MONDAY'S FOCUS: NHRA's Family Affair
What to Watch: Tuesday
Today's TV Schedule
5:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. NASCAR America NBC Sports Network
Top News
Joey Logano, Rockwell Watches Announce Partnership
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GOT A NASCAR QUESTION OR COMMENT? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
That's right; our Fan Q & A column is back once again in 2014. Send your question Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print on Thursday when she does her weekly column. It's all part of our daily mission to give back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat!
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And Then They Saw Red: The Keselowski Debacle
I sat on my couch Sunday morning, enjoying the DVR recording of Saturday night's Charlotte race. Things were pretty physical on the restarts. Clearly, Kenseth did not appreciate how Keselowski blocked him on lap 271, pushing the No. 20 into the wall and pretty much detonating his hopes for a great finish. That created a "must-perform" Sunday ahead, solid seating for both in next week's guaranteed wreckfest in Talladega. One thing was certain: all of it was typical, hard-hitting racing. We're good!
I watched Hamlin get jacked up on the final restart. Was Keselowski just running over him or was the No. 11 holding back coming to the green? I couldn't really determine on that first showing which one was causing all the problems. Fenders were getting bent out of shape, and Keselowski's hopes of redeeming his Chase dreams vanished as his No. 2 plummeted back into the teens. I imagined that the pair of drivers weren't too happy with one another.
Turns out I didn't know how unhappy they were.
On the cool-down lap, as Hamlin later admitted to the press, the No. 11 brake-checked the No. 2 out of camera shot. Keselowski later said that if Denny wanted to play bumper cars, Brad was all in as well. We saw the results of their test of wills coming into turn 3. It didn't look particularly bad - just a couple hot heads blowing some steam. We just couldn't appreciate on live TV that those drivers had driven past a little fist-shaking straight into an unthinking rage. It was like Hamlin waved a red flag at Keselowski, and the fight was on.
As far as NASCAR was concerned, up to that moment, things were all good. The drivers were displaying their tempers. The fans always appreciate a good show. However, Bad Brad and Hamlin weren't quite finished.
Keselowski carried the battle onto pit road. Whether he intended to smash into Kenseth -- who had already unbuckled his belts -- is a little fuzzy. Keselowski insists the No. 20 car bounced off of his while taking the wave-around on the last restart, which is what really caused the troubles between the No. 2 and the No. 11 as Keselowski said his fender was all shot to hell. Kenseth definitely felt the pit road hit was uncalled for, dangerous, and spiteful as an after-race jab harking back to the first restart where the pair made contact. He did not mention the late-race incident. In any case, Tony Stewart was definitely an unwitting bystander, but he took care of business by turning the hood of the No. 2 into an accordion. Basically, Keselowski appeared in that instant as an out-of-control driver who was just riding roughshod over anything in his way. Word has it he took it out on somebody's transmission in the garage as well.
Of course, there were fist-o-cuffs by the haulers moments later. (How serendipitous was it that the No. 11, No. 2 and the No. 20 were all lined up in the garage like dominoes?) Surely, when we have entire teams putting each other in headlocks we've got to have penalties coming down on everyone, right?
I don't think so.
If any penalties are issued, it will be for Brad Keselowski. He is the one who took his car and used it as a weapon on pit road and in the garage area. Mr. Stewart will likely see probation for his ramming of the No. 2, but I bet NASCAR will be grinning while they make that call. Otherwise, what we saw was hard racing on the track and burnt tempers after the checkered flag, all combined with a jacked level of desperation for the three major teams involved.
The Miller machine was well aware if they didn't win, the likelihood of moving past the Contender Round would be next to nothing. Keselowski was thinking throughout the race that he had to take the victory, and he would take out anybody who got in his way. He blocked. He used his fenders. He walked into the ring ready for the heavyweight bout -- and got beat up for his efforts. When all was said and done, holding a paltry 16th-place finish -- leaving him out of the running unless a miracle occurs -- the frustration of that meant he just needed to hit somebody. And Hamlin started hitting him. So Keselowski hit back.
Boys, have at it.
The problem was Keselowski's sense of judgment flew out the window when he did hit back. Had he vented his spleen on Denny's car during the cool-down lap and left it at that, Kenseth wouldn't have executed a running tackle in the garage and Tony wouldn't have backed into him at full steam. Whether or not the No. 11 crew and driver would have sought out further discussion behind the haulers.. .that's all possible. But it wouldn't have involved a 3,000 lb. vehicle flying around pedestrians and unrestrained drivers.
The whole debacle was of Keselowski's making from the beginning. He made himself out to be the unbridled wild thing, which is already his reputation in the Cup garage. He couldn't make things better and opted for making them worse. He needs a wake-up call. There's a limit to aggression on the field of play -- Brad Keselowski drove right over it.
Penalty: 25 championship points applied to his current standing in the Chase, eliminate his ability to move forward into the next round even if he wins, anger management counseling, and then put him on probation through the end of 2015.
2014 Sonya Strictly by the Stats
Top Three Rookies for 2014 Bank of America 500
1.) No. 42 Kyle Larson Started 24th, Finished 6th (1st in RoTY standings)
2.) No. 3 Austin Dillon Started 20th, Finished 13th (2nd in RoTY standings)
3.) No. 51 Justin Allgaier Started 16th, Finished 15th (3rd in RoTY standings)
S.D. Grady is a Senior Editor for Frontstretch and runs a NASCAR blog called the S-Curves. She can be reached via email at sonya.grady@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @laregna and on her Facebook page (she's an author, too!) at https://www.facebook.com/Author.SDGrady.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1992, Davey Allison came into the DieHard 500 at Talladega hurting after his infamous flip at Pocono the previous week. However, despite his injuries, he still managed to start the race. Who relieved Allison at the first caution?
Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Monday's Answer:
Q: In the 1987 Talladega 500, Morgan Shepherd dropped out early with engine problems, completing only ten laps and finishing 39th. Even if Shepherd's No. 26 Buick had managed to go the distance, though Shepherd wouldn't have been in the car at the finish. Why was that so, and who would have replaced Shepherd?
Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Ashley McCubbin
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Did You Notice?... by Tom Bowles
NASCAR Mailbox by Summer Bedgood
Summer's ready to once again answer questions from you, our loyal fans. Do you have a question or comment for Summer? Don't be shy. Just send her an email (summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com) and you might just see your name in print!
NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 after Charlotte compiled by Michael Mehedin
Charlotte was rather chaotic for a number of the Chase contenders. The pressure boiled over with the craziness known as Talladega coming up this week. Find out how your favorite experts voted in the latest edition of our weekly poll.
NHRA Week continues with a double feature as Toni had the chance to talk with both Top Fuel racer Tony Schumacher and Pro Stock veteran Jeg Coughlin, Jr.
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2014 Frontstretch.com
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