I don’t think NASCAR was ready for this one.

The boys have at it” attitude that NASCAR gave the drivers came into full swing Sunday At the Kobalt Tools 500. With only 2 laps remaining Carl Edwards Spun Brad Keselowski sending him airborne into the fronstrech wall roof first. The whole feud started way earlier in the race, when Keselowski got into Edwards in turn one only 40 laps into the race.

I don’t think anyone thought that NASCAR’s would be tested so soon only four races into the season.

NASCAR on Monday found in the middle of a dilemma over what to do with Carl Edwards, whose intentional wrecking of Brad Keselowski late in Sunday’s race ignited a heated debate about what is exceptable under this NASCAR new policy.

You know whatever decision NASCAR makes will will not satisfy everyone.

The first to find out here, is what is everyone is so upset about?

Is it that Edwards returned to the track down 153 laps, intent on retaliating against Keselowski, and after trying for at least one full lap, finally succeeded with a deliberate nudge?

  

Is it that the high-speed contact sent Keselowski airborne in a spectacular flip that could have caused serious harm to Keselowski or any number of fans in the grandstands?

Or, maybe, the issue is that NASCAR wasn’t ready to deal with the ramifications of allowing drivers free rein on the race track.

All three would be good arguments.

Edwards is not the only driver who has been on the losing end of Keselowski’s aggressive charge into NASCAR’s top level. Although Denny Hamlin had the most public feud with Keselowski, there is no shortage of top name drivers who privately pledged they’d exact their revenge this season.

I still think this dates back to last year on the final lap of last April’s race at Talladega, where Keselowski’s nudge sent Edwards flying into the fence in a wreck that some may argue was worse than one at Atlanta. But the two race against each other weekly in two series, and Edwards’ hinted at a far deeper history with the unapologetic Keselowski.

Edwards didn’t hold back any words in a Facebook posting late Sunday night.

“My options,” he wrote, “Considering that Brad wrecks me with no regard for anyones safety or hard work, should I: A-Keep letting him wreck me? B-Confront him after the race? C-Wait till Bristol and collect other cars? or D-Take care of it now?

“I want to be clear that I was surprised at his flight and very relieved when he walked away. Every person has to decide what code they want to live by and hopefully this explains mine.”

Brad knows the deal between him and I,” Edwards said. “The scary part was his car went airborne, which was not at all what I expected. At the end of the day, we’re out here to race and people have to have respect for one another and I have a lot of respect for people’s safety.

“I wish it wouldn’t have gone like it did, but I’m glad he’s OK and we’ll just go on and race some more and maybe him and I won’t get in any more incidents together. That would be the best thing.”

Opinions were split, though, perhaps fueled by the severity of Keselowski’s crash.

  

Nobody was to outraged when Hamlin paid back Keselowski in last year’s Nationwide Series finale at Homestead. And it sure seemed that more people were cheering than jeering when Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart played retaliatory bumper-cars a day later.

Fans want him suspended, and many analysts have agreed. Even Keselowski seemed to taunt NASCAR into cracking down on Edwards.
“It’ll be interesting to see how NASCAR reacts to it,” he said after the wreck. “They have the ball. If they’re going to allow people to intentionally wreck each other at tracks this fast, we will hurt someone either in the cars or the grandstands. It’s not cool to intentionally wreck someone at 195 mph.”

Now it is up to NASCAR to figure out what they need to do.

Jenna Fryer, AP Auto Racing Writer, contributed to this report

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Kurt winds back to back spring races at Atlanta winning  the Kobalt Tools 500 with a dominate car all day.

The victory was great for Busch and new crew, chief Steve Addington, who used to be crew chief for Kurts younger brother Kyle Busch last season. It was a bitter sweet victory, all people are going to be talking about and remember is the late race incident between known rivals,  Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski.

Only two laps remaining Edwards clearly turned Keselowski on purpose, sending him upside down in the frontstretch. Keselowski’s car spun around backwards sending his car airborne into the fronstretch wall upside down. A wreck that should never had happened, this isn’t short track racing were the speeds aren’t so high. Edwards was black flag parked for the rest of the race and had to go to the NASCAR trailer immediately after climbing out of his car.

Fortunately Keselowski was not injured in the incident, but clearly and understandably upset. Edwards told reporters he intentional spun Keselowski but didn’t intend for it to go that bad.

  

Earlier in the race Edwards and Keselowski got together entering turn one were Edwards said Keselowski never gives him room. After Edwards watched the replay, he made it sound that Keselowski getting into him wasn’t as blatant as he initially thought it was.

With the late race incident, it sent the race into overtime. Taking two green white checkered restarts to finish the race.

Kurt Busch got a great restart on the first green white checkered attempt, but was slowed by another caution on the first lap with a multi car accidents going into turn three. Jamie McMurry went into turn three hard getting loose and creating a Hugh pile up.

On the second restart, Busch got a great jump. This time, the they were able to  completed two laps safely, this is the first win for Busch and his Penske team.

“I’m just so happy to bring this car home to victory lane,” Busch said. “Even with all the restarts at the end, I felt like we had the car to beat.”

Busch led 129 of the race’s 341 laps. Only Kahne at 144 led more

Kevin Harvick, who finished ninth, kept the point lead. Kenseth is second, Greg Biffle third, Jimmie Johnson fourth and Clint Bowyer fifth.

Some of the top teams had some serious tire issues. A lot of blown out tires and punctures during the race.

Caution No. 8 came out when Denny Hamlin’s left-front tire blew, forcing the field to slow at lap 288. A couple of laps after the restart, the caution came out again,  the cars of Elliott Sadler and Max Papis made contact.

Johnson pitted during that caution so that his team could repair damage Johnson’s car received when he and Ryan Newman bumped.

On lap 158 the right front tire blew on Joey  car , causing significant damage to the front of the Logano’s Toyota and bringing out the day’s sixth caution.

Lap 114 Mark Martin slid along the frontstretch when his car lost its left rear tire. Martin kept the car off the wall, but his Chevrolet later was damaged severely in the caution that resulted from the first green white checkered attempt.

Martin did not finish and ended up 33rd.

The Edwards Keselowski first incident caused the first multi-car caution flag of the day on lap 40.

A blown tire sent David Ragan into the third-turn wall on lap 35, causing the second caution of the race. The event had barely started when a tire problem sent Robby Gordon into the first-turn wall.

RESULTS: KOBALT TOOL 500

Speed tv contributed to this report

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Kevin Harvick was untouchable in Saturday’s E-Z-Go 200, winning his third straight time in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series, driving his No. 2 Chevrolet for the first time this weekend at Atlanta.

Harvick led 100 of 130 laps in the second race of the Camping World Truck season and drove off fom Kyle Busch at the end, having a 1.3 second lead taking the win over Busch. They both were driving their own Trucks.

Harvick led the final 56 laps.

“I never let off over I don’t know how many laps (to the finish),” Harvick said. “The only chance they had was on the restarts. It was a lot of fun. We’ll keep at it.”

Harvick’s truck handled great all day and the team only had to make one minor tire-pressure change all day.

Harvick has won in all three major NASCAR series at Atlanta and at Phoenix International Raceway.

  

Following Busch at the finish were Aric Almirola, Steve Wallace in his Truck debut and Todd Bodine rouding out the top five.

Rookie Austin Dillon, running the No. 3 truck for Richard Childress Racing, finished 10th. The finish was a boost for Dillon, who crashed at the start of the Truck opener at Daytona International Speedway last month. “It was a long wait to get back in it again,” Dillon said. “I’ve been thinking all this time about what I could have done differently at Daytona.”

Pole winner Ron Hornaday crashed out after 22 laps his tire got cut after he and Busch got together earlier in the race in a three wide battle with Matt Crafton. Crafton was involved in three cautions and finished 27th.

Busch was in the middle of the accident that booted Hornaday from the competition.

“We went three wide into there, and when I got down there I don’t know if Crafton went up or the 33 (Hornaday) came down, but I got squeezed in the middle,”

Busch said. The contact caused minor right-front damage to Busch’s truck.
Busch was much more concerned with an incident that involved Boris Said in the day’s final Sprint Cup practice.

“He shouldn’t even be on the track,” Busch said of Said. “He bought his way into points and a ride. He was running in the middle of the track when he should have been on the outside.”

LINK > RACE RESULTS: Atlanta 200 – ATLANTA

Author:
Mike Hembree from Seed TV contributed to this report

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The Camping World Truck Series returns after a two week vacation from racing. There back to Georgia for the running of the Atlanta 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

And, as always, it ought to be a flat-out hard racing at the 1.54-mile AMS oval, one of the fastest tracks on the circuit.

Kyle Busch, one of the race favorites has four victories in just five NCWTS starts here. At the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, both Busch and teammate Tayler Malsam were caught in crashes not of their own making.

“Our short-term goals for this year are to just go out and try to win a race. I want to win a race, of course, but to go out and win multiple races would be a success,” said Kyle Busch, who is in his first year of NASCAR team ownership. “To win a race for Brian Ickler and to win a race for Tayler Malsam – we at least need three wins out of the shop this year, one for all three drivers – in order for it to be a success, in my book.”

Ron Hornaday Jr is another to contender to win at Atlanta he is a four-time and defending Truck Series champion . Out of the Kevin Harvick Inc. stables. Hornaday got a new crew chief this year in Dave Fuge, who lasted just one race before replaced by Doug George.

  

In nine races at AMS, Hornaday has one victory, four top-five and five top-10 finishes, and he and his No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet likely will be strong on Saturday.

Steve Wallace, who will make his Truck Series debut Saturday. Will be driving for Billy Ballew Motorsports in the No.15 Red Top Auto Auction Toyota.

Wallace, who nornaly drives in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, said he will be ready to get it on in Hot ‘Lanta.

“This is going to be awesome,” said Wallace. “I’m really excited about getting behind the wheel of a truck. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I can’t think of a better way to start things off than driving for Billy . His teams run so well at Atlanta, which gives me a lot of confidence going into the weekend.”

Geoff Bodine, 60, is on the entry list to drive the No. 95 Team Gill Racing truck, which was driven by Johnny Benson in the season-opening race last month at Daytona.

Bodine helped make U.S. history last weekend at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. His Bo-Dyn four-man bobsled crew, led by driver Steve Holcomb, won America’s first gold medal in that competition since 1948.

Team owner Ballew is a Georgia native, hailing from Blairsville, and the team has enjoyed tremendous success at AMS, where it has three Truck Series race victories.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr puts together a great lap in qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway to put his NO.88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet on the pole for the Kobalt Tools 500 with a speed of 192.761 miles per hour.

This will be Jr’s first pole in almost two years, his last came in April 2008 A Texas Motor Speedway.

Earnhart’s lap is the fastest lap recorded with the COT Sprint Cup car.

Kyle Busch (192.280), Juan Pablo Montoya (192.106), Mark Martin (191.814) and Jeff Gordon (191.774), rounded off the top five for Sundays Kobalt Tools 500.

  

Earnhardt Jr. said his pole run “definitely a step in the right direction. I hope we’ll see these kinds of improvements on Sunday in our race team. And I think we will. If we keep performing like this, it should start leaking over into our car on Sunday.”

Earnhardt Jr. has finishes of second, 32nd and 16th through the first three races of the season. He is 15th in the point standings.

Busch said the high speeds are fun, , but the track demands attention.

“The only thing I’ve ever really been able to give a close description of to compare it to is this: Pick your favorite (interstate) off ramp that’s a round one and drive it as hard as you can and see if it sticks,” he said. “Now this is like doing that off ramp while it’s raining.

“But it’s a fun racetrack. The sensation doesn’t really hit you because the corners are wide. You’ve got a lot of room off 2 and 4.”

Driver that did not qualify for Sundays race were Casey Mears, Terry Cook and  Aric Almirola .

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