(Thumbnail Image: NASCAR.com)

"A little cross-over move here by Carl. Clean here, clean here. Just slight contact. Look at that thing go. That looks so much like Edward's turn over at Talladega off the bumper of Keselowski."
(Yahoo! Sports)

Carl Edwards admits he intentionally hit Brad Kesolowski's bumper as retaliation for causing a wreck earlier in the race, but did not mean to send him airborne.

NASCAR handed Edwards a three race probation for the act just weeks after saying "boys, have at it" in an effort to liven up the sport suffering from low ratings and attendance slump.

ESPN NASCAR analysts argue over whether the punishment fits the crime.

Rusty Wallace: "I love the reaction, I thought it was just right, I mean a three race probation I think is something that is probably in order. I mean, if they would have come by with points or money or something like than, I would have hated that."

Terry Blount: "I believe NASCAR has done the wrong thing without question. A three race probation? Come on Rusty, you've been on probation with NASCAR, that means absolutely nothing. It isn't even worthy of calling it a slap on the wrist. That's an insult to the pain of wrist-slapping."

A report on HLN says NASCAR tied its own hands after saying drivers can police themselves on the track.

"But here's the thing, NASCAR told the drivers to 'have at it' this year, if they went and penalized him after saying that, it'd be a bit hypocritical."

Many of the big names in NASCAR like Jeff Gordon are close to retirement. A Yahoo! Sports blog says NASCAR let their new 'golden boy' off easy.

"NASCAR, like every other enterprise, is a celebritocracy; the brighter lights get the biggest breaks. ... In this instance, Edwards may well have sweet-talked his way into a lighter punishment. Is it fair? No. But it's the way of the world."

But a lot of experts are saying Keselowski brought this on himself by causing accidents and driving aggresively. Sports Illustrated columnist Tom Bowles says Edwards didn't do anything other drivers haven't done.

"What Edwards did was no different than what any other driver has done through the years in retaliating for a wreck that took him out of contention. There was no intent to injure, and both drivers understand what happened and why. When the smoke clears, people need to realize this incident was 'just one of those racin' deals,' and move on."

But NASCAR President Mike Helton is more concerned with why the car went airborne than what else happened on the track.

"The car getting airborne was a very serious issue and that's something that we'll take a look at very quickly and try to figure out how to help prevent that happening in the future." (Fox Sports)

Writer: Erika Roberts

Producer: Newsy Staff