NASCAR: Elliot Sadler doesn't have problem with Carl Edward's actions

DARLINGTON — Elliott Sadler doesn’t blame Carl Edwards for his actions during Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Edwards bumped Brad Keselowski during the final laps of the race, causing Keselowski’s car to go airborne and flip.

Edwards’ move was in retaliation for an earlier incident in the race with Keselowski. The two drivers also have a history of run-ins with each other dating back to last season.

On Tuesday, NASCAR placed Edwards on three weeks probation.

“If it gets to the point where you have problems with the same guy for two or three races in a row, then you got to put your foot down because they are going to take advantage of you,“ Sadler said during a break from a Goodyear Tire test at Darlington Raceway on Tuesday. “Carl wanted to prove his point that you weren’t going to push me around and that’s kind of the point he proved.

“This is a tough sport and you got to protect your real estate and you can’t let people run over top of you all the time.“

Sadler said the only problem he had with the incident is Keselowski’s car getting in the air and the possibility of the car going into the stands and hurting fans.

Sadler hopes the new spoiler, which will be on the cars at Martinsville on 28, will help keep cars from getting airborne.

“If (Brad’s) car would have hit the wall and spun in the infield, we wouldn’t be having this discussion,“ Sadler said. “We got to do something about getting the cars back on the ground.“

Sadler was one of three Cup drivers invited to the tire test. Clint Bowyer and Marcos Ambrose also were there along with Camping World Truck Series drivers Aric Almirola and Timothy Peters.

The trucks will race a standalone event at the track Aug. 14.

But most of the conversation centered around the Edwards-Keselowski incident and NASCAR’s handling of it.

Bowyer had a different opinion than Sadler, saying Edwards crossed the line in doing what he did.

“We don’t need to see that,“ the Richard Childress Racing driver said. “There is a too far in everything and that was too far.“

The incident had a bearing on Bowyer’s finish in the race. He was running in seventh place at the time of the accident but ended up 23rd following the caution.

“It ruined my day,“ Bowyer said. “I had a seventh-place finish with a car we struggled with. We could have come out of there with the points lead but, instead, we came out 23rd and wrecked.

“When you take actions like that, there are repercussions on everybody. That’s the unfortunate thing about it.“

While Sadler and Bowyer differed on Edwards’ actions, they both are happy NASCAR is letting the drivers try to solve differences between themselves.

Before the start of the season, NASCAR said they were going to let the drivers “have at it” and try to police themselves as much as possible.

“NASCAR has stuck to their guns to let the drivers play it out,“ Sadler said. “Yes they are going to intervene a little bit but they will let the drivers and owners talk about it because it’s their race cars and us driving the cars.“

Notes

—Ambrose spun out early in the test session on lap six but was able to save the car. The Australian is still trying to get a handle on the track.

“The last few times, this place kicked me from behind really good,“ Ambrose said. “This place is like no other. It punishes you when you don’t drive it the right way.“

—All three Cup cars in the test session had the spoiler on the back.

“The car feels stable and you aren’t seeing a huge change,“ Bowyer said. “The way the air moves with the spoiler will make us race even better. I think everyone is excited about it. I know I am.“

—NASCAR suspended two crewmen for violating its substance abuse policy.

William David Keith, a spotter for David Gilliland in the Sprint Cup Series, is one of the two crewmen and was suspended Tuesday. Keith is the brother-in-law of former driver Jeremy Mayfield.

Matthew Huffstetler was the other crewman suspended. He works for Daisy Ramirez Motorsports in the Camping World Truck series.