CONCORD, N.C. -- Carl Edwards has a lot going on, as if chasing Jimmie Johnson for a Sprint Cup championship wasn't enough.

“

The deal with me and Harvick is between me and him and there's nothing else to talk about. We know where each other stand and that's it.

”

CARL EDWARDS

Edwards has had to mend fences with Roush Fenway Racing teammates after wrecking them at Talladega last weekend. He also was under heavy criticism and name calling from fellow Chase driver Kevin Harvick, who was incidentally collected in Edwards' wreckage. That was then.

This is now. Edwards was bombarded with questions regarding a physical altercation that broke out between him and Harvick inside the Nationwide Series garage Thursday at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The dispute resulted in a dented hood on Harvick's No. 33 entry, according to a Nationwide Series driver who witnessed the scuffle.

When asked to address the issue, Edwards said, "The deal with me and Harvick is between me and him and there's nothing else to talk about. We know where each other stand and that's it."

Witnesses said Edwards approached Harvick in the Nationwide garage and the two exchanged sharp words, after which Harvick turned to walk away and Edwards grabbed him. Harvick then turned and shoved Edwards onto the hood of the No. 33 car, after which a Harvick crew member placed Edwards in a headlock.

At that point the altercation apparently was broken up. Officials from NASCAR had no comment, stating that the incident is a non-issue.

Although photographers from CIA Stock Photography and Lowe's Motor Speedway caught the moment, both refused to show the photos to The Associated Press and said they had no plans to publish the pictures.

"I know that his fans won't be very proud of him sitting back there riding around like a pansy," Harvick said in a national TV interview after Talladega. "If he had been racing all day, maybe he would have known how long the front of his car was."

The Charlotte Observer obtained a photo of a handwritten note Edwards gave Harvick's pilot before leaving Talladega.

In it, he used an expletive to "thank" Harvick for criticizing him on TV and sarcastically added, "I was really trying to screw up everyone's day. Love, Carl."

With six wins this season, Edwards was thought to be a championship favorite. But now he is 72 points out from Chase leader Johnson, a margin that was widened after Edwards' overly anxious driving in Talladega last week.

Edwards was pushing his teammate Greg Biffle down the back straightaway and into Turn 3 when his No. 99 spun Biffle around and collected several other cars (watch video).

"I looked at the tape last week," Edwards said. "I ended up getting too far off center from his bumper. I had no hint of the loose characteristics and I just got too far off center. It happened so quick we were both surprised. It's a bad feeling." (Continued)