Carl Edwards', Goodyear's, Nascar's Bad Decisions Mar Exciting Talladega Race

Photo by AP.

Tony Stewart scored his first victory of the 2008 season on Sunday, after crossing the finish line second in the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Super Speedway. The picture above speaks for itself.

Regan Smith, driver of the No. 01 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet, passed Stewart just before crossing the finish line. There was one problem though: Part of that pass occurred while Smith was below the yellow line, considered a no-no by NASCAR.

It would appear that Stewart, driver of the 20 Subway/Home Depot Toyota, had actually forced Smith below the yellow line. NASCAR, in it's infinite wisdom, said it didn't matter. Tony Stewart went to Victory Lane and Regan Smith was penalized and credited with a very disappointing 18th.

Yellow line passes on restrictor plate tracks have been controversial in the past, but none is likely to be as controversial as this one.

It seems that NASCAR changes the rules from incident to incident, making for a lot of angry drivers, crew chiefs, owners, and fans. Right or wrong, Tony Stewart was awarded the trophy, and as always, what NASCAR says goes.

Only NASCAR makes the rules in NASCAR, and if they want to change them, it's their option. I personally feel it makes the sport look bad, and gives it a certain WWE feel. If that's what NASCAR wants to do, neither you, nor I, nor Regan Smith can change that. There will be no asterisk in the record book.

Poor Goodyear rubber once again led to some unnecessary danger in Sunday's race.

Blown tires nearly caused at least one very serious injury; Denny Hamlin blew a right front tire while leading the race, shooting him hard into the wall. He was taken to an ambulance on a stretcher and transported to a nearby hospital and kept overnight for observation.

Brian Vickers and Mike Wallace were among others who experienced catastrophic tire failures as well.

Even with restrictor plates, Talladega races produces speeds of up to andexceeding 200 mph. This track is dangerous enough without Goodyear providing an inferior and unsafe product.

Harsh words, you say? I think perhaps not harsh enough. Several of the drivers expressed their concerns about their safety after Sunday's race. Talladega is nerve racking enough for the drivers without them wondering if the next blown tire could seriously injure them.

Another bad decision was made by Carl Edwards, driver of the 99 Office Depot Ford. In attempting to push teammate Greg Biffle to the lead, he caused a spectacular wreck,  taking himself and teammates Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was also caught up in that crash, which ended his day. Edwards did take responsibility for his mistake, but that was small consolation for the drivers who's championship runs were effectively ended by one bone headed mistake. Aggressive is one thing, but stupid is another.

One true high point of the race, from this fan's perspective, was the 13th place finish by Kenny Wallace, who drove a one race deal in the Michael Waltrip owned 00 Toyota.

Kenny was penalized a lap early on for speeding in excess of 100 mph on pit road, but was able to recover for a very good finish. Kenny, who is a well liked personality, showed yesterday that he's also a pretty good race car driver. I hope to see this open up an opportunity for Kenny Wallace to drive more Cup races in the near future.