NASCAR Panel: The Brickyard

Published 4:51 pm Friday, July 23, 2010

Did Carl Edwards’ actions against Brad Keselowski warrant punishment?

Ken Mays: I do not think that Carl is that kind of guy that just keeps on making a person wreck on purpose. I believe that the bridges have been burned between those two guys, but in the back of my mind, I believe Brad just might retaliate against Carl. We will just have to watch and see.

Jason Cannon: Yes. It was all well and good when Keselowski started it. Edwards needed to retaliate and settle the score and then it needed to end. A little pushing and shoving on the track is great but Edwards has nearly killed that boy twice.

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Mark Trest: Yes, I do. While everyone seems to think Keselowski is the problem, they need to be looking at Edwards. He seems to be getting on a lot of hit lists lately. I agree with NASCAR stepping in on this one because someone is going to get hurt if it keeps up.

Do Cup regulars who have open wheel experience have any kind of advantage running Cup cars at Indy?

Ken Mays: It seems to me like they do. But guys like Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Juan Montoya sure do a good job at racing in the Cup series at Indy. From memory it seems like the old open wheel guys do fairly well there.

Jason Cannon: The cars handle so differently, I don’t think so. It certainly doesn’t look like the open-wheel immigrants have had too much success there recently.

Mark Trest: Guys like Tony Stewart could probably answer this question a lot better than I can, but my thoughts are that there might be an advantage gained in terms of knowing the track’s tendencies such as tricky spots, sweet spots, slick spots and bumps, but not necessarily from having driven this track with two different types of cars.

Where does the Brickyard rank among NASCAR’s most important races?

Ken Mays: I would rank it number three. I like Daytona and Talladega the best and I like to watch the Brickyard race because it seems like it is so important for the racers to win it. That’s why I rank it number three.

Jason Cannon: Second, behind the Daytona 500. It’s usually a great race to watch and the track is legendary.

Mark Trest: Money wise? Amongst the leaders. Prestige wise? The drivers say it ranks right up there with Daytona. Personally it is not my favorite.

Should NASCAR add a second date at Indy?

Ken Mays: I would most definitely say so. It’s one of the races that seems to draw a lot of attention from both the fans and the drivers.

Jason Cannon: No. I think the race is so special because it only comes around once. As much as I love racing at Daytona, I don’t think there should be a second race there. The summer race is nowhere near as important as the 500.

Mark Trest: Financially speaking, adding a second Indy date is probably not a bad idea. However, by adding that second date, would it take away from the successes of having one date a year at the track?

Who is your pick to win this weekend?

Ken Mays: I am going out on a limb and picking a guy that I hate to see win a race. But I think that if there is a track somewhere in the Cup series he can win on it would be this one. So I will say Juan Montoya. I hope I am wrong. This is the only track he has a chance to win at.

Jason Cannon: Jimmie Johnson. He’s a monster at this track and he’s had a week to rest. I wouldn’t bet against him.

Mark Trest: Indy is a smooth track and Jimmie Johnson is as smooth as they come. He is once again running up front and I don’t see anyone stopping him unless he gets close to an antsy Carl Edwards.