Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR announced a two-race suspension for Matt Kenseth on Tuesday for his on-track actions against Joey Logano at Martinsville Speedway.

RELATED: NASCAR suspends Kenseth | Official JGR statement

The NASCAR community sounded off on the decision via Twitter.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: NASCAR official release | Kenseth suspended for two races

 

NASCAR officials penalized Danica Patrick on Tuesday for her aggressive on-track actions with David Gilliland last weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
 
NASCAR fined Patrick $50,000 and assessed her the loss of 25 points in the Sprint Cup Series driver standings. The behavioral penalty also places Patrick on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31.

The points penalty dropped Patrick to 27th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings.
 
Gilliland’s Front Row Motorsports No. 38 Ford made contact with Patrick’s Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Chevrolet, sending her car into the Turn 3 wall during the later stages of Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 . Patrick retaliated with a similar move, twice shoving Gilliland’s car up to the Turn 3 and 4 walls, bringing out a caution period on Lap 419 of 500.
 
Patrick rammed into the back of Gilliland’s car during the yellow flag before taking her car to the garage. She retired from the race in 40th place. Gilliland finished 24th in the 43-car field.
 
The two have been at odds in the past, with tensions rising in the spring of 2013 at Kansas Speedway. Patrick issued warnings over her team radio in response to Gilliland’s hard-nosed racing. Gilliland replied through a team spokesperson, telling Patrick to “shut up and race.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Kenseth wrecks Logano


Matt Kenseth‘s apparent payback of Joey Logano at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday is dominating the talk around the NASCAR world and on the latest installment of “The Dale Jr. Download” on Dirty Mo Radio, Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighed in with his take.

“There’s a lot of things going on there and man, them guys hit that wall hard,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “They all went in there hard. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I mean I’ve seen guys get wrecked but damn, he put that (expletive) in the fence. Anyhow, don’t wreck Matt. Don’t piss Matt off because that’s what you get.” 

The genesis of the friction between Kenseth and Logano goes back to what happened in the closing laps at Kansas, where Logano turned a race-leading Kenseth to take the lead on Lap 263 (of a scheduled 267, although the race did end in a green-white-checkered finish, with Logano winning). This time, Kenseth, who was multiple laps down at Martinsville after an incident with Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch on Lap 435, appeared to intentionally send race-leader Logano into the wall on Lap 454.

RELATED: Evolution of the Kenseth-Logano feud

“Everybody’s going to be talking about that mess with the 22 (Joey Logano) and the 20 (Matt Kenseth), so here’s my opinion on it,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I thought the 22 was pretty aggressive at Kansas but what did him in, was kind of how he handled it afterwards. He said things that would piss off anyone that just got wrecked by him. I think what he said after the fact is what bothered Matt the most.

“It’s a difficult situation to handle if you’re Joey. After you punt somebody, it’s a fine line to walk and I guess he didn’t walk that the way Matt thought he should. So that really frustrated Matt.”

Those comments from Dale Jr. about how Logano handled his Kansas move post-race echoed what Martinsville race winner Jeff Gordon told “The Dan Patrick Show” on Monday.

RELATED: Gordon says he ‘can relate’ to Kenseth

Dale Jr. also thought the earlier incident with Keselowski, a driver that Kenseth has had some past run-ins with may have contributed to his frustration.

“I think Matt also thought that maybe the 2 had something with him wrecking at Martinsville. So maybe that fueled the fire a little bit. I’m just guessing on that one. Saw some scanner interaction about Matt wondering if the 2 took him out. Actually, the 2 broke a tire rod in, that’s why they all wrecked. I think Matt at the moment thought the 2 had just ran over him or clipped him somehow.”

For his race, Dale Jr. finished fourth but some mid-race contact with Gordon, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate left him a little miffed.

“We played bumper tag with Jeff (Gordon) for a little bit. As soon as he caught me, he ran into the back of me. I let him know I didn’t like that too much. I waited for him to run into the next car he caught but he didn’t. I was kind of offended a little bit.

“Anyhow, I was happy he won the race. I respect him, but you got to race people the way you want to be raced and vice versa. They need to race you that way. I didn’t think he did there for a second.”

RELATED: In-car audio of Dale Jr. and Gordon contact

Dale Jr. also had some hard racing with spring Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin in a battle for third place and the two-time winner in 2015 used that to explain his thoughts on moving drivers around.

“He gave me a little bit of the bumper, pushed me up off of 2. (He) Got the spot, but it was cool. Good racing. I don’t mind getting moved around a little bit as long as you don’t wreck me and as long as you don’t mind me moving you around. It was all good. We had a fun day.”

And if you are wondering who Dale Jr.’s championship allegiance is to, you don’t have to.

“I’m happy they won. I’m glad for Alan (Gustafson, Gordon’s crew chief). He’s an awesome guy. I got a lot of respect for him, too. Hope he wins this championship because he deserves it. They’ve been working real hard there. Been able to see that effort up close so I’ve got a lot of respect for him and his team. Obviously, Rick (Hendrick, team owner), you want Rick to win another championship. That would definitely make the boss man happy.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Photos of the incident, from the track to garage

 

Any penalties handed down to Joe Gibbs Racing driver Matt Kenseth for his actions during Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway would likely come today.

The sanctioning body typically doles out penalties on Tuesdays, and Kenseth may be in line for some punishment after he appeared to intentionally wreck Joey Logano in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500. Kenseth was multiple laps down at the time while Logano was in the race lead.

NASCAR officials met with Kenseth, crew chief Jason Ratcliff and team owner Joe Gibbs following Sunday’s event.

“There’s still a lot to digest from what happened tonight,” NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said immediately after the race. “We’ll do that. We’ll have some additional conversations and probably come out with something, if there is anything to discuss, on Tuesday.”

 

Danica Patrick may also face a penalty for her role in a wreck with David Gilliland .

 

Stay tuned to NASCAR.com throughout the day for the latest news and coverage.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Photos of the incident | POLL: Should NASCAR suspend Kenseth?

 

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France told listeners on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday that the sanctioning body will rule Tuesday on two incidents at Martinsville Speedway: Matt Kenseth wrecking Joey Logano and Danica Patrick going after David Gilliland.

 

NASCAR instituted a ‘Boys, have at it’ philosophy in 2010, but France said on the “Morning Drive” show that there are always limits.

 

“This is the style of racing we have. There’s contact in this style. Thanks to the fenders and the design of the cars … we can have that,” France said of aggressive driving and passionate competition that produces on-track contact. “There’s always limits to that. And when those limits are exceeded, we deal with that. … Drivers know where the limits are. They may not say it, but they understand it.”

 

Matt Kenseth appeared to intentionally wreck race leader Logano on Lap 454 of the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500. Logano had won three consecutive races, including the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas, in which Logano spun race-leader Kenseth with fewer than five laps to go, effectively denying Kenseth the win and a chance to advance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

 

Patrick chased down David Gilliland‘s Ford and initiated contact after he had sent her No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet into the wall earlier Sunday.

 

Asked if suspension or points reductions are on the table as penalties for Kenseth and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team, France said, “Sure. They’re all on the table. We’ll make that decision later today.”

 

A decision on the Patrick vs. Gilliland contact will be made Tuesday, as well.

 

“No question about that,” France said when asked if the sanctioning body is also looking at the No. 10 vs. No. 38 incident.

 

WATCH: Danica retaliates against Gilliland

 

“What we want to prevent happening is drivers or anyone participating in NASCAR to take events into their own hands and control outcomes of races,” France said. “That’s a very serious thing to us, and we’ll be dealing with that.”
Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Logano calls Kenseth ‘complete coward’ | Photos of the incident

 

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Matt Kenseth is expected to be penalized Tuesday for his wreck of Joey Logano on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

But what will the punishment be? The biggest talking point throughout the week has been whether or not the veteran will be suspended.

What do you think? Let us know in the poll below.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Official NASCAR statement | Danica fined, docked points


NASCAR suspended Matt Kenseth for the next two Sprint Cup Series events Tuesday for his role in a crash with Joey Logano late in Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway.
 
NASCAR officials issued no other penalties to the driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota, but did place Kenseth on probation for the next six months.

Moments after the ruling was issued, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Kenseth would appeal the penalty. “The appeal will challenge the severity of the penalty which is believed to be inconsistent with previous penalties for similar on-track incidents,” the JGR statement read. “There will be no further comments from JGR personnel during the appeal process.”

NASCAR announced it would expedite the appeals process and the National Motorsports Appeals Panel has set the appeal for Thursday morning at 9 a.m. ET in Concord, North Carolina.

RELATED: Kenseth appeal process set

Kenseth and Logano wrecked on Lap 454 of the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500, with Kenseth’s No. 20 entry making heavy contact with Logano’s Team Penske No. 22 Ford. The collision carried both cars into the Turn 1 wall, severely damaging both.
 
The run-in was the latest chapter in escalating tensions between the two rivals during the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs. Though Kenseth attempted to blame the crash on a deflated tire or mechanical issue, the altercation was widely perceived to be retaliation for hard racing between the two in recent weeks.

RELATED: Drivers weigh in on penalties
 
Kenseth was multiple laps down at the time of the incident because of an earlier crash. Logano was out front and had led nearly half of the race to that point. Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, said Sunday evening that those two factors weighed heavily in the minds of race officials, who parked Kenseth’s No. 20 for the rest of the day shortly after the two cars came to rest.
 
“In our minds, that’s a little bit different than two drivers really going after it coming out of Turn 4 for a win versus what happened tonight,” O’Donnell said.

O’Donnell reiterated that stance in Tuesday’s penalty report from the sanctioning body.
 
“Based upon our extensive review, we have concluded that the No. 20 car driver, who is no longer in the Chase, intentionally wrecked the No. 22 car driver, a Chase-eligible competitor who was leading the race at the time,” O’Donnell said in a statement. “The No. 20 car was nine laps down, and eliminated the No. 22 car’s opportunity to continue to compete in the race.
 
“Additionally, we factored aspects of safety into our decision, and also the fact that the new Chase elimination format puts a premium on each and every race. These actions have no place in NASCAR.”
 
Two weeks earlier at Kansas Speedway, Logano pressured and eventually spun Kenseth in a late-race battle for the lead. Logano, having already advanced to the next round in the Chase with a win the previous week at Charlotte, continued on to victory and was unapologetic for his aggressive racing in his post-race remarks.

RELATED: See what happened at Kansas
 
Kenseth’s postseason hopes ended the following week at Talladega Superspeedway, where he said in pre-race interviews that Logano “should have stopped running his mouth, A, and No. 2, he’s lying when he said he didn’t do it on purpose.”
 
NASCAR instituted its unwritten “boys, have at it” code in 2010, allowing drivers to settle differences amongst themselves with minimal intervention from competition officials. But NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France, in a Tuesday morning appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, said there were limits to how far self-policing should go.
 
“What we want to prevent happening is drivers or anyone participating in NASCAR to take events into their own hands and control outcomes of races,” France said. “That’s a very serious thing to us, and we’ll be dealing with that.”

This story will be updated.

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

RELATED: Kenseth suspended two races | Danica fined, docked points


Daytona Beach, Florida (November 3, 2015) —  Matt Kenseth , the driver of the No. 20 car, has been penalized for an infraction that occurred during the Nov. 1 race at Martinsville Speedway. This is a Behavioral Penalty (Sections 12.1, 12.8). Kenseth has been suspended from NASCAR through the completion of the next two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship events and placed on NASCAR probation for a six-month period following issuance of the penalty notice.


“Based upon our extensive review, we have concluded that the No. 20 car driver, who is no longer in the Chase, intentionally wrecked the No. 22 car driver, a Chase-eligible competitor who was leading the race at the time,”said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “The No. 20 car was nine laps down, and eliminated the No. 22 car’s opportunity to continue to compete in the race.



“Additionally, we factored aspects of safety into our decision, and also the fact that the new Chase elimination format puts a premium on each and every race. These actions have no place in NASCAR.” 



· Danica Patrick, the driver of the No. 10 car, has been penalized for an infraction that also took place during the Nov. 1 race at Martinsville Speedway. This is a Behavioral Penalty (Sections 12.1, 12.8). Patrick has been fined $50,000, assessed with the loss of 25 series championship driver points and placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31.

Posted on by Pat DeCola
Gordon hasn’t looked like a title contender most of the year, but here we are one race into the Eliminator Round and he’s the only one who knows he’s racing for a title at Homestead.

MORE: Gordon wins final race at Martinsville

Harvick has been on and off the edge of elimination throughout the Chase, but with two races remaining in this round — one of which is his best track (Phoenix) — he’s in excellent shape.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/kyle-busch/
KyleBusch
5
Joe Gibbs Racing
Busch recovered from an in-race spin to salvage a top-five finish, keeping himself very much in the conversation for one of the four title contenders at Homestead.

MORE: Kyle harsh on wrecks

It’s hard to believe Truex’s one-car team is still as much of a factor this late in the season, but here we are with three races left and he’s got just as good a shot for title No. 1 as anybody left in the Chase.

MORE: How Truex finished where he did

Edwards’ No. 19 survived a run-in with his teammate Kyle Busch’s No. 18 and came away with a 14th-place finish. If he makes it to Homestead — one of his best tracks — things look good for Edwards’ title hopes.
By now, you know what happened. Logano has been the best driver in the Chase and should be among the favorites the next two weeks. His season is not done.

MORE: Logano tweets message saying he ‘will fight’

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/brad-keselowski/
BradKeselowski
Team Penske
Logano wasn’t the only Team Penske driver to make contact with Matt Kenseth, and the No. 2 wound up 32nd — and in a similar position to his teammate over the next two races.

MORE: Luck runs dry for Kes

Busch got caught up in the Kenseth vs. Penske drama and unfortunately took the most damage. Initially looked at as one of the Eliminator Round’s sleepers, Busch is in a hole.

MORE: Busch wrecks at Martinsville

https://www.nascar.com/drivers/dale-earnhardt-jr/
DaleEarnhardt Jr.
Hendrick Motorsports
Earnhardt couldn’t match his Martinsville win from last year, but a fourth-place finish ain’t too shabby, either. Expect Junior to ride out the rest of the year in style — and maybe even pick up one more win.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/denny-hamlin/
DennyHamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
Hamlin has to be kicking himself for not making this round, as it might’ve been his strongest round on paper. He proved that so far with a top-three finish.

Even though he’s no longer in the Chase, Newman is still plugging along, picking up top 10s. Consistency, consistency, consistency.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/jimmie-johnson/
JimmieJohnson
Hendrick Motorsports
Some pegged Martinsville as where Johnson would pick up his win in the Chase — despite being out of it. Even more had Texas pegged as where it could happen. Stay tuned.

Kenseth used his car to intentionally put rival Joey Logano in a hole after the first Eliminator Round race. Can’t give him bonus points for that, but it sure made his fans happy.

MORE: Kenseth dumps Logano

McMurray might’ve had his best run of the year at Martinsville, finishing runner-up to Gordon. It doesn’t count for much right now, but it’s a momentum builder for 2016.
Menard’s progression has been slow, but as he continues to turn in top-15 finishes, you have to think at some point top-10s will start to become more routine.
https://www.nascar.com/drivers/clint-bowyer/
ClintBowyer
-1
Stewart-Haas Racing
Keep your eyes on the prize, Clint Bowyer. In less than two years, you get to drive the No. 14 Chevrolet full-time.