Concord, N.C.—Carl Edwards is too close to a Sprint Cup championship to allow himself to be distracted by Kevin Harvick.

But earlier this afternoon, according to witnesses, Edwards and Harvick got into it in the Nationwide garage at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Supposedly, Edwards and Harvick got into an argument and exchanged blows—that might be a slightly overstating this battle of mild-mannered lightweights.

According to an Associated Press report: “Harvick appeared to try to walk away but, witnesses said, Edwards reached for his shoulder to turn him back around. Harvick then shoved Edwards, who stumbled onto the hood of Harvick’s car, and the two had to be separated. Witnesses claimed a member of Harvick’s crew had Edwards in a headlock as numerous people tried to separate the two.“

Edwards appeared at a press conference earlier tonight, and declined to comment on the accident. However, he did not deny the fight occurred.

He said only that “The deal with me and Harvick is between me and him and there’s nothing else to talk about,“ he said. “I’m not talking about that. That’s just what it is. We know where each other stand and that’s it.“

This is a bad time for Edwards to loose his focus. There is too much at stake this weekend as he tries to keep up with two-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the Cup. He’ll start on the front row opposite Johnson because rain canceled today’s Sprint Cup qualifying.

Of course, Edwards’ run-in with Harvick benefits only Johnson and third-place Greg Biffle. I can assure that Edwards will be either too fired up or too distracted to compete in the Bank America 500 on Saturday night. Like most other sports, emotions can influence performance, especially considering the disasterous ending at Talladega Speedway that left Edwards 72 points behind Johnson.

Edwards would have been better off ignoring Harvick, who has fallen to sixth and 171 points out of the lead. Someone at Roush Fenway Racing should have pulled his shoulder and remind him that he’ll need to concentrate on catching Johnson instead of engaging in some school yard fight with Harvick.