The whole NASCAR world is watching to find out if NASCAR will show a few class by dropping the hammer on Kenseth. He has two more chances to make the Championship Round consisting of four drivers who will be eligible for the title at the season finale in Homestead, Florida on November 22. No adjustments have been made on Kenseth as of Tuesday night, but you can expect the field to be dropped considerably as his replacement – someone like Erik Jones – would fare well in such a strong JGR Toyota.
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Jeff Gordon won at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday for the ninth time in his career and is now a Chase for the Sprint Cup title contender in his final season before retiring. “If NASCAR doesn’t drop the hammer hard on him, shame on them”. The biggest argument for those on Logano’s side have is that Joey is racing for a championship. He had been carrying the grudge for two weeks and everyone expected him to act. It’s not Kenseth’s fault that his beef was with a driver in the Chase and Patrick’s was with a driver not in the Chase. But everybody knew it was coming and it was just a matter of when and where it would happen. “Matt Kenseth is in that same category”, said former teammate Jamie McMurray. Since going to the current Chase format last season, we’ve had plenty more drama, but its not a drama borne out of good racing.
The sport has gone all-in on the “Boys Have It” brand of racing, which means hidden foreign objects, the occasional pull of the firesuit, and smashing into other cars is perfectly legal as long as the ref doesn’t see it.
NASCAR also fined Danica Patrick $50,000 after she wrecked David Gilliland as payback for an earlier incident in the same race. Again, the crowd cheered. Kenseth and team will be appealing the severity of the penalty this week, but no other information was given. What’s the difference between finishing seventh or 12th in the championship standings?
What we’re seeing in this Chase isn’t racing; it’s more like professional wrestling.
Let’s be honest, this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup series didn’t produce a ton of memorable moments.
Added Jamie McMurray: “I would say growing up Terry Labonte, Ricky Rudd, those are guys you just did not mess with because you knew they would retaliate”. “It’s boys being boys right now”. “If you’re going to mess with the bull, you’re going to get the horns”.
Consistency is completely missing in how NASCAR metes out punishment.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an exciting finish to a sporting event. In all levels of racing, drivers hold a certain level of respect for one another.
Harvick knew his engine was failing but failed to get out of the way at Talladega because it would have likely eliminated him from the playoffs. Harvick responded by saying he simply did what he had to do.
Logano used a bump-and-run move to beat Kenseth October 18 at the Kansas Speedway.
“They’re similar in many ways but they are very different because of the stakes that were on the line with the Chase”, France said. “Going back to Richmond, we’ve been very clear when anybody in the industry, any driver or participant intentionally tries to alter the outcome of events or championships, that crosses a different line than a racing problem between two drivers”.
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“It’s a no-holds-barred wild, wild West. Sure, when people crown the statement that a driver’s doing what he’s got to do and they became OK with that statement, you’re just opening up Pandora’s box”. Neither driver could shake the other and they entered Turn 3 just inches apart from one another. Days after he called the wild west atmosphere a bad statement, Hamlin didn’t take too kindly to the sanctioning body’s use of authority because of the previous precedent.
