So just how far is too far?

With the recent decline in popularity, NASCAR President Mike Helton told the drivers at the beginning of this season to "have at it". He believes that letting the drivers police themselves, without NASCAR officials stepping in all the time, will generate more attention to the sport. Well, the sport got the attention this past weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but not the kind of attention the sport needs and/or wants.

Carl Edwards and Brad Keslowski have had a heated feud between them, dating back to this incident, where Keslowski bumped Edwards and sent him flipping into the wall, injuring spectators. This past weekend, Edwards took retaliation with this bump. Luckily, no fan or driver was injured.

NASCAR parked Edwards for the rest of the race, which was only 3 laps away from finishing, and put him on 3 weeks probation. A mere slap on the wrist for Edwards. NASCAR has stood by its "have at it policy", but this incident is not just a "racing deal". Spectators, let alone Keslowski himself, could have been seriously injured. By not suspending Edwards, NASCAR has left the door wide open. What will it take for NASCAR to realize that retaliations, such as Edwards', need to be dealt with? Hoopefully the cost is not the life of a driver or an innocent spectator.