NASCAR Needs to Step Up

For all it's boasting about safety it makes me laugh how much insanity NASCAR's drivers get away with on the racetrack.  The sanctioning body is like the wrestling referee who's off watching something else while a guy is bashing his opponent over the head with a steel chair.

NASCAR needs to grow a set, step up, and start sitting drivers who can't contain themselves down for a week or two.  This whole fascination with "intentional crashing" is a black eye on the sport and really calls into question the legitimacy and integrity of NASCAR racing.

And a special thanks to Carl Edwards for ruining for the fans what was shaping up to be a great and dramatic finish between Kurt Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya today at Atlanta.  The race ended up taking a back seat to Edwards -- who was 156 laps down -- and his pouting match with Brad Keselowski, who was running in the top five with just three laps to go.  Television cameras caught Edwards attempting to and then finally successfully crashing Keselowski at the fastest part of the speedway.

To his credit, Edwards admitted to intentionally causing the crash, but seemingly expressed surprise that it ended so violently, with Keselowski's car getting airborne and smashing the wall roof-first, crushing the driver's side roll cage.  Not to be Captain Obvious here, but what else would one expect on a superspeedway with speeds reaching 195 mph?

Can we please get this kind of crap out of NASCAR before something bad happens and the national spotlight shines on yet another ugly aspect of our sport?  It's really getting embarrassing.