Track Smack: Will Burton keep the heat on Johnson? (cont'd)

2. Should NASCAR have penalized Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards for their garage fracas last weekend?

Bill Kimm: I can't believe we are still talking about this. This is such a non-issue. No, no, no! No penalties to either driver. What would you penalize them for, being too passionate?

Joe Menzer: No penalties. It was a scuffle. Happens once in a while. And while entertaining for a couple of days, in the end probably too much was being made of it. I have to admit I found it kind of funny, though.

David Caraviello: I understand that this whole thing was a bit overblown, that it was basically two guys pushing each other around, that no punches were thrown. I understand NASCAR takes these things on a case-by-case basis. But at the very least, both guys should have received probation.

Joe Menzer: What? David, David, David. Are you crazy?

Bill Kimm: Caraviello, you disappoint me. Apparently David has taken some sort of medication that has taken the "man" out of him.

Joe Menzer: On what basis do you think probation was deserved? Listen, NASCAR said earlier this year that it was hell-bent on trying to let the drivers show more of their personalities. There have been times this year where they've balked at that, like when they had the meeting and then tried to tell the media that they never really had a meeting.

AP

Harvick and Edwards

Queen City rumble

• NASCAR: Feud is over
• Edwards' wild week finally over
• Harvick, Edwards in altercation

David Caraviello: No, I'm not crazy. And the basis is precedent. In virtually every other situation like this -- Robby Gordon vs. Tony Stewart at Daytona in 2000, Greg Biffle vs. Kevin Harvick at Bristol in 2002, etc. -- some kind of minor penalty has been assessed. That should have been the case here.

Joe Menzer: But this is a perfect case for just letting it be. It wasn't that big a deal. You said it yourself. Well, all I can say is that I was covering the NFL in 2000 and 2002. You know, where guys hit guys for a living. And if you want guys to show their personalities a little more, you can't fly off the handle over something as minor as a little name-calling and shoving match.

David Caraviello: Oh, I know. But still, you can't let this kind of stuff happen. And is Carl still on probation from his post-race altercation with Kyle Busch at Bristol? If so, his involvement might have warranted a fine.

Bill Kimm: This does bring up an interesting point, though -- NASCAR's lack of consistency, which I think is a bigger issue than Carl and Kevin pushing each other in the garage.

Joe Menzer: I think the bigger question that should be asked out of this whole thing is about Edwards. Did he let Harvick calling him a "pansy" on national TV get into his head so far that he lost his focus? If so, he's not championship material yet.

David Caraviello: NASCAR stresses that they take situations like this on a case-by-case basis, and that no two incidents, however they appear, are ever the same. They're to be commended for that, and not tossing out knee-jerk penalties. But I think sanctions here would have been warranted.

Joe Menzer: And I think you are acting like a woman.

David Caraviello: Hey, look at how some other leagues might have handled this. The guys involved in the Phillies-Dodgers incident the other night in the baseball playoffs, where the benches cleared but no punches were thrown, were fined. And in the NBA, you're automatically suspended for even starting something like this.

Joe Menzer: OK, I may agree with some kind of small fine. But that's as far as I'll go. Can you imagine the uproar if Edwards, who is already on probation, gets penalized in the Chase over something like this? And by the way, while we're talking about Edwards already being on probation, that was a joke in itself. The guy simply defends himself after a race and gets the same penalty as the guy who rammed him? Stupid.

Bill Kimm: You can't compare NASCAR to other sports. NASCAR is the only sport where you are with your competition from Thursday through Sunday without a break. That doesn't happen in any other sport. Locker room is together, RVs are together, everything these guys do is together.

David Caraviello: Yeah, Bill, you're right, those baseball players only take to the field once a week.

Bill Kimm: Plus the Major League Baseball and NBA incidents you mentioned took place during the event. This little altercation didn't take place during an event, and only a handful of people actually witnessed it.

Joe Menzer: Hate to agree with Bill, but this would not have happened in baseball. This would have been the equivalent of another player going in another team's locker room. Not gonna happen.

Bill Kimm: You're missing my point, David. The only time they see each other is on the field of play. NASCAR is unique in these guys are with each other constantly.

David Caraviello: So that forgives them? No way. In NASCAR, an event weekend is the event. You reap what you sow, as J.D. Gibbs might say. Carl's post-Bristol probation expired after Talladega, by the way. So if I'm NASCAR: probation for Harvick and Edwards, and suspension without pay for Bill Kimm. (Continued)