Was Matt Kenseth Right to Go After Brad Keselowski?

After the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte on Saturday night, many fans and drivers were awestruck when Matt Kenseth surprised Brad Keselowski in between two haulers in an apparent attack.

Kenseth as an instigator in an attack is enough to make people scratch their heads in confusion. This is the guy who was once shoved by Jeff Gordon after the 2006 spring race at Bristol and once flinched at Martinsville in 2007 when former teammate Carl Edwards lunged at him.

Kenseth is known to be a quiet, easygoing guy who prefers not to rock the boat. He's anti-confrontational in nature, so his ninja-esque attack on Keselowski was nothing short of surprising.

But was it right? Was it a good thing that Kenseth went off the way he did?

Look at it like this: Despite having a huge amount of talent, Keselowski just doesn't know how to control himself when angry. When Kenseth and Keselowski exchanged contact at Richmond in the spring, four or five other drivers were damaged by Keselowski on his cool-down lap before he got his point across. That resulted in extra work for the teams who had no part in Keselowski's little on-track riff-raff.

Same thing goes for Saturday night's incident. He was angry at Denny Hamlin, but as a result rear-ended Tony Stewart (who returned the favor and smashed Keselowski's front end) and ran into Kenseth. Kenseth's main outrage was that Keselowski ran into him when his belts were undone.

That last bit is where NASCAR should drop the hammer penalty-wise on Keselowski's actions after the race.

He had no way of knowing which driver or how many drivers were in the process of undoing their belts or removing their safety equipment or things of that nature. Also, there was no reason to run into a number of cars who had no part in his issue with Hamlin. It was an incredibly stupid decision by a champion in this sport, and as proven by Kenseth, some drivers have an incredibly low tolerance for such stupidity.

Keep in mind Kenseth is like the quiet kid at school. He gets bullied and run over repeatedly, but when he's had his fill, he's bound to go off like a powder keg. In this case it's understandable why he was angry. His safety was risked because someone else was mad at someone else and he got swept into the mess. No one should have to be put in that position because a driver was on a power trip.

Of course, some people will argue about how "old-school" Keselowski's actions were. There was nothing old-school about Keselowski's actions. It's a simple logic: No issue should be settled behind the wheel. It's a dangerous way to go about things and nothing good comes out of it.

But while Keselowski's actions weren't becoming of a professional race car driver, Kenseth's actions were also a bit overboard. Sure, he chose the lesser of two evils, and sure, his frustrations weren't without reason, but blindsiding an opponent in frustration isn't the best way to handle yourself when you know the racing world is watching.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Many will say it's things like this, emotional drivers going at each other in the heat of the of the moment, that the foundation of the sport was built on.

No, it wasn't.

The foundation of NASCAR was built upon a love of speed and competition. Granted, NASCAR's early days were a bit more barbaric than they are today, but even then they drew in fans who wanted to be thrilled by stock-car racing. It's speed and competition we want. If we wanted a fight, we could always turn to Fox Sports 1 and catch The Ultimate Fighter.

As previously mentioned, no good comes from settling issues with your bumper. Other people usually have to pay for someone else's mistakes because of such matters. With that being said, Keselowski needs to rethink his actions when he gets angry.

This is the guy who once called out the people who praised the Jeff Gordon/Clint Bowyer fight at Phoenix in 2012. Yet twice now this season, he's gone on a rampage that has resulted in extra damage to innocent bystanders. It's stupid thinking and the type of mindset a driver needs to avoid. Keselowski isn't above his peers, and he needs to come to the realization fast.

In short, he just needs to knock it off. If he has a problem, the least he could do is wait until he gets out of the car on pit road or in the garage to voice his complaints. Of course, the same goes for every other driver in the garage. Other's shouldn't have to put forth extra work because of one driver's fit.

As for Kenseth, aside from the obvious note that he should wait until his car is safely out of harm's way before undoing his belts, he's undoubtedly earned a little extra respect in the garage regardless. But then again, when it comes down to it, there are no real winners in this mess. It should make for some interesting television in the days to come, but here's to hoping the biggest mess will be left in Charlotte.

Follow Joseph on Twitter: @Shelton500.