Did you intentionally wreck him?

Well Brad knows the deal between him and I. The scary part was that his car went airborne which is not at all what I expected blah, blah, blah.

I heard a yes or no question. I didnt hear a yes or no answer, which was what we were all looking for. Or I will admit that at least I was looking for it. I already knew the answer. But I was listening for Carl Edwards to say it.

And let me state I like Edwards. I have met him before and he was extremely nice and friendly. I wont misrepresent myself here and pretend to be good buddies with him either. Over the years he has said and done things I like and said and done things I didnt like. In Sundays Atlanta race I didnt like.

Backing up the time machine, lets take a look at the days first incident between Edwards and Brad Keselowski. Edwards approached turn one in the middle groove and once in the turn moved to the lower lane. Keselowski was already there. The pair bumped and up to the fence went the Edwards machine, damaging Joey Loganos ride in the process.

Keselowski said he lifted but couldnt slow enough to let the Edwards car in. Watching the race, that explanation seemed very plausible. There is a history of tension between the two so maybe Keselowski isnt exactly looking to help Cousin Carl either. The crash appeared to be a racing accident. If anything more, percentage lay with Edwards for the rapid lane change.

Fast forward roughly 280 laps and here comes the revenge move. Edwards turns right along the frontstretch and spins Keselowski. The car does one of the infamous backward lift pirouettes that high-speed stock cars are known for and crashes back to earth.

If Keselowski simply spins into the infield this discussion is not nearly as emphatic. But he didnt. He took off flying. That is a huge problem.

The reverse turnovers are rare at Atlanta despite the cars top speeds exceeding the superspeedways. They can happen. Elliott Sadler and Johnny Benson have shown their tailpipes to Michigan fans.

But if any driver hits another in front of them to send that person out of control then the hitter is responsible for whatever happens. If it a lazy spinout, he bears responsibility. If the car flies into the grandstands and spectators have consequences, he bears responsibility.

The blame for the 2009 Talladega crash between these same two also falls at Edwards feet. He blocked Keselowski, the trailing Brad simply held his line and into the fence goes the Roush-Fenway driver.

The other Keselowski crashing instances have no place in judging this issue. I agree that he made some mistakes and some drivers will not give the Michigan native any extra room. But no matter who did what to whom, the fans in the stands do not need to be dodging pieces from two guys attitude match.

Have at it boys was the slogan following NASCARs session on the offseasons media tour. Robin Pembertons words were very clear that day. NASCAR would back off in policing bump drafting and other aggressive moves on the track. But there still was a line of dirty and over aggressive driving to cross. Words cannot be printed to outline a rule for every single racecar situation. There needs to be wiggle room for common sense. And everyone knew that.

Anyone who wants to throw this back in NASCARs face has no place to do it, unless they have selective memory and hearing. What happened Sunday was obviously over the line for Pembertons comment. NASCAR was specific in explaining that fact in that very same press conference.

Carl Edwards was parked for the remainder of the Atlanta race for the crash. And then proceeded up pitlane in the opposite direction, creating a second dangerous situation. His punishment is three weeks probation.

Probation is not a punishment. Any driver I have ever seen on probation and then makes another bad decision simply gets their probation extended. Probation has never been defined to the public. There is no consequence.

I am glad for a rivalry. I love to see raw emotion. But a car flew through the air after a deliberate dump, and created a dangerous scenario for the fans. This is the reason why restrictor plates exist at all, to keep cars on the ground and out of the grandstands.

If you purposefully spinout a car in front of you then you must accept responsibility for whatever that car does, intended or not. Carl Edwards did something wrong on Sunday. In my opinion he got away with it.

(Patrick Reynolds is a former NASCAR mechanic who co-hosts the One and Done auto racing talk show Tuesdays at 11am ET on www.wsicweb.com )