NASCAR Urges Restraint, Puts Edwards, Keselowski On Probation

Boys, keep having at it -- but don't have more than you're told.

NASCAR established some limits Wednesday in its 2010 policy of encouraging aggressive driving through looser officiating, placing Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski on probation for two last-lap collisions in Saturday night's Nationwide Series race.

For the second bump, which sent Keselowski careening out of the lead and into the wall at Gateway International Raceway, Edwards also was docked 60 points and fined $25,000.

But NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said the punishments would have no effect on a renewed commitment to an unwritten code of frontier justice that allows drivers latitude for banging fenders at 200 mph in the goal of self-policing the sport.

"Absolutely," said Pemberton, who set the tone for this year's aggression with his oft-quoted "Boys, have at it" pronouncement in January. "We think it works well. We think the vast majority of competitors throughout all our series have handled themselves accordingly and measured their actions and reactions accordingly. We feel they've done an outstanding job.

"We're not changing the policy. We just have two competitors who have gone over the edge."

The feud between Edwards and Keselowski dates more than a year and already had reached a flashpoint March 7 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Edwards delivered a payback punt that sent Keselowski's Dodge airborne.

The Roush Fenway driver was placed on probation for three races. Keselowski wasn't penalized, but Pemberton said both drivers were warned in a subsequent sitdown.

"We told those guys we want you to be aggressive," Pemberton said. "We want you to race hard. The bump and run is still in and all those other good things, but when you're around each other, don't put us in a position where we've got to make a call.

"I feel like on the last lap (at Gateway), all parties put us in a position where we had to make a call."