Monday, November 12, 2012

Jeff Gordon-Clint Bowyer fight gives NASCAR some punch at season's end

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER Once football season begins, only NASCAR diehards stay on top of the Sprint Cup Series chase. Even as the series champion is decided in these closing weeks, NASCAR only usually merits a brief highlight or two on SportsCenter and most general sports fans don't pay attention to NASCAR again until the Daytona 500 comes back around in February, two weeks after the Super Bowl. But Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer gave NASCAR some publicity on Sunday night after Gordon intentionally took Bowyer out of the race in Phoenix as the final lap was approaching. When Bowyer's crew went after Gordon, a brawl ensued in the garage area and Bowyer was seen running what seemed like halfway around the race track to get a shot at Gordon, or at least a member of Gordon's crew. In the aftermath, Gordon was ripped by most of his fellow drivers for what was an intentional takeout of Bowyer, even though Bowyer had created lots of problems for Gordon throughout the season. The two had tangled a lap earlier with Bowyer bumping into Gordon, and basically taking him out of the race. NASCAR brawl"I've had it," Gordon said. So, he made sure to get payback. As someone who covers the two races at Pocono each summer, the whole thing was a little disturbing. I actually like both guys.  I've long considered Gordon a class act and one of the best drivers in the sport's history, and never understood why he has been so villified by so many racing fans, especially the powerful Earnhardt fan base. And since Bowyer was the one who took me on a ride around Pocono in 2011 on one of those media "test laps" I have great respect for him as well and found him to be a nice guy. The series finally comes to an end Sunday in Homestead, Fla. The season is too long, way too long, but this brawl generated buzz. You'll probably see highlights of the fight somewhere even if you're not a NASCAR fan. If it's true that all publicity is good publicity, then Gordon and Bowyer delivered for NASCAR on Sunday. The green-white-checkered finish also featured another crash and more controversy. Kevin Harvick, who won the race, may have said it best: "Fights made NASCAR what it is." He's right. You could hear the crowd roar with delight as the brawl got started. But Gordon seemed to lose much more than a race on Sunday. It's always troubling when one of the sport's great champions lowers himself to a distasteful level.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

JEFF GORGON WAS RIGHT FOR WHAT HE DID BONNIE