Ron Hornady would've, should've, could've, but didn't and it's left the defending champion 28th in the points.

Hornaday and his No. 33 Longhorn team came to Atlanta looking to rally back and hoping for a good day. Unfortunately, the team gambled on a tire rub, rolled the dice, it came up snake eyes and ended there day early finishing 34th.

The chemistry looked good between Horn and his new crew chief Doug George and the 33 team. They looked good in both practices running 30 laps between the two, making multiple changes to his truck.

Horn was the fourth fastest in the first, and ran 15th fastest in the final one.

Then he went out and won the pole for the race. One thing about Horn, he's one of  several drivers in the series. That you can't judge how they are in practice, and it's how well they qualify as to just how really good they are.

It goes without say that he had one stout Chevy on Saturday. Horn took the green heading into turn one it was three wide with Busch and Crafton.

When Horn trying to hold his line, got loose on the cold tires and made slight contact with Busch. The end result was his left rear fender slightly bent in rubbing on his tire.

The team debated making a pit stop for fresh tires and to pull the fender out. While for several laps his truck did have tire smoke, it did dissipated and stop.

His spotter Rick Carelli thought it didn't look too bad and teammate/boss Kevin Harvick did drive right behind also saying the same thing.

So Horn would stay out, rather than lose a lap or two early and not because he would not have made it up later in the race.

He would remain among the leaders, continue fighting for the lead and actually led Lap 11 before quickly surrender the lead to Busch.

Horn would settle into third, with his truck getting looser each lap and was patiently waiting for a pit stop. Unfortunately Horn became the first caution on Lap 23, when his left rear tire explode and sent him into the wall.

His No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet received extensive rear end damage and also the right side was pancaked in.

His team worked pretty hard trying to get Horn back out to log some laps for points but the damage was too great to repair.

Horn finished 34th for the day, add that to his 28th place finish at Daytona and many have written him off too repeat.

But Horn along with Skinner are two guys that you just can never write off and throw the statistic's out the window with them.

It is what it is, but adversity like this will only make the No. 33 Longhorn team strong and they'll battle back to factor into the championship at Homestead.

Photo Credit: sports.yahoo.com

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There's an old saying about first impressions: you only get to make it once.

When Carl Edwards entered the Sprint Cup Series back in 2005, he was a driver that every fan could root for: down to earth, worked his way up from the local tracks, and didn't have a reputation that proceeded him. But after Sunday's incident in the Kobalt Tools 500, the fans' impressions of Edwards may have changed.

Everyone knows what happened, everyone knows why it happened, and everyone knows what has been said about it. 

After it happened though, everyone wanted to know what was next. Many felt that Edwards has abused NASCAR's new "have at it, boys" policy. Some said that Brad Keselowski got what he deserved and that it was no harm, no foul. There were those, including many drivers' wives/girlfriends that reached out via Twitter, that were appalled.

The general sentiment, besides saying they lost respect for him, was that his true colors were showing and that he wasn't the nice guy that TV always portrayed him to be. Something had to be done and a suspension and heavy fine was in order. 

Today, NASCAR did neither, instead handing down to Edwards a three race probation that spans through all three of NASCAR's top series: Camping World Truck, Nationwide, and Sprint Cup Series.

Once the decision was announced, some drivers then took to Twitter to let their followers know their reactions, some agreed, some didn't. The best reaction though, came from Kevin Harvick who said he wanted to ask NASCAR for a refund of all his past penalties, including when he was suspended from a Cup race after an incident he had in the Truck Series. 

Edwards' probation will start when the action resumes in two weeks at Bristol Motor Speedway. It's not a more fitting track for Edwards' real punishment to be announced.

Most are certain that Edwards escaped easy today. NASCAR slapped him on the wrist and he'll continue on his merry way. When Edwards arrives in Bristol, it won't be very merry for very long and the reason is quite simple: the fans.

NASCAR has officially spoken and now the fans get their chance.

That's for those that haven't already decided on Edwards' fate, and some have, thanks to popular social networking sites such as aforementioned Twitter and Facebook. In fact, the fans on Facebook have already announced just how they feel about the Missouri native by creating a group called "Carl Edwards is an A**."

But there are those that still don't know what to think or how to feel.

They might still be in shock of what they witnessed on Sunday and thanks to this week being an offweekend for NASCAR compeition, they'll have two weeks to make up their minds. And if the fans that are attending the race in Bristol react in the same way they did to Kurt Busch back in 2003, it won't be pretty.

Busch arrived in Bristol after being involved in a post-race altercation with Jimmy Spencer the week before at Michigan. It's said that after the two made contact on the racetrack, Spencer went up to Busch in the garage and punched him.

Spencer was suspended for the race at Bristol and the fans didn't like it.

For the Saturday night event, they made signs that surrounded the bullring type track that expressed how they felt about Busch and some even declared "Free Jimmy."

The message the fans were sending was simple: NASCAR may have the official say, but NASCAR fans get the most important one. They are the true jury and the ones that drivers really have to answer to.

Ken Squire said it best: "It was Kurt Busch who had to face the decision of the true jury. For a week, NASCAR fans around the country deliberated and their verdict was announced loud and clear in the courtroom of the Bristol Motor Speedway."

The verdict?

Busch was booed... loudly... and a lot. 

Now, NASCAR fans find themselves in the same situation heading to the same track. They have two weeks to deliberate on how they feel about Edwards and how they'll view him from here on out. 

Will they welcome Edwards with open arms? Will they see a different man TV portrays and shower him with boos? Or will they be so worn out of all the coverage and controversy they just won't care anymore?

The good news for Edwards is that if he follows in the footsteps of Busch from his 2003 Bristol experience, he'll end the weekend in victory lane. That's if he can keep his nose clean and not find himself in anymore unwanted altercations.

Facing NASCAR may have been easy, but now Edwards must face those that aren't always so forgiving and don't always forget. 

 

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