Carl Edwards Pushes NASCAR's Public Persona

Who wouldn't want to be a fly on the wall during the first meeting with NASCAR brass on Monday morning?

Carl Edwards decision to take NASCAR's "Back to Basics" campaign to a new level on Brad Keselowski provided one of the most interesting stories to grace the sport in quite some time. Whether or not you believe Keselowski was deserving of the act is not up for debate at the moment.

There is a strong possibility that NASCAR may find itself under the microscope of the public in the coming days. Their decision on what type of punishment will dictate how non-fans, an important segment to NASCAR brass, view the sport.

It is obvious that spectacular crashes are what causes non-NASCAR fans to flock to their TV. The incident during the race at Atlanta is precisely one of those crashes and in this instance there is video evidence that the accident in question was premeditated by Edwards.

In our 21st century culture, it has the making of being a viral news story. And this is where the problem lies.

If NASCAR hands out the typical probation and fine for the incident in question, what will the general public think of this decision? Perhaps another slap on the wrist for a millionaire athlete? Or perhaps that the sport condones such possibly deadly maneuvers like what occurred this past Sunday.

I am unsure of any sport would want to be known as condoning such methods.

Just two months ago, NBA commissioner David Stern suspended Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas indefinitely for bringing guns into the players locker room. The NBA deemed it grossly inappropriate behavior and classified it as something that they would pardon under any circumstance.

Granted, this is not a direct corollary, but the message is similar. Let boys be boys, but not to the point where you are risking lives of either your athletes or your fans.

What message are you sending to the future young drivers of the nation if NASCAR does not dole out a harsh punishment? One view would be that if you feel someone has wronged you, it is perfectly acceptable to wreck them at the most dangerous spot of one of the series fastest tracks.

And for those who say this instance does not warrant a suspension, consider the suspension of Kevin Harvick in 2002. Harvick purposefully attempted to wreck a competitor at a short track, with much lower speeds, and NASCAR responded by parking him for the Cup race the following day.

It is often said that that particular action is what caused Harvick to mature away from those tactics. The same could be said for Kurt Busch after his 'suspension' by Jack Roush at the end of 2005 season.

You can take away points and you can take away money, but suspending a driver will truly get the message across to the driver. Busch and Harvick are two prime examples of this.

This works not just the driver, but for the public as well. It will show that there is zero tolerance for such extremely dangerous actions, despite their desire to return to grass roots racing.

I implore NASCAR to consider these facts when deciding how to rectify this unfortunate situation. Edwards may not have intended to hurt Keselowski or anyone else in his choice, but he came dangerously close to doing so.

If NASCAR effectively looks the other way, it is not terribly difficult to envision a similar incident occurring with much more disastrous consequences.

And it all could be prevented by taking a harsh stance against actions like we saw today. For the sake of the fans and of the drivers, one would hope that would be the case.