Edwards Certainly Not First to Cause Intentional Crash

Carl Edwards, undoubtedly, is getting quite the bad rap this week after his move that wrecked Brad Keselowski Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Let's be real -- when you send a fellow competitor flying through the air and smashing dangerously into the outside wall, a lot of folks aren't going to be taking your side. That's exactly what Edwards -- regardless of what his original intent was -- did Sunday.

But before we condemn Edwards for his intentional act, let us not forget that Mr. Ed himself (just ask Kyle Busch about that nickname) is far, far from being the first NASCAR driver to ever wreck someone intentionally. And, thanks to the wonders of YouTube, you'll get to relive just a few of those moments from the comfort of your computer chair.

Dale Earnhardt vs. Terry Labonte, Bristol 1999

In what is probably the most famous of intentional crashes in recent NASCAR history, Dale Earnhardt made somewhat of a reference to his intentional take out of Terry Labonte in his victory lane interview. Saying he just meant to "rattle his cage", Earnhardt acknowledged he hit Labonte on purpose before driving under the spinning No. 5 to take the Bristol win.

Yes, friends, Earnhardt was booed heavily by the Bristol fans that night.

Punishment: Come on, you think NASCAR would ever touch Earnhardt?


Kyle Petty vs. Ted Musgrave, Charlotte 1995
Our next entrant on this list comes from the very first NASCAR Sprint Cup race I saw in person. The actors? Kyle Petty and Ted Musgrave.

Petty flat dumps Musgrave (in the blue & red No. 16 car) on the restart. The reason? Petty felt Musgrave had been mistakenly placed ahead of him by NASCAR, and over the radio told his team that he'd "take care of it". That apparently meant spinning Musgrave in front of the entire field. NASCAR wasn't pleased.

Punishment: Petty was parked for several laps for the move, and more when team owner Felix Sabates vehemently argued with a NASCAR official in the pit box.

Rusty Wallace vs. Jeff Gordon, Richmond 1998

The bad blood between Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace had previously existed before this incident, thanks to Gordon punting Wallace (but not crashing him) for a win at Bristol. This wreck, though, took the rivalry to a new level.

The ESPN team with Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons never say it, but it's pretty obvious by looking at Wallace's hands and left front wheel that he meant to turn Gordon. It worked.

Punishment: NASCAR had no problem with it, though Gordon would bump Rusty for another Bristol win later in their careers.


David Gilliland vs. Juan Pablo Montoya, Texas 2008

To be honest, when I first started thinking about recent run-ins like Edwards & Keselowski, this walling of Juan Pablo Montoya by David Gilliland popped in my head immediately. Gilliland claims he was just trying "loosen" up Montoya, but I don't buy it.

The crash was a brutally hard hit for Montoya on the driver's side, but he walked away merely disgusted with Gilliland -- despite admitting to being a player in previous run-ins during the same race with Gilliland.

Punishment: Surprisingly, NASCAR only parked Gilliland for the race with no further sanctions.


Juan Pablo Montoya vs. Tony Stewart, Homestead 2009


This incident probably had a direct correlation to NASCAR changing their tune to the "Boys, have at it" policy that so dominated the early parts of the 2010 season.

Earlier in the race, Stewart had cut a tire down on Montoya's car, sending Montoya into the wall. Of course, Juan was none too pleased and expressed his anger on his next appearance next to Stewart. Two weeks later? Montoya and Stewart were joking about it on a radio show. The bad blood didn't seem to last.

Punishment: Montoya was brought to pit road for a two-lap penalty, though you can be sure he felt it was well worth it. Score settled.