwards got back to Kes' bumper with three laps left, he wanted to spin him out ... not injure him. There's a difference.

Just like what Denny Hamlin did at Homestead, the intent was for Keselowski to spin without hitting anything, lose his solid finish and "get paid back" for wrecking what would have been a top-10 effort by Carl at the very least. In both instances, you're hurting the car -- a piece of equipment -- and not physically going after the driver. That leads me to a great point by another reader:

It is apparent that your winless slump in 2009-10 has affected your thinking. To do what you did on Sunday is inexcusable. Also to have NASCAR give you the slap on the wrist it did is laughable. The best medicine for you is every time you are in the top 5 this year, someone takes you out. I wonder what you would expect for a punishment if this had happened to you by a car that was 150 laps down. For the record, I am not a Keselowski fan, either.
-- Jeff Lewins

Here's the stat for Edwards that pops out in my mind: in his last 25 Cup starts, he has a total of seven laps-led. Seven. Considering he won nine races in 2008, that has to be eating at him deep inside. Add in that Atlanta's one of his best tracks and he and Keselowski have past history, and I think all the variables were there for Edwards to say, "Enough is enough."

Now, why so small a penalty?

It all comes down to Erik's email above: NASCAR is between the proverbial rock and hard place, trying to desperately shed the label of being the "Boy Who Cried Wolf." At the beginning of the season, NASCAR made it clear drivers would be allowed to self-police on the racetrack. So if it suspends Edwards here, how does that make the organization look?

You can't cherry pick tracks where drivers can retaliate, because as I mentioned in my post-race column, every track carries a certain element of risk. We could see a retaliatory tap at Bristol next Sunday wind up getting a driver seriously hurt -- even though the cars are running 70 miles an hour slower than Atlanta. The bottom line is whether this behavior will be allowed, and for now NASCAR's decided to stick to its guns for once.

There's one other important factor to consider: