Greg Bailey NewsChannel 36 Sports Director

You know it's serious when everybody clams up at a race track and everybody clammed up Thursday at LMS.

Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards went after it in the afternoon in the Nationwide garage. It started as a verbal exchange and it quickly escalated into a physical confrontation.

Both men apparently gave a little and took a little so I can't declare anybody the undisputed middleweight champ of NASCAR.

I can tell you that after talking one-on-one with Carl Edwards for a few minutes on Wednesday night that he knows he drove into dangerous territory when he wrecked his teammate Greg Biffle late in Sunday's race at Talladega. Edwards politely answered my questions, but he also winced a little bit when I brought the topic up. The stakes are so high that everyone feels it. Edwards, Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick are all on that list.

Thursday Edwards refused to discuss the altercation, but he did admit that discussing his late crash with his also crashed teammates was "very difficult." Everyone wants to be respected and Edwards senses that his respect in the garage is on the line.

Harvick is either aggressive or assertive depending on whether you like him or not. Edwards plays nice for us, but he's not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, especially when the camera's off.

I have to admit I love that attitude from both men. Great stories need great characters and Edwards and Harvick deliver.

I told one NASCAR staffer that this could be the greatest thing to happen to NASCAR in 2 or 3 years. Jimmie Johnson is really good, and he's well on his way to wearing the crown as a bona fide legend. But watching Jimmie and Chad Knaus win races is a little like watching surgery. Really talented, really clean and you know the outcome before the first cut.

Nothing wrong with a little dirt and a little scrap. But then I also like hockey fights so consider the source.

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