Bill Fleischman: It's no accident: NASCAR drivers Edwards, Keselowski put on probation

Carl Edwards vs. Brad Keselowski . . . the saga continues.

In the aftermath of Edwards wrecking Keselowski to win last Saturday night's NASCAR Nationwide series race at Gateway International, opinions are flying faster than ribs off a trackside grill.

Quick refresher: Keselowski rubbed Edwards' Ford on the last lap. With Keselowski leading entering the final straightaway, Edwards bumped the rear of Keselowski's Dodge, sending it spinning. As Edwards crossed the finish line, Keselowski's vulnerable damaged car took a teeth-rattling hit from Shelby Howard's car.

Keselowski's father, Bob, a former racer, threatened to climb into a race car and settle the issue with Edwards. "He ain't going to kill my boy," Bob warned.

In the season's fourth Sprint Cup race at Atlanta, Edwards sent Keselowski's car airborne. NASCAR placed Edwards on 3 weeks probation (3 weeks!).

These on-track paybacks are the result of NASCAR's "Boys, have at it" policy instituted at the start of the season. My interpretation of the racer's code is, you are allowed to make the leader lose enough control of his car to pass. It's not OK, however, if you wreck the leader and several other cars. I wonder if Edwards will apologize to all the drivers and crews who were caught up in the wrecks he caused.

NASCAR justice caught up with Edwards yesterday. For "actions detrimental to stock car racing/aggressive driving," he lost 60 Nationwide points, was fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. Keselowski also was placed on probation until Dec. 31.

Cup points leader Kevin Harvick is another racer who has had issues with Edwards. Earlier this year, Edwards called Harvick "a bad person. I have absolutely no respect for Kevin Harvick."

During an interview on the Speed channel's "Wind Tunnel," Harvick said, "I probably wouldn't have reacted as kindly as Brad did. I probably would have walked down there and punched [Edwards] in the mouth. [It's] way out of bounds as far as hooking somebody in the middle of the straightaway."

Jeff Gordon didn't pull any punches reacting to what Edwards did.

"What Carl did was definitely out of line," Gordon said on a Tuesday conference call. "Whether NASCAR gets involved in it, [a few] years ago I would have thought they absolutely would've done something. But today, it's letting the guys race. I'm sure you'll want to watch the future Nationwide races and those guys battling in the Cup series as well because you know there's more to come."

Gordon cites the fan-pleasing, double-file restarts near the end of races for triggering some temper displays from drivers.

"These double-file restarts are crazy," he said. "If there's a green-white-checker, guys get out of the cars [after the races] and say, 'That was insane.' It makes you do things that you otherwise really wouldn't want to do, but you don't have a choice.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing for the sport. We're not out there to be buddy-buddy. We're out there to race hard and win races. If that puts on a great show for the fans, it's a win-win for everybody. But it's also going to make some enemies."

Jeff Gordon won the first Brickyard 400 in 1994. A perfect result since Gordon grew up in Indiana. Gordon has won the most Brickyard races (four), but none since 2004. Overall, Gordon is winless in his last 48 Cup races, longest of his career. No wonder Gordon can't wait to get to Indy for Sunday's race.

"There's no doubt it would be a huge victory for us," Gordon said. "We're knocking on the door and the timing might be just right."

Following five consecutive top-five finishes, the four-time Cup titlist is runner-up in points, 103 behind Kevin Harvick.

"We know we're capable of winning," Gordon said. "It's definitely getting down to crunch time for us. It's not just about where we're at in points: We need those bonus points." (Drivers receive 10 bonus points for each win. The more wins, the higher they'll be seeded in the Chase).

Gordon believes he could've had at least a couple of wins this season.

"The only frustration is letting the wins that we could've pulled off slip away," he said. "The two that stand out to me are Vegas and Phoenix [he finished third and second, respectively]. I'm really proud of the top-fives. I'd like to get back to being more dominant. We need to lead more laps: that's what's going to get us back to victory lane."

Brickyard 400

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indianapolis, Ind.

When: Sunday, 1 p.m.

TV/radio: ESPN/WNPV (1440-AM), WDSD (94.7-FM)

Course: 2.5-mile oval

Distance: 160 laps/400 miles

2009 winner: Jimmie Johnson

2009 pole: Mark Martin, 182.054 mph

Track qualifying record: Casey Mears, 186.293 mph (August 2004)

Track facts: Jimmie Johnson has won three of the last four Brickyard 400s, including two in a row. In last year's race, he only led the last 24 laps. Mark Martin was runner-up last year; Tony Stewart was third. Juan Pablo Montoya led the most laps: 116 . . . Chevrolet drivers have won the last seven Brickyard races . . . Chip Ganassi, with Felix Sabates, is bidding for an unprecedented trifecta: The first owners to win the Daytona 500 (Jamie McMurray), Indy 500 (Dario Franchitti) and the Brickyard 400 in the same year . . . Six consecutive finishes outside the top 10 have dropped Mark Martin to 14th in points. He's 37 points out of the 12th, and final, Chase qualifying berth.

Wins: Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, 5 each; Kevin Harvick, Kyle and Kurt Busch, 2 each; Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, David Reutimann, 1 each.

Through 19 of 36 races

Ranking, Driver, Previous, Points, back

1. Kevin Harvick, 1, 2745, -

2. Jeff Gordon, 2, 2642, -103

3. Jimmie Johnson, 3, 2557, -188

4. Denny Hamlin, 5, 2452, -203

5. Kurt Busch, 4, 2524, -221

6. Kyle Busch, 6, 2488, -257

7. Jeff Burton, 8, 2465, -280

8. Matt Kenseth, 7, 2446, -299

9. Tony Stewart, 9, 2389, -356

10. Carl Edwards, 12, 2345, -400

11. Greg Biffle, 10, 2292, -453

12. Clint Bowyer, 14, 2286, -459

13. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 11, 2271, -474

14. Mark Martin, 13, 2249, -496

15. David Reutimann, 17, 2190, -555

16. Ryan Newman, 15, 2187, -558

17. Kasey Kahne, 16, 2166, -579

18. Jamie McMurray, 19, 2105, -640

19. Joey Logano, 18, 2103, -642

20. Martin Truex Jr., 20, 2060, -685

Sunoco Red Cross 500, Aug. 1, Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa., 1 p.m.; TV: ESPN; last year's winner: Denny Hamlin.