BROOKLYN, Mich. — Four days after Brad Keselowski took issue with comments made on the air by Jeff Gordon, the two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions sat down in front of a camera here at Michigan International Speedway.
“There were no hugs. I can confirm there were no hugs,” Keselowski, grinning, said Friday. “There were some handshakes.”
Gordon, a four-time premier series champion for Hendrick Motorsports, works as a race analyst for FOX’s Sprint Cup Series coverage on FOX and FS1, with fellow analyst Darrell Waltrip and lead announcer Mike Joy.
His interview with Keselowski, a Michigan native, will air Sunday on NASCAR RaceDay (11:30 a.m. ET, FS1) before the start of the FireKeepers Casino 400 (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
According to a FOX spokesperson, the interview was scheduled before last week’s race.
NASCAR officials penalized Keselowski during last Monday’s rain-delayed race at Pocono Raceway for an “unapproved body modification” after video showed the team’s jackman slamming his shoulder into the right side of the No. 2 Ford during a pit stop.
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Gordon likened the incident to what he said was a similar issue involving Keselowski that occurred earlier this year at Las Vegas. However, the Las Vegas penalty was for speeding on pit road, not a body modification.
“They need to get some people in the booth that aren’t inbred to the sport and own teams and have internal knowledge because that’s pretty crappy,” Keselowski told reporters afterward at Pocono. “But it is what it is.”
Gordon eventually responded on social media via Twitter to say that he erred when comparing the two incidents, but that “NASCAR called car down pit road to fix issue not me.”
Gordon retains an ownership stake in the No. 48 team driven by six-time series champion Jimmie Johnson and fielded by Hendrick Motorsports, as well as an equity stake in his former No. 24 team now competing with rookie driver Chase Elliott.
“My big thing is that I don’t want somebody that is invested in another team talking about my race car in a derogatory form or a perceived derogatory form,” Keselowski said Friday at Michigan. “I don’t think that is right and I am going to defend my team in those situations no matter who it is. …
“Beyond that, I think he has a position that requires his insight but there are some limitations to what insight I think is fair play for that position when you are still invested in the sport. I feel like that was over the line. Not just that particular example but other examples on other broadcasts. I just want to make sure that if anyone wants to criticize me and how I drive the race car that is one thing, but not my team and not things that could be perceived as self-serving.”
Several of those working race broadcasts for NASCAR’s television partners (FOX, FS1, NBC and NBCSN) either made the move to the booth after their careers in racing ended or as they began to subside. Some have made the move while retaining working relationships with various parties.
Keselowski said he thinks such relationships could create issues.
“I said, and I am paraphrasing here, that if you are invested in the sport you shouldn’t be in a position to be in the booth,” he said. “I did make that comment. I would probably rephrase that with time. I feel like if you are in the booth or in a position such as that … and you are invested in the sport then I think you should probably bow out from conversations that are a conflict of interest. It is OK to be up there in the booth if you can respect the limitations that are almost self-implied to being a journalist.”
There is a difference in those who work with the broadcast teams full time and occasions when a currently active participant spends a day working a race in another series. FOX officials have used a number of current drivers to provide color commentary during its coverage of the NASCAR XFINITY Series — Danica Patrick was in the booth this past weekend at Pocono, for example, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will join Saturday’s XFINITY broadcast at Michigan
“But not at the Cup level,” Keselowski said. “The Cup level is obviously the granddaddy and what makes everyone go around.
“It is a tough balancing act. There have been numerous positions in those situations that have had investments in the sport. I just feel like when you are in those situations that if you have investment in the sport you need to bow away from topics that could be self-serving.”
In addition to addressing last week’s issues, including whether or not his team attempted to gain an unfair advantage through its pit-road actions, the pair also discuss this week’s rule changes at Michigan and Joe Gibbs Racing‘s dominating performances this season among other topics.