CONCORD, N.C. -- Carl Edwards has a lot going on, as if chasing Jimmie Johnson for a Sprint Cup championship wasn't enough.

“

The deal with me and Harvick is between me and him and there's nothing else to talk about. We know where each other stand and that's it.

”

CARL EDWARDS

Edwards has had to mend fences with Roush Fenway Racing teammates after wrecking them at Talladega last weekend. He also was under heavy criticism and name calling from fellow Chase driver Kevin Harvick, who was incidentally collected in Edwards' wreckage. That was then.

This is now. Edwards was bombarded with questions regarding a physical altercation that broke out between him and Harvick inside the Nationwide Series garage Thursday at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The dispute resulted in a dented hood on Harvick's No. 33 entry, according to a Nationwide Series driver who witnessed the scuffle.

When asked to address the issue, Edwards said, "The deal with me and Harvick is between me and him and there's nothing else to talk about. We know where each other stand and that's it."

Witnesses said Edwards approached Harvick in the Nationwide garage and the two exchanged sharp words, after which Harvick turned to walk away and Edwards grabbed him. Harvick then turned and shoved Edwards onto the hood of the No. 33 car, after which a Harvick crew member placed Edwards in a headlock.

At that point the altercation apparently was broken up. Officials from NASCAR had no comment, stating that the incident is a non-issue.

Although photographers from CIA Stock Photography and Lowe's Motor Speedway caught the moment, both refused to show the photos to The Associated Press and said they had no plans to publish the pictures.

"I know that his fans won't be very proud of him sitting back there riding around like a pansy," Harvick said in a national TV interview after Talladega. "If he had been racing all day, maybe he would have known how long the front of his car was."

The Charlotte Observer obtained a photo of a handwritten note Edwards gave Harvick's pilot before leaving Talladega.

In it, he used an expletive to "thank" Harvick for criticizing him on TV and sarcastically added, "I was really trying to screw up everyone's day. Love, Carl."

With six wins this season, Edwards was thought to be a championship favorite. But now he is 72 points out from Chase leader Johnson, a margin that was widened after Edwards' overly anxious driving in Talladega last week.

Edwards was pushing his teammate Greg Biffle down the back straightaway and into Turn 3 when his No. 99 spun Biffle around and collected several other cars (watch video).

"I looked at the tape last week," Edwards said. "I ended up getting too far off center from his bumper. I had no hint of the loose characteristics and I just got too far off center. It happened so quick we were both surprised. It's a bad feeling."

His anxiety has yet to subside. Refocused maybe, but not gone.

"After that race I wish we could've started this race as fast as we could get here. That's how racing goes. When it's not going so well you just want to go race and get back on top so I'm excited about this race," he said.

While Harvick was less than forgiving, criticizing Edwards for hanging in the back all day during the AMP Energy 500, playing it too safe and calling him a "pansy," Biffle said he understands.

"All we can do is learn from it and go on and move forward. There's nothing I'm going to do about it now, I've lost the points, we've wrecked the cars and it's going to do no good to point fingers," Biffle said. "I'm not mad at Carl. Carl made a mistake. I watched the tape -- he was over-anxious or over-excited ... I'm not mad at him."

Edwards said he has a lot of intensity on the track, evident by his banzai move on Johnson in Kansas two weeks ago, another incident for which the driver was criticized.

"I go out there and race as hard as I can and sometimes it doesn't work out," Edwards said. "This is me and how I do things and it's been a good year."

Still, Edwards is regretful.

"The first thing you think, man, I lost all these points, but then the worst part of it is what happened to Travis [Kvapil] and Greg and Harvick and Dale [Earnhardt Jr.] and Matt [Kenseth]," Edwards said. "It ended up costing a lot of people. I've been got up in wrecks and I can tell you that starting them is the only thing worse than getting caught in one, that's for sure."

Edwards is ready for the dust to settle and get back to business, winning his first Cup championship, a feat that seemingly was within reach in 2005 but the first-year driver lacked experience.

"I was real naïve in 2005 as far as points are concerned. I didn't even know what we had there, you know?" he said. "I think now I'm more grateful for sure and I think I'm in a better position now."

Some racing veterans say you have to lose a championship before you can win one but Edwards isn't conceding this year.

"You can't count Jimmie out," Edwards said, before adding, "He's an unbelievable competitor but we are not far enough back yet."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.