Edwards, Keselowski settle feud

Associated Press

bristol, tenn.

It took roughly 40 minutes with NASCAR for Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski to put their long-simmering feud to rest.

At least that’s how it appeared as the two smiling drivers exited their highly anticipated Saturday meeting at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“We laughed. We cried. In the end, I think it’s going to be good,” said Edwards, who playfully slapped at Keselowski’s shoulder as the drivers hustled to their cars after the meeting.

NASCAR president Mike Helton summoned Edwards, Keselowski and their car owners into his at-track office to discuss a long-running feud between the drivers that exploded when Edwards intentionally wrecked Keselowski two weeks ago in Atlanta. The accident caused Keselowski’s car to sail into the air before bouncing on its hood.

Although Edwards wrecked earlier in the race after contact with Keselowski, he’s maintained his deliberate retaliation stemmed from animosity created from several past incidents with the young driver. Aggressive and ultra-confident, Keselowski has gone bumper-to-bumper with several veterans the past two years and refused to back down.

“This meeting wasn’t about Atlanta,” Helton said. “[It] wasn’t about trying to fix Brad. It was about Brad and Carl’s relationship. A conversation that we’ve had with other drivers in the past.”

More than a dozen photographers and television cameras crowded the back of NASCAR’s trailer to capture the drivers’ exit, and the crowd followed them to pit road to meet them after their Nationwide Series qualifying laps.

They parked side-by-side after their laps — Keselowski won the pole for Saturday’s race, while Edwards qualified fourth — and Edwards leaned over Keselowski’s hood to speak to his rival. Then both drivers vowed to move on in their relationship.

“Hopefully it will be productive to where we can move forward and continue to race each other hard and not have any more incidents like we did at Atlanta,” Keselowski said. “You have to understand that Carl and I have a mutual respect. In a sense, we’re almost the same people. We come from similar backgrounds and drive the same way.

“I had a lot of respect for him before and after the accident, so hopefully that will stay the same.”

What remains to be seen is how other drivers react on-track, beginning with Sunday’s race at Bristol. The .0533-mile bullring is a venue that creates aggressive driving, excessive contact and extreme tempers.

Edwards begins a three-race probation period this weekend that has him under careful scrutiny from NASCAR.