Monday, April 27, 2009

Edwards Finishes Talladega on Foot

Carl Edwards is known for the backflips he does after winning NASCAR races, but he flipped under completely different circumstances on the last lap of Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Talladega:

Carl Edwards flips on last lap at Talladega

Nudged by eventual winner Brad Keselowski, Edwards got upside-down into the catch fence along the front straight, throwing debris into the crowd and injuring eight fans. Edwards climbed out of his car and finished the race on foot.

2 comments:

GregC said...

OK, NASCAR is getting a bit ridiculous with allowing drivers to take each other out like that. Edwards is clearly on his way to winning the race, until he is nudged out of the way. NASCAR is not so much racing as it is really expensive bumper cars. Luckily no one was seriously injured.

Cope said...

I actually disagree. To me it looks like Keselowski is alongside Edwards, and Edwards turned down into him. Keselowski had nowhere to go, as the NASCAR officials routinely penalize drivers for going below the yellow line. The announcers discuss this briefly in the clip. Keselowski mentions it in his post-race interview (not part of the linked clip, but shown here, and Edwards Edwards himself absolved Keselowski of any blame (also not part of the clip, but shown here).

Many drivers (including Dale Earnhardt, who finished 2nd, and Ryan Newman, who finished 3rd, blasted NASCAR for not doing enough to keep the cars on the ground, and I completely agree. Like Edwards says it really is just a matter of time before someone gets killed. But I personally think the blame (if any) for the last lap wreck should go to Edwards and not Keselowski.