Carl Edwards: A Case Study In "On The Spot" Damage Control

Things certainly did not look good for NASCAR driver Carl Edwards in Las Vegas on the afternoon of March 7, 2010.

Having wrecked earlier in the day during a race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Edwards found himself several laps down to the leader, and was making laps in order to secure more points in the hunt for the Sprint Cup championship.

Near the end of the race, Edwards saw a familiar car in his rear-view mirror. The car belonged Brad Keselowski, who not only had a history with Edwards, but was also to blame for Edwards' misfortune on lap 41 previously in the race.

As Keselowski passed Edwards on the front stretch, the two cars made contact, setting in motion an accident that would put Edwards on the hot seat for weeks to come.

"And the 99 has turned over Brad Keselowski," exclaimed FOX annalist Mike Joy as Keselowski's car flip up and over, crashing hard into the track barrier.

As the caution flag waved to slow the rest of the field, the crew at FOX immediately went to work analyzing replays of the incident. What they found in the replays was damning indeed.

"Guys, you saw it right there. Those white gloves made a turn to the right," explained Larry McReynolds, referring to the fact that Edwards had intentionally turned his car to the right and into Keselowski's.

NASCAR acted immediately, forcing Edwards to exit the track and park his car for the day. As the media swarmed to get a comment from him, he responded candidly and confidently.

"Brad knows the deal between him and I," Edwards stated. "The scary part was that his car went air born, which was not at all what I expected."

"At the end of the day, people have to come out here and have respect for one another. I have a lot of respect for other people's safety, and we'll just go on and race some more and maybe he and I won't have anymore incidents together, that would be the best thing."

Most of the people listening to the interview that Sunday probably took for granted what Edwards said, but in hind sight, that one simple statement spelled out a solid game plan for damage control.

Everybody knew that he had wrecked Keselowski intentionally, so Edwards' first goal was to hold himself accountable for the mess. In doing so, he eliminated himself from the usual "I didn't do it" approach that has become so obvious and annoying to sports fans around the world.

Edwards followed up this important factor with a cleverly disguised apology, noting that he didn't expect Keselowski's car to become air born. He also did his best to make certain that everyone knew that he took the safety of everyone at the track very seriously.

To put the cherry on top, he even stated his wish that the now apparent rivalry between him and Keselowski would come to a close immediately.

By admitting his guilt, acknowledging the safety concerns of others and openly seeking out a truce with the man he had just wrecked, Edwards had effectively put in place a stance on the matter that no one cold argue with.

Had he not done a single one of these things, it is quite probable that the coming weeks for Edwards would have been a blitzkrieg of angry fans and concerned race officials calling him a liar, a reckless hazard on the track, or a person who's sole purpose at the time was to cause trouble in a sport in which high testosterone and insanely powerful machines have already laid the foundations for a dangerous day at the track.

Instead, Edwards had put himself on the defensive high ground, ready to take on any negative comments and critics that came his way.

After observing how Edwards handled himself that afternoon in Las Vegas and the coming weeks, it becomes fairly evident that many figures in the sports world can learn a lesson or two from him.