Bowyer dismounts and prepares to charge |
The fun began when Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon banged
wheels in the final laps of the Advocare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Gordon
spun after what appeared to be incidental contact between the two, then re-fired
his damaged Chevrolet and circled the track slowly, waiting on Bowyer. Moments
later, they met again in PIR’s tricky fourth turn, with Gordon turning Bowyer and
innocent bystander Joey Logano head-on into the wall at race speed. Richard
Petty Motorsports driver Aric Almirola was also swept-up in the wreck, which
eliminated Bowyer from championship contention.
Almost instantly, Bowyer’s irate crew stampeded through
the NASCAR garage in pursuit of Gordon, intent on administering their own
unique brand of “frontier justice.” The collision between them
and a like-sized phalanx of protective Gordon crewmen was like the battle scene
from Mel Gibson’s movie “Braveheart,” minus the blue face paint. Bodies hit the
ground, punches were thrown and at least one Gordon crewmember shed blood before
NASCAR officials and local police separated the combatants.
NASCAR red-flagging the
race for approximately 15 minutes so officials and law enforcement personnel could
permanently quell the melee. Then, just when it appeared order had been restored, Bowyer
climbed from his battered mount and embarked on a Lolo
Jones-worthy sprint of his own through the Sprint Cup garage. He was ultimately prevented from storming Gordon’s AARP
transporter, but his double-time charge should inspire a new TV commercial for
his sponsor.
“5Hour Energy, when I’ve got an ass to kick!”
Sunday’s riot proved once and for all that NASCAR is not
yet fully inhabited by vanilla-bland, PR-muzzled clones. Bowyer and Gordon
exchanged unpleasantries through the media after the race, questioning
each other’s professionalism, if not their parentage.
Unwilling to be left out of the fun, Logano, Denny
Hamlin, Michael Waltrip and others contributed fiery commentary via Twitter. New championship leader Brad Keselowski used his
post-race media conference to unleashed an expletive-filled attack on the drivers
who criticized him for racing too hard and "having a death wish” the previous
week in Texas, only to go gunning for blood a few days later.
If testosterone was a drug, PIR Sunday was Haight-Ashbury.
Four burly sheriff's deputies were stationed
outside the NASCAR hauler when Gordon, Bowyer and their respective crew chiefs
were summoned for a mandatory post-race confab, just making sure that no one rang the
bell to ignite Round Two.
In the end, only two things were
learned for sure Sunday.
First, it’s never good to get landed on by a jack man.
And second, if Jeff Gordon wins a fifth Sprint Cup Series
championship, it will almost certainly be after Clint Bowyer retires.
Photo: Tyler Barrick/Getty Images
If it wasn't for brad, Clint, Juan, and Kurt this would be just another curling match. I'm glad some guys still remember its about winnig not going for a drive.
ReplyDeleteExcellent as usual Dave...ESPECIALLY enjoyed that last observation :-)
ReplyDeleteApparently, Gordon has been harboring ill will since Boyer dive-bombed the GWC restart at Martinsville back in April. Paybacks are a, well, you know where I'm going with this.
ReplyDeleteLove the last line.So true.
ReplyDeleteI agree to the fifth championship, If I were Clint, Gordon would be lucky to ever get by me unscathed...
ReplyDeleteThat race should be known as “The Race That Had It ALL”.
ReplyDeleteYou had a start with a close Chase going into it. You had cautions. You had a track that tested the tires that Goodyear manufactures and the heat from over braking that caused them to fail. You had a 5 time champion hit the wall and go from looking like he was going to win number 6 to the Chase is now up in the air for the Championship. You had hard racing between Kyle and anyone that wanted to take the lead from him. You had crashes. You had a 4 time Champion being black flagged. You had that same Champion then take out another driver. You had a HUGE fight. You had the race red flagged while they sorted everything out and cleaned up the track. Just when you thought it was done you had a huge crash in front of the start finish line as the race ended. You will NEVER see a race like that one again. It had it all and then some!
OK, maybe the race should be nick named “The Race That Had It ALL and Then Some"
MB
Dave, I laughed so hard I cried after reading this. I may have even peed a little! Haaa Haaa!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
So I heard that Gordon was black flagged in the race. But he didn't pit. Not real clear on the TV when he was shown the flag.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know what the rule is concerning black flag (ie how long do you have to respond to it) and if he violated the rule?
Robert G. - They get 3 (+/-) laps under black flag before they get the black flag with a white stripe that means they are no longer being scored.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately it also appears to prove that the sport can't offer something to engage fans other than fights. The racing at Phoenix certainly did nothing to engage anyone. Mentioning the 1979 Daytona fight brings to mind Billy France's reaction - "We don't need wrecks and fistfights to sell tickets."
ReplyDelete