NASCAR: Crasher Carl Edwards Gets Probation

Just the Facts:

• Carl Edwards admitted he deliberately spun Brad Keselowski at Atlanta Speedway on Sunday.
• Edwards received three weeks probation for the negative action.
• Last year, Keselowski sent Edwards flying into the fence at Talladega Superspeedway.

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Carl Edwards, who sent Brad Keselowski into a frightening rollover crash in Sunday's NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, was placed on probation for three weeks, NASCAR announced Tuesday.

Edwards admitted he deliberately spun Keselowski, who last year at Talladega (Alabama) Superspeedway scored his first career Sprint Cup Series victory in a tangle that sent Edwards flying into the retaining fence in front of the main grandstand.

In the opening laps of Sunday's race, Keselowski bumped Edwards and caused him and Joey Logano to wreck. After a long delay for repairs to his car, Edwards returned to competition. Not many laps later, he sent Keselowski spinning.

It provided a stern test of NASCAR's decision earlier this season to scale back on its attempts to micromanage drivers' behavior and let them police themselves.

NASCAR President Mike Helton said NASCAR addressed Edwards's actions immediately by ordering him to park his car after Keselowski's crash and that the probation was adequate additional punishment. He asserted that Edwards understood that his retaliatory move was not acceptable.

"There is a line you cross," Helton said. "We'll maintain law and order when we think that line is crossed."

Helton emphasized NASCAR's primary concern is with Keselowski's car getting airborne when it spun backward. Keselowski's wrecked car was taken to the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Keselowski has acquired, and has vigorously nurtured, a reputation as a hard-nosed competitor. The 26-year-old second-generation racer from Rochester, Michigan, has had run-ins with several other drivers in his brief career.

Edwards, conversely, has demonstrated a bit of a temper when he feels he has been wronged by other drivers.

Inside Line says: Reaction among competitors, pundits and fans was mixed, with a slight edge appearing to go to those who criticized NASCAR's decision as too lenient. The penalty may have been a bit light but was not ridiculously lenient, either. — David Green, Correspondent