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The Associated Press

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Speak Up

CONCORD, N.C. - Note passing, name calling, playground scuffles and widespread gossip. Sound like the fifth grade? Well, that, too.

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AP

Carl Edwards climbs into his car before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Bank of America 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Friday, Oct. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

AP

Kevin Harvick watches from pit road before his qualifying run for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Dollar General 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Friday, Oct. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

In this case, though, it's the latest instalment in NASCAR's Chase for the championship.

The tension between Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick had not abated Friday, a day after the two had to be separated during a heated exchange in Harvick's garage stall at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"Be careful who you wanna pick a fight with," Harvick warned. "If you wanna pick a fight with the wrong person, sometimes it turns around and bites you, no matter how big and tough you think you are."

A confident Harvick smirked through a short interview on pit road, where he stood just a few feet from Edwards during Nationwide Series qualifying. Neither driver dared look at each other, and Edwards downplayed the situation.

"I've got so many great things going on, I'm not going to worry about this," Edwards said. "It just doesn't matter. That's the truth. I am what I am. He is what he is. If those things are different, that's fine. It doesn't bother me."

This whole skirmish started when Edwards triggered a 12-car accident last week at Talladega, and Harvick criticized his driving style on live television by calling him "a pansy."

Edwards left a sarcastic note after the race with Harvick's pilot - some versions of the story claim Edwards stuck it on the airplane windshield - and followed up with a face-to-face during a break in Thursday's practice session.

When Harvick tried to walk away, witnesses said Edwards grabbed his shoulder as if to turn him back around. Harvick responded by shoving him onto the hood of his car, and as crew members rushed in to break it up, witnesses said Edwards was put in a headlock.

"We were in our pit stall and just protected our turf," Harvick smirked.

Edwards has declined to give his version of events, preferring to focus on the competition. He's second in the Chase standings, just 72 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson and needs to close the gap in Saturday night's race at Lowe's to keep his championship hopes alive.

"I couldn't be more ready to race," he said. "I feel better in the car today than I have in a long time. It's kind of refreshing. Nobody likes to deal with that stuff. It's not as much fun. It's nice to get in the car and do what we're here to do. Not the rest of the stuff."

But it may not be so easy for Edwards to escape this drama. Harvick is a master manipulator, and from his sixth-place spot in the standings, it's entirely possible he's playing mind games with Edwards in a ploy to knock one of the championship favourites out of contention.

"If that's the effect, hey, all is fair in love and war and The Chase," said Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage. "Other leagues hide injuries or find bulletin board material. Maybe this is the same thing."

Asked directly if he was trying to get in Edwards' head, Harvick didn't exactly deny it: "That's not very hard to do," he smiled.