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The great Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski sit down with NASCAR ended with both combatants leaving the meeting smiling and laughing.

Don't believe it.

I'm sure they both said the right things when NASCAR officials told them "enough is enough." But considering how the punishment was handed out when Edwards paid back Keselowski at Atlanta 156 laps down at 195 mph, that has about as much bite as when I tell me six-year-old to sit on the stairs for a timeout.

"The biggest thing coming out of that meeting is now, I think, Brad and I understand one another a little better," Edwards said. "I think we're gonna be able to just go forward and go racing, and that's what this is all about."

Excuse me but I've heard those words come out of Edwards' mouth before when he's referred to other drivers and situations.

"We just have to build up our tolerance for that when things go wrong, the only way you're going to be satisfied is if we can back up two weeks and it never happened," Keselowski said. "Anything besides that is what it is. I'm satisfied where we're at going forward."

That too rings a little too close to what Keselowski has said in similar situations when his aggressive nature got the better of fellow drivers.

All this rhetoric is fine and surely what most everyone expected to be said when the parties all got together. But there's more simmering here than I think anyone is letting on and in Edwards' case, with a three race probation going into play this weekend in Bristol, there does need to be a little apprehension.

I don't think Edwards will do anything out of line for fear of making his situation with NASCAR worse. And I think Keselowski will also follow suit.

But what's to stop someone else who has a beef with either, let's say Kevin Harvick for instance who got into a verbal war of words with Edwards on Friday and has had several scraps with the Roush Fenway Racing driver, from leaning on Edwards either in Saturday's Nationwide Series race or Sunday's Food City 500?

Nothing you say?

You'd be right.

Boys, have at it.

In the first of what will certainly not be the last promotional attempt at capitalizing on the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski Atlanta dust-up, here comes Texas Motor Speedway.

TMS has put together its ad campaign for the track's upcoming NASCAR weekend and - shocking I'm sure - it features footage of the 99/12 tango.

The track has always been out in front of the field in terms of good old marketing and promotion to move tickets, and there's a lot of them to sell at the mammoth racing stadium. TMS has never been one to shy away from pushing the envelope as it were.

I'm not surprised at this latest effort but I think it's wrong.

Texas has a reputation for some good hard racing but has also been the scene of some horrific crashes. Truck Series driver Tony Roper lost his life in a TMS accident years ago. And I still get shivers when I see the footage of Kenny Brack's terrifying Indy Car accident when his car literally flew into a thousand pieces as it climbed the backstretch fence, nearly going into the grandstands.

There's a saying about tragedy plus time equalling comedy. I think something similar should apply to promotion.

I'm not naive enough to think television networks, race tracks and even NASCAR itself won't use the Atlanta crash - or any other that may happen down the road - as a way to juice up interest in the sport. Ticket sales and television ratings need to be increased and apparently the school of thought is, well, crashes and controversy sells.

I used to think just good competition and hard racing was what brought people to NASCAR. But in the age of "if it bleeds, it leads" I guess I'm wrong.

There's a show on the History Channel called "Madhouse," that chronicles the trials and tribulations of the weekly events at Bowman-Gray Stadium, an historic North Carolina short track that has hosted racing before NASCAR was even born. The show has little interest in the actual on track activities that don't include crashing and accidents, rather focusing on the behind the scenes lives of the combatants that drive the cars, their family, friends and enemies. Trash talking, fist fights, public displays of violence, pushing, shoving and even police action make-up most episodes.

I'm not sure it's the depiction of what short track racing is and that it will lure more fans to check it out. Just as I'm not convinced the wrestling on wheels plan NASCAR is selling these days will be the cure-all for lagging interest. Apparently there are those who think the sight of a flying race car is a good way to sell someone on the idea of attending a NASCAR race with Texas Motor Speedway at the front of that line.

In more ways than one, it does appear NASCAR has gone "Mad."

HAMPTON, Ga. - In a city that has a reputation for not being able to sell-out Braves playoff games, selling NASCAR to Atlanta sports fans is not an easy proposition.

That was again evident at Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 when a decent but not enormous crowd showed up on a blue sky clear yet somewhat chilly day.

Whether the track gets another shot at a March date in 2011 remains to be seen as parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc. pursues its quest to bring a Sprint Cup race to Kentucky Speedway. Since NASCAR won't be adding to the schedule anytime soon, the only way a race could come to the Bluegrass State is if SMI takes one from an existing property.

My guess is that even if Atlanta generated a standing room only crowd, the track would be the one SMI head Bruton Smith yanks from to fulfill the need to add Kentucky to the slate.

That's a shame as there is a long history of stock car racing in the state of Georgia and particularly Atlanta. But much like Darlington Raceway, which was a two weekend staple on the Cup schedule until NASCAR "modernized tradition" a few years ago and pulled the Labor Day weekend event from its schedule, Atlanta Motor Speedway may soon find out what it feels like having only an annual event to host.

Darlington has prospered with the track's new Mother's Day weekend race and perhaps Atlanta will fill the grandstands every Labor Day weekend now with the track hosting the end-of-summer stop.

If Atlanta does shrink from two to one Cup visit a year, I hope it grows into a stellar event that even the fickle sports fans of the ATL won't ignore.

o  Tires were an issue on Sunday but for various reasons. We saw a cut tire for Robby Gordon, a blown tire and subsequent crash for David Ragan and a loose wheel for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at various points in Sunday's race. There are various theories of why some drivers and teams suffered through tire problems, one being the low air pressures run by some. Since the Brickyard 400 fiasco of two years ago, Goodyear has done a tremendous job of preparing and producing competitive and safe tires. Hopefully some of the things that popped up in Atlanta were rarities and not an indication of any future concerns with rubber down the road.

o  After taking next weekend off, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Bristol for the fifth race of the year which will be important for several drivers and teams hovering around the bottom of the Top 35 in the point standings. Last year's points have been in play for the first five races of this year but after the checkered flag waves in the Food City 500, the 2010 standings go into effect. You'll see some nervous faces walking around the garage area in "Thunder Valley" in a couple weeks.

o  Terry Cook and Casey Mears are two of those nervous faces but it has nothing to do with the Top 35. Neither has been able to qualify for a race this year, a tremendous blow to each driver's Sprint Cup careers. Cook is running for Rookie of the Year but the truck series veteran is coming close to having no opportunity to pursue that honor being on the sidelines every week. And Mears, who was released from Richard Childress Racing at the end of 2009, has had no luck with the fledgling Keyed Up Motorsports team and there was talk around Atlanta the veteran was looking for a truck ride to stay on track.

o  NASCAR's new standardized starting times went into effect this year with Sunday's 1:15 p.m. ET green flag the norm for the bulk of the schedule when the series runs on the east coast. It will most likely take a few weeks to get fans into the groove of when races start, which is a change from previous years when television dictated much later starting times with basically no uniformity.

A few leftovers from the weekend of racing in "Sin City:"
    
It might sound silly but despite Jimmie Johnson winning two of the season's first three races it does appear the gap between the 48 team and the rest of the field has closed some. The resurgence of the RCR stable, Jeff Gordon's strong run, life in the Roush Fenway Racing squad at least with Matt Kenseth and the emergence of Joey Logano as a legitimate contender for top finishes add up to a pretty stout line-up behind Johnson. Now of course an appearance in victory lane by someone other than JJ would be a better way to demonstrate a team's improvement.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway announced its ninth consecutive sell-out Sunday which is good news, although it appeared there were more than a few empty seats. But regardless after the scene in Fontana is a welcomed sight to see as many fans in the Vegas stands as we did on Sunday.

First potholes in Daytona, then wet weather in Fontana and now a caution light malfunction in Las Vegas. Can't wait to see what's in store for us in Atlanta.

Seriously Jim Kardashian is obviously a beautiful woman but maybe I'm out of touch - what is she famous for and why was she one of the co-Grand Marshall's at Sunday's race.

Aric Almirola's car will get a complete technical teardown as part of NASCAR's new rule that states the first car out of the race not via an accident receives a full inspection process. It appears the days of the Star and Parks getting a free pass are over.

No one, especially Denny Hamlin, expected the season to start the way it has for the 11 team. You can only say it's early for son long but after three weeks Hamlin looks nowhere near a driver capable of challenging Johnson for a championship.

Pit road speeding penalties are coming fast and furious this early season. Look for that trend to continue in Atlanta where coming off turn four at high speed and hitting pit road is one of the more difficult maneuvers on the schedule.

Jamie McMurray says the dust-up between himself and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya is being overplayed by the media. Maybe so but Montoya left nothing on the table with his comments post-accident on Sunday. And by the way, what's with those sunglasses JPM was wearing in Vegas? He looked like he just left a screening of "Avatar."

Here we are heading to weekend number three of the NASCAR season and once again Mother Nature is playing havoc with the sport.

After a freezing and wet "Speedweeks" in Daytona a trip to the West Coast was hoped to bring some much-needed warmth to the garage area and grandstands.

That wasn't the case at all last weekend in Fontana with chilly temperatures and rain around Auto Club Speedway pretty much all weekend.

Now as NASCAR invades Vegas this weekend, even the desert isn't providing much of an Oasis. Unseasonable temperature and yes, more rain is in the forecast.

And if you really want to push the envelope the long range prediction for next weekend's trip to Atlanta is by no means a picnic either with the thermometer maybe hitting 50 and believe it or not a wintry mix on the menu for earlier in the week.

Obviously this is a weather year around the country unlike no other and those of you reading this from under three feet of snow in the mid-Atlanta and Northeast are no doubt nodding your frigid heads in agreement.

But it does again point out the craziness of the NASCAR schedule and how maybe blowing it up and starting over could alleviate some of the stress which includes dealing with the weather.

Atlanta in March followed by Bristol and Martinsville is rolling the dice big time that Spring will actually show up on time this year or any year. Phoenix, Texas and even Northern California makes much more sense to be in the first two months of the year along with Las Vegas and Southern California before making the trek back to the Southeast and East.

That won't happen this year or even next most likely so the parka and ski hat will stay in the suitcase through at least June to be on the safe side.

There's a public relations problem with Auto Club Speedway that I believe plays into its poor attendance and downright resentment among much of NASCAR Nation.

The track will always be known as the place that killed the Southern 500.

Right or wrong, when NASCAR decided to "modernize tradition" by pulling the more than 50-year-old Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway and transplanting the sport's Labor Day tradition to the west coast, Auto Club Speedway became the target for much hatred among long-time NASCAR fans.

It doesn't help that since its inception, the product hasn't exactly been riveting at the two-mile track. Boring races and more single file parades than actual side-by-side competition didn't help the track's reputation.

But when the heart was ripped out of an historic NASCAR legacy like the original superspeedway race at Darlington and moved to Fontana, California - which might as well been Siberia for a lot of fans - it cemented Auto Club Speedway's place on top of the bitterness list.

Despite the fact racing has been better in the last two Sprint Cup Series races held at ACS, I don't see how management is going to find a way to literally bring back 40-45,000 fans, which is about what Sunday's race was in terms of being short of a sell-out. You can blame the weather (which was bad) and the California economy (which is worse) for some of that erosion, but even with a bit of a recovery in both departments, selling out two races in Southern California is a tall order.

This is a market that is pretty fickle when it comes to its professional sports. Not one but two different NFL teams couldn't make it in the country's second-largest market. And despite a strong car culture in the area and no doubt thousands of race fans, I don't see NASCAR doing something the mighty NFL could not.

Taking a date and using it for parent company ISC's plans to add a second weekend at Kansas Speedway makes the most sense. Concentrate on one race in the Chase and I'd venture the turnout would be much better than what we've seen at the last four Sprint Cup races at the track.

Getting the fans to come back will take time and it doesn't help that many of them have a bad taste in their mouths for watching their traditional end of summer race shipped out west to wither away in the California heat. 

Don't let Danica Patrick's 31st place finish in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway fool you. Despite the finish in the second half of the field, Patrick's day in Southern California was a success.

Although she was never a factor in the race, which ended in a wild affair between Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle, Patrick's second career NASCAR start will be viewed as time well spent. The only goal of crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and Patrick on Saturday was finishing the race and not having her day end as it did a week ago at Daytona when she was swept up in an 11-car accident.

Patrick stayed out of trouble, ran at the back of the pack and basically just learned what it was like to pilot a lumbering stock car around an intermediate-sized track like the two-mile ACS.

She'll take the same approach next week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before returning to her Indy Racing League job with Andretti Racing.

Anyone who thinks Patrick should be challenging for wins or top ten finishes hasn't been around NASCAR racing for very long. The learning curve is pretty steep and drivers who were considered superior to Patrick came into NASCAR with a distinct lesson plan before there was any thought of finding victory lane. Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish Jr and Joey Logano are just recent examples of highly-touted drivers with stellar credentials in other forms of racing who went to school before entertaining any remote idea of being competitive in NASCAR.

Patrick is no different. In fact with the schedule she's chosen to follow combining NASCAR with her IRL slate, her transition will most likely take even longer.

The hype machine was in high gear again this week in California and no doubt will do the same next Saturday at Las Vegas.

But the reality is Patrick is in the middle of a major on the job training program, which will certainly last through her entire first year as a stock car driver.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - It was bound to get tougher for Danica Patrick and it sure did on Saturday.

After making an impressive stock car debut a week ago in the Daytona ARCA race, Patrick slid behind the wheel of a Nationwide Series car in Saturday's season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.

The final tally will show she only completed 69 laps and wound up exiting the race as part of a massive 12-car pile-up on the frontstretch.

That will be enough for most of her naysayers who will point to the fact that yes she crashed in her first NASCAR race and wasn't anywhere near the front of the field during her time on the track. True statements to be sure.

But that's missing the point.

Patrick's only goal on Saturday was to make laps, learn on the job and get as much experience about driving a NASCAR machine as she possibly could. Patrick called the race her classroom earlier in the week and she went to school when the green flag flew.

Patrick has kept this whole experiment in great perspective this week as she's fought off the incredible media horde that has followed her every week. She does not expect to win any races this season. She only wants to figure out how to pilot one of these heavy beasts which are tanks compared to the Indy Car she drives on a regular basis.

Last week's ARCA race enjoyed record television ratings. Her Nationwide practice sessions this week also generated pretty heft audiences, remarkable for a Wednesday afternoon time slot. No doubt Saturday's race ratings number will be huge.

All of which are good things for the sport, for NASCAR and for Patrick.

There's a vocal group who think there's too much being made of Patrick's move to NASCAR and I can see the point - to a point.

It's a huge story. And it's not the first time attention has been given to a driver coming into the sport who had never turned a lap in NASCAR's top division. Juan Pablo Montoya generated a stir. Dario Franchitti was in the spotlight. And last year at this time the hype machine was in overdrive over a young driver named Joey Logano.

Patrick will have to perform and that's the bottom line. Saturday's final results will indicate to some that she did not at Daytona.

But that's only a small part of the big picture and Patrick should be given the time to make that happen.