Mental toughness required to rebound from accidents

FONTANA, Calif. -- Causing a wreck on the track is never a pleasant experience for any driver, but doing so in such a matter that takes nearly a quarter of the competition from the field really smarts.

Crawling into a hole or changing your last name sounds like a great idea at the time, but it's never an option for the at-fault-driver who is almost always greeted with a camera and a microphone minutes after exiting the car.

'Best car out there'

It seemed Kyle Busch had the car to beat in the Daytona 500, until it was towed to the garage.

• Crash changes complexion
• Busch irked by poor driving
• Earnhardt has a pitiful day
• Video: Watch the wreck

Causing the proverbial Big One on a superspeedway -- or the crash heard around the world -- is never an easy thing to overcome in a timely manner.

And as expected, fans and media types are still buzzing and dissecting the Daytona 500 wreck between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brian Vickers where Vickers threw a block and Earnhardt's answer resulted in a 10-car melee which included the dominant leader of the race, Kyle Busch.

Avoidable, though not intentional, Earnhardt is looking to put the drama behind him before Sunday's Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway.

Mental strength, the ability to communicate and a bit of humility are characteristics required by any driver looking to land safely on the other side of a crash like Sunday's.

Carl Edwards can sympathize with Earnhardt. He caused a wreck during the Chase race at Talladega last season that nearly took out his entire Roush Fenway Racing team.

"It never feels good. It's not good to wreck at all. If it's not your fault, at least you can say, 'Hey I did the best I could do.' In the past, when I've caused a wreck I always feel the worst. You think, 'Great, I'm just going to go ahead and leave now and go home now,' Edwards said. "It's not the best feeling."

On the other hand, Edwards said if you're not wrecking you're not trying.

"If you don't ever make mistakes, you're probably not trying hard enough," he added. (Continued)