Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski were punished by NASCAR after incident – Motorsport – Sports

Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski were each levied significant punishments following their infamous on-track dustup at Gateway International Raceway – and NASCAR is back on the scene this weekend.

On the heels of Chase Briscoe’s dominant victory in the Cook Out Southern 500, NASCAR will travel to World Wide Technology Raceway — formerly known as Gateway International — for the second race of the Cup Series playoffs. 15 years prior, the 1.25-mile track was the site of an ugly spat between two of the fiercest rivals in motorsport.

In the closing seconds of the 2010 Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Nationwide Series race, Edwards purposefully wrecked Keselowski during a drag race to the checkered flag. As the Roush Fenway Racing driver crossed the finish line first, the No. 22 Dodge crashed hard into the outside hard and tumbled down the grid before ultimately settling for P14. Moments prior, Keselowski strategically moved Edwards out of the way to assume the lead in turn two.

On the heels of his race victory, Edwards expressed little remorse for his illegal actions, insisting that he wouldn’t be able to stomach Keselowski beating him. “I just couldn’t let him take the win from me,” he said at the time. “My guys work way too hard for that.

“We had a great restart. My guys built me a great car. We came to the checkered flag, and I hate to see stuff tore up, but we came here to win and he took it from us there in Turn 1. Just an awesome race. … I’m sure some of them don’t like that win — Brad Keselowski fans and stuff — but, man, I just couldn’t let him take it from me. I had to do what I had to do.”

As a result of their last-lap collision, Edwards was docked 60 Nationwide Series and placed on probation until December 31 of that year. Jack Roush — the owner of the No. 60 Ford — additionally lost 60 owner points and his team was fined $25,000. Keselowski, meanwhile, was also put on probation in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series through December 31.

Speaking to reporters in Indianapolis the following week, Edwards accepted his punishment before issuing a sincere apology to his fellow drivers who were caught up in the wreck. “Immediately after the race last week I felt like what I did was right and it was a fair outcome to the race, and I felt like it was within NASCAR’s boundaries that they had set,” he said.

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“I think NASCAR felt the same way right then, but then as the week went on, I had the chance to talk to [NASCAR president] Mike Helton and I understand and respect that those other teams that were caught up in that wreck that Brad and I had initiated… those guys are working hard.

“I’ve been in that position, working hard for sponsorship and working hard for finishes, and I feel that NASCAR’s penalty is fair. I talked to Jack and Geoff Smith and I don’t plan on appealing it. I think it’s fair in that respect. I sincerely apologize to those guys that were caught up in that wreck.”