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FOR THE RACE CAR DUDES
Kenseth questions Gordon's apology
By DAVE KALLMANN
dkallmann@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 14, 2006
Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon talked this week but didn't exactly clear the air.
The two met during testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to discuss Gordon's bump-and-run pass for the lead Sunday in the Nextel Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.
Kenseth walked away still certain that he got spun on purpose, unsure of where he and the four-time champion stand and as confused as ever about what NASCAR considers acceptable from drivers in terms of bumping, blocking and behavior on restarts.
"We talked about it after Indy, but honestly when we talked about it, it was kind of one of them things where he came over and apologized but wasn't very apologetic, if you know what I mean," Kenseth said Friday at New Hampshire International Speedway. "He almost acted like he was mad at me."
Still, Kenseth said, it's time for the two to move on.
"Somebody's got to be the man about it and forget about it and try to remember what's most important, why we come to the track," said Kenseth, the 2003 champion from Cambridge, Wis. "We come to the track to try and win races and try to win championships.
"If you're focused on something else, I don't think you're going to do the best job you can at what you're supposed to be doing."
Gordon, a four-time title-holder, was closing quickly on Kenseth in the waning laps of the USG Sheetrock 400 when they came upon Casey Mears' lapped car. Gordon accelerated more quickly off Turn 2, smacked Kenseth's car in the left rear and sent him spinning.
Gordon went on to win the race and Kenseth, who had to pit for gas under the resulting caution flag, ended up 22nd. Kenseth held on to second in the points behind Jimmie Johnson, and Gordon climbed to 10th.
Kenseth didn't see the move as simple desperation from a man trying to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup, NASCAR's 10-man, 10-race pseudo-playoff.
In Kenseth's mind, the bump was payback for an incident earlier this season at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and for the way Kenseth blocked Gordon down to the apron on a restart a few laps earlier at Chicagoland.
The Bristol episode was a different situation, Kenseth said, because of circumstances and intent, and the restart is an altogether separate argument.
At Bristol, Kenseth had just been knocked from the lead by Kurt Busch when Gordon nudged him again and passed him. Then Kenseth hit Gordon and spun him, accidentally, Kenseth insisted.
Bumps happen all the time at a half-mile track such as Bristol, and they don't always lead to spins. It's rare, though, for someone to get rear-ended at a 175-mph mile-and-a-half track, such as Chicagoland, and avoid spinning.
"I probably hit him half as hard as he hit me at Bristol, and he spun out," Kenseth said. "It was just bad timing, barely touched him, and I was trying to get by him on the last lap, so I think that's quite a bit different. But everybody's going to have their opinions about it."
Kenseth approached Gordon immediately after the race to apologize, and Gordon responded by shoving him. NASCAR placed both drivers on probation.
"I look at the Bristol incident and this incident as so similar, and he came up to me and apologized to me and said he was sorry, didn't mean to do it, and I was fuming for a long time after that," Gordon said. "But you have to move on and go on.
"People can believe me or not but that wasn't payback. It really wasn't. It was racing hard, and it just happened to be a guy that I had an incident with earlier in the season."
As for the restart at Chicagoland, Kenseth has argued all week that he would not have had to block Gordon if Gordon had not hung back to get a jump. The practice is not allowed by NASCAR but perpetrators rarely are penalized.
"I felt like he hung way back, and I knew I could get away in a couple of laps," Kenseth said. "I thought that was kind of a cheap way to pass somebody, by holding back, which a lot of people do because they never enforce it."
Kenseth also had several run-ins this year with two-time and defending champion Tony Stewart.
Although he would prefer to steer clear of such episodes, Kenseth did concede that conflict is good for the sport in terms of the interest it generates.
What Kenseth struggles with, though, is NASCAR's reaction.
"I read (NASCAR President Mike) Helton's comments afterwards, and he said it was a case of a slower car being in front of a faster car and the fast car moved him out of the way, and acted like that was OK," Kenseth said. "So is that OK?
"Is that OK if somebody gets spun out at Michigan and gets hurt? Is that all right? And, it's the closing laps, is that OK or not OK? Is it not OK halfway through the race?
"I don't really understand that so I probably need clarification."
Kenseth questions Gordon's apology
By DAVE KALLMANN
dkallmann@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 14, 2006
Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon talked this week but didn't exactly clear the air.
The two met during testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to discuss Gordon's bump-and-run pass for the lead Sunday in the Nextel Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.
Kenseth walked away still certain that he got spun on purpose, unsure of where he and the four-time champion stand and as confused as ever about what NASCAR considers acceptable from drivers in terms of bumping, blocking and behavior on restarts.
"We talked about it after Indy, but honestly when we talked about it, it was kind of one of them things where he came over and apologized but wasn't very apologetic, if you know what I mean," Kenseth said Friday at New Hampshire International Speedway. "He almost acted like he was mad at me."
Still, Kenseth said, it's time for the two to move on.
"Somebody's got to be the man about it and forget about it and try to remember what's most important, why we come to the track," said Kenseth, the 2003 champion from Cambridge, Wis. "We come to the track to try and win races and try to win championships.
"If you're focused on something else, I don't think you're going to do the best job you can at what you're supposed to be doing."
Gordon, a four-time title-holder, was closing quickly on Kenseth in the waning laps of the USG Sheetrock 400 when they came upon Casey Mears' lapped car. Gordon accelerated more quickly off Turn 2, smacked Kenseth's car in the left rear and sent him spinning.
Gordon went on to win the race and Kenseth, who had to pit for gas under the resulting caution flag, ended up 22nd. Kenseth held on to second in the points behind Jimmie Johnson, and Gordon climbed to 10th.
Kenseth didn't see the move as simple desperation from a man trying to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup, NASCAR's 10-man, 10-race pseudo-playoff.
In Kenseth's mind, the bump was payback for an incident earlier this season at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and for the way Kenseth blocked Gordon down to the apron on a restart a few laps earlier at Chicagoland.
The Bristol episode was a different situation, Kenseth said, because of circumstances and intent, and the restart is an altogether separate argument.
At Bristol, Kenseth had just been knocked from the lead by Kurt Busch when Gordon nudged him again and passed him. Then Kenseth hit Gordon and spun him, accidentally, Kenseth insisted.
Bumps happen all the time at a half-mile track such as Bristol, and they don't always lead to spins. It's rare, though, for someone to get rear-ended at a 175-mph mile-and-a-half track, such as Chicagoland, and avoid spinning.
"I probably hit him half as hard as he hit me at Bristol, and he spun out," Kenseth said. "It was just bad timing, barely touched him, and I was trying to get by him on the last lap, so I think that's quite a bit different. But everybody's going to have their opinions about it."
Kenseth approached Gordon immediately after the race to apologize, and Gordon responded by shoving him. NASCAR placed both drivers on probation.
"I look at the Bristol incident and this incident as so similar, and he came up to me and apologized to me and said he was sorry, didn't mean to do it, and I was fuming for a long time after that," Gordon said. "But you have to move on and go on.
"People can believe me or not but that wasn't payback. It really wasn't. It was racing hard, and it just happened to be a guy that I had an incident with earlier in the season."
As for the restart at Chicagoland, Kenseth has argued all week that he would not have had to block Gordon if Gordon had not hung back to get a jump. The practice is not allowed by NASCAR but perpetrators rarely are penalized.
"I felt like he hung way back, and I knew I could get away in a couple of laps," Kenseth said. "I thought that was kind of a cheap way to pass somebody, by holding back, which a lot of people do because they never enforce it."
Kenseth also had several run-ins this year with two-time and defending champion Tony Stewart.
Although he would prefer to steer clear of such episodes, Kenseth did concede that conflict is good for the sport in terms of the interest it generates.
What Kenseth struggles with, though, is NASCAR's reaction.
"I read (NASCAR President Mike) Helton's comments afterwards, and he said it was a case of a slower car being in front of a faster car and the fast car moved him out of the way, and acted like that was OK," Kenseth said. "So is that OK?
"Is that OK if somebody gets spun out at Michigan and gets hurt? Is that all right? And, it's the closing laps, is that OK or not OK? Is it not OK halfway through the race?
"I don't really understand that so I probably need clarification."
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