Gordon vs. Kenseth

[orangestew]

I'm not Kenseth fan and I'm definitely not a Gordon fan, but if that would have been anyone else pushing Kenseth out out the way they would have been sent to the back. It didn't look like there was any room to pass under Kenseth but apperently Gordon thought so. They couldn't penalize Gordo because he's not solidly in the chase yet, nascar couldn't afford to have him missing out again this year. It's pretty clear nascar is going to do everything they can to get him in this year.

Gordo better be looking behind him for the #17 car the next few races!

[lawdog]

I don't think anyone could have gotten punished for that, too close a call, Gordon had a good run going and Kenseth appeared to check up or get a little loose with the 42 there. Its too bad it happened, but like Kenseth said he ran out of gas anyway and the 24 was way faster and would have passed him.

Even supposing he did do it on purpose, he owed Kenseth for Bristol where Kenseth booted him big time and never got sent to the back so he shouldn't be whining about not getting a call there... If Jeff really wanted to dump him by the way, he could have easily done so when Kenseth blocked him and he had that big run off the restart, it would have been an even easier time to do it without looking like you did it.

Either way, that's win #75 and there are only 3 tracks left on the entire circuit that he hasn't yet concurred!!!

[JohnMickish]

Lawdog is exactly right. And that makes Gordon only one win away from evening the score with Ernhardt, and I'm pretty sure Gordon will get it this year.

[LMITOUT]

The big question is if someone else other than Gordo had dumped Kenseth, would they have been penalized immediately for rough driving? We'll never know, but I think back to the last time this happened and that was Edwards and Waltrip at Daytona. There wasn't any hesitation by NASCAR. Seems like a big side-step on this one. Oh that's right.....Waltrip had to avoid a lap car and checked up, or was it that he got loose in front of Edwards? Can't remember what excuse was made then. At least Edwards owned up to it. More than what can be said for some others.......

You also have to wonder if Gordo wasn't on the edge of being out of the Chase if there would have been a different call made.

[LMITOUT]

BTW, welcome orangestew!

Sounds like you have your priorities straight as far as NASCAR drivers go.

[fishonnopeoff]

I didn't actually see it. But I am willing to bet if Gordon was the one that got taken out he would still be crying like the big baby that he is....

(And no I don't like him and yes he is still one hell of a racecar driver)

[harvey lee]

Everyone knows that I am not Gordon fan and I really dont care for Kenseth either.

As far as the accident went,if Kenseth was checking up or slowed in the corners as he had been doing,what was Gordon suppose to do?He is racing for a win and Kenseth slowed and there was not time for him to go anywhere else.I would call that a racing accident and no foul.

Gordon will pass up #3 in race wins but I doubt that he will ever beat his championship mark.It really doesnt matter as both will go down as a couple of the greatest Nascar drivers ever.

[NAPAFISH]

"Tony was a little bit better than me and, you know, there's no doubt I was holding him up and I wanted to see if my car would come to me, and he just ran out of patience," Gordon said. "I just think it's uncalled for to start something that fast. ...All I can say (is) the next time Tony's holding me up, it won't be very long for him to be out of my way." Gordon failed to finish his fifth race of the season, surpassing his entire total from the 2004 season (four).

Stewart had a different take. "Everybody else was doing a pretty good job of give-and-take. It's just when you get around Jeff (Gordon); I guess the rules are different with him," Stewart said after the race. "He does more taking than he does giving."

Told about Gordon's comments, Stewart replied, "Jeff's always whining like that. If somebody does something to Jeff it's always their fault. "That's just Jeff Gordon. That's the way he's been ever since he's been down here. So, that's fine. We can get into a car crash. It really doesn't matter to me."

Stewart said Gordon was not the only driver with a similar nature. "I don't know why it is with (Gordon) and Jimmie (Johnson) and Ryan (Newman), but it's a group of them that think that the roads are named after them – one way," Stewart said.

Guys remember this at Dover last year??? Lawdog nearly blew a head gasket.

Remember at Martinsville w/ Kurt Busch???

Edwards at Darlington??

What a respectful driver with lots of class

I for one would like a little honesty please. Goron can wreck people and claim it was racing, but others cant. Lets face it if your name is Goron, you get to use the double standard. My hats off to Kenseth for not being a jacka$$ (w/ your helmet on) looking to start an altercation.

Jeff Goron you will NEVER be respected as a driver. "I've got no friends out here" fits about right.

Uncle Bill I hope you threw everything you owned at him

[harvey lee]

Napafish

After reading the post,it looks like you could be right.I guess just maybe I forgot a few things in the past.

[lawdog]

you honestly think you can compare lap 20 of a 400 mile race to lap 163 of a 167 lap race? I don't think they are apples to apples at all. Also, Busch at Martinsville, PLEASE, he did that himself. Edwards at Darlington Jeff made a mistake and apologized to him right away.

NAPA, you just are clueless and obnoxious, I don't know know why I'm even responding, but honestly your post is missing some serious reality dude...

[Sifty]

After seeing the race here is my opion.

The 24 layed back on the finally restart the 17 got a good jump and pulled out. At this point of the race the 17 was the class, the 24 car comes to Gordon or he was saving somthing for the 17.Kennesth has pulled out to a one second lead see's the 24 coming though the field pretty fast and probably has someone barking in his ear that the 24 is coming.Now lap traffic is going to come into play.It seemed like the 24 was able to get though it a little better then the 17.Gordon catches Kennesth. The 17 blocks the 24 3 times for sure. But thats just racing.The 17 has to check up because the 42 is in the way the 17 goes low the 24 goes lower and the crash happens.

Here are my questions:

Was the 24 below the white line? If the pass would have been made would it hold up?

If the 42 had not been there would the same have been the same with the crash? There seemed to be about three groves that where working.

Would the 17 run out of gas?

WOULD ANYONE BE TALKING ABOUT IT IF IT DID'NT INVOLE ONE OF CASHCARS GOLDEN BOY'S?

I really think that this is good for Nascar. All the people at work that will be talking about what a (Contact Us Please) move that Jeff Gordon made and this will get a few of the non-Nascar fans to get on the internet and look at the Nascar page and read about what he did and then they may watch part of a race.

This is huge money and the people that do the marketing for Nascar love this and eat it up. If you wacth TNT at all this week look for some type of ad with the 24 and 17 in it.

Sifty

[harvey lee]

Next week it will be two other guy's and so on and so forth.I see it every week at the race track.Always someone hitting someone else.The nature of the beast.The only two who know what really happenned is the two involved.Paybacks happen but its hard to tell just watching who was really at fault without being in the car and knowing what they each did.

[PikeBayCommanche]

I agree with Lawdog on this one there is alot more room for patience on lap 26 of a race than there is with 5 to go and you hold the faster car.

Sorry but gordon had the most consistant and best car on the track today and glad he finally won on the 1 1/2 mile track.

[harvey lee]

Not to add fuel to the already hot fire but,I just read a article written by a newspaper and Gordon stated I was hungry for a win and I new what I was going to do when I got behind him.Sure sounds like a payback to me.I guess it is a given that Kenseth will be giving Gordon a payback before the year is done.It never ends.

[LMITOUT]

At the rate Gordon was catching Kenseth, he didn't have to do what he did in that turn. He could have easily done it cleanly at the next corner or even down that straightaway.

Kenseth was running on the bottom the entire time so there was no blocking as claimed by Gordo. Nor did the lapped car get in his way when it was up by the wall because of what I just said....Kenseth was running the bottom.

[OUTDOORNUT]

WONDERPUTZ STRIKES AGAIN!!!

[lawdog]

Lmitout the blocking was on that restart when Kenseth clearly blocked, not at that particular time.

Like I said before, if he did it on purpose, he owed him one anyway. Kenseth did it to him at Bristol and never got penalized for it.

[LMITOUT]

OK. I didn't see the restart but did see the spin out. He claimed that Kenseth blocked him three times and one of those was referring to when he spun him out which I didn't see any blocking going on....just following the same line he had for laps before that. Kenseth isn't just going to pull up high and let him go around...he was on his line the entire time.

[outdoor ran]

Gordon took kenseth out on purpose and he deserved it. I'm glad he got his payback. All the Gordon haters think its alright for everyone to push the 24 around but cry like babys when he pushes back.

Most of the Gordon haters are old #3 fans and he took people out all the time and they thought it was cool. I think this is good for nascar. Just like any sport, you need rivalries. People will jump to there seats everytime these guys go to pass each other.

[SkeeterMark]

Here's my two cents, and I admit I like both Kenseth and Gordon, so their tiff between Bristol and now Chicago is ruining good chances for them both to do well, or at least in the same race.

What I saw was, a block on the restart, and a block later when Gordon had a nose under Matt. Gordon had to get back behind him. I did not see a block when the contact occurred. What I did see, and I think the commentators also saw judging by their reaction, was Kenseth's car definitely slowed. In the replay, you can see both Matt and Jeff passing the 42 easily, then the 17 slows nearly to match speeds with the 42. Gordon does not slow (until tapping the 17) and hits him, taking him out.

Could Gordon have lifted in time? Probably, but hard to say, as he was closing quickly anyway, and Matt clearly let off a bit, whether he was loose or what. Bottom line is I'm betting the 24 did not necessarily do everything possible to keep from hitting the 17, but it's close enough to make it impossible to know.

Sifty, passing under the line is legal on all tracks except Daytona and Talladega, so that had no bearing.

Gas.....now that is the big question. Matt ran out on the first caution lap (not extra laps), and had to pit. This means no way he could have made the 4 remaining green flag laps. He actually benefitted from the spin by having a caution to fill up his tank and remain on the lead lap, finishing 22nd. Tony Stewart ran out just coming to the green, goes down a lap, and ends up far worse than Kenseth. So will Matt be thanking Gordo?

NOT !!!!

[OUTDOORNUT]

If he is the "Greatest" driver in Nascar, he should be able to wiggle a guy and get the pass without wrecking him.......it would be way more classy also!

Earnhardt was the master at it! How many of the guys did he have to help out of the way or how many of those guys just got that nervous when they saw him on their tails? They knew if they he caught you there was going to be a bumper on them, they didn't expect to get booted, that is the difference between a great driver and a selfish one.

[lawdog]

I wonder if Terry Labonte would agree with your assessment?!?!?!?!!!

[fishonnopeoff]

K I S S I N G lawdog and Gordon sitting in a tree. LOL

[JohnMickish]

It probably dosen't matter at this point but the announcers said it was a racing deal. Sure, it could have been avoided but it was 5 laps to go. Kenseth would have done the same thing if the roles where reversed, so would Jr., Martin, Jarret, Dale Sr., Busch, Busch, Mears, D. Waltrip, Rusty, M. Waltrip, Blaney, Johnson, Truex, and the list goes on.

[JohnMickish]

From Nascar. com

NASCAR Nation cannot have it both ways. Either you're on board for hard-nosed racing, or settle into the La-Z-Boy for more neutered racing.

Jeff Gordon's late-race tactic was no different than those utilized by Dale Earnhardt, and for all those who complain about NASCAR being vanilla in the years since Earnhardt's death, Sunday should have been a feel good flashback to the glory days.

So, which side are you on?