Head2Head: Is it OK to tell non-Chasers to back off?

I've been a firm believer for years that rookies shouldn't make their Cup Series debut in the Chase, so I have no problem with NASCAR telling Brad Keselowski to cool his jets in the early part of the race at Kansas.

To be fair, Keselowski isn't David Ragan in 2006, Juan Montoya in 2006 or Sam Hornish Jr. in 2007. He's made his fair share of Cup starts and has a win at Talladega to show for it.

But in NASCAR's postseason, I believe only full-time teams should be on the track. The Chase is not the time for drivers to get acquainted with the Cup Series, there is simply too much on the line.

Twelve teams are racing for the championship -- and that shouldn't be derailed by some young guy with nothing to lose.

And that's exactly the situation with Keselowski. He has everything to gain and nothing to lose. If he crashes 50 laps in, so what -- does't affect him in any way. He can afford to take chances and be aggressive (read: foolish) because for him, points mean nothing.

NASCAR has every right to tell him to turn it down a notch early in a race. Officials are trying to keep the sanctity of the Chase intact, and having a hot-shot rookie race Chase drivers too aggressively early on can lead to disastrous results.

If Keselowski has to be out there, fine, but know your role. He's out there to learn, and that means respect the situation he is in.

I'm appalled NASCAR felt the need to tell Brad Keselowski not to race the Chase drivers so hard. If they were genuinely concerned about the championship picture being affected, there are plenty of drivers that NASCAR should have never even let out of the garage.

Keselowski ran up front and drove aggressively, but raced clean -- isn't that what fans come to see? That's like the NFL telling defenses not to "tackle so hard."

I understand we are in the midst of the playoffs, but it's sad when races are overshadowed by the word "Chase," especially when it comes at the cost of hard racing -- something that is at a premium. Brad is young, but smart ... and outside of his Nationwide Series run-ins with Denny Hamlin, he's got a pretty clean rap sheet.

And where was NASCAR when Juan Montoya punted Jeff Gordon around Lap 25? Nobody told the four-time champion to "settle down" when he was beating bumpers after restarts. Oh, I see ... it's OK for Chasers to beat on Chasers but not OK for Keselowski to do what he's supposed to do -- drive fast.

What's even more troubling is the Chase drivers had their way with the rookie. Montoya door-slammed the No. 25 and rode him all the way between Turns 3 and 4 halfway into the race and Tony Stewart "rattled Keselowski's cage" before passing him on Lap 82.

So remind me ... who was racing hard?