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Four-time champion discusses last race before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at charity event

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Jeff Gordon says the issue of teammates helping one another on the race track is complicated, is something that likely needs to be addressed, “and it’s probably been lingering out there a little bit too long.” 

While it’s not unusual for teammates to work with one another on the track, there are limits to what that it entails, the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion told members of the media Wednesday, prior to hosting a fundraiser for his Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation in Kannapolis, N.C.

Five days earlier, the Hendrick Motorsports driver had failed to qualify for this year’s Chase For The Sprint Cup. Two days later, the sanctioning body handed down heavy penalties to Michael Waltrip Racing for its actions in the closing laps of the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Clint Bowyer’s spin with seven laps remaining set the wheels in motion at Richmond, sending the lead-lap cars to pit road where Ryan Newman, the race leader at the time, lost track position due to a slow stop. Bowyer and teammate Brian Vickers, who along with Martin Truex Jr. compete for MWR, both gave up additional positions in the running order during the final laps of the race. 

Those changes in the finishing order helped Truex Jr. secure a Chase berth, until NASCAR penalized the three drivers 50 points apiece for attempting “to manipulate the outcome of the race.” The penalty put Newman (Stewart-Haas Racing) in the Chase, but left Gordon still standing on the outside.

“I’ll admit, as teams we’re all trying to figure out how to get ourselves in the Chase and when the Chase comes, what can we do to help our teammate win the championship?” Gordon said. “So, those things are out there. They happen. The difference is that there are lines that are drawn and to me, that’s where this crossed over the line, but it’s going to happen again so it has to be addressed in a big way.”

Gordon finished eighth at Richmond, two positions shy of qualifying for this year’s 10-race affair. The fallout in the days since hasn’t made his situation any easier. 

“It’s been a roller-coaster week,” he said, “just like the race was as well; we’re in, we’re out. Then seeing all that went on; I didn’t even know when I was interviewed and after the race what people were saying and what was going on there. Then to see it all unfold this week and Twitter blowing up and Facebook and all those things, I’ve got to say the passion of the fans has really, really inspired me.

“I’ve always known I’ve had a lot of great fans out there and supportive fans but I had no idea what level that really went to until I could see the anger and disappointment that I felt also through my fans.”

Reports surfacing Wednesday that NASCAR officials had also taken a look at radio conversations of the No. 22 teams of Penske Racing driver Joey Logano, on of the 12 Chase drivers, and the No. 38 of Front Row Racing’s David Gilliland only added to his disappointment, he said.

“Just when you start to let it go and start to focus and move on to Chicago, then I hear what’s going on with the 22, so it’s been a nutty kind of week, I don’t even really know how to take it.”

NASCAR issued a statement Wednesday acknowledging those reports, but said it “has yet to see anything in full context that requires any action.” The sanctioning body issued another statement on Thursday, saying it "is continuing to gather all the facts from last Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Richmond International Raceway. NASCAR will have no further comment until all the facts have been examined."

The disappointment, Gordon said, is “unlike any I’ve ever felt before, you know? Really, because you feel like as a team we did everything we could do to make it into the Chase and I was so proud of that effort and I just know that prior to that caution coming out my team was like ‘you’re in, you’re in but try to pass the 56 (of Truex Jr.), which was not an easy task, he was racing really, reallyhard for good reason.

“I could’ve been way more aggressive and shoved some guys and probably wrecked some of the guys and I took it as far as I felt like I could take it and still made up a position or two but did not get the ones I felt I needed.

“I was disappointed in that, but when I found out later how they manipulated it, that was anger to a whole other level. It’s hard to describe and it’s disappointing … you realize that people all want to do things for their teammates to help them but you also know there’s certain lines that need to be drawn.”

Officials “got it half right,” he said of the penalties, adding he understood it was a difficult situation from the sanctioning body’s standpoint. There will be consequences for those involved, he said, “but it still doesn’t really address what went on with the 15 (of Bowyer).”

“We all as competitors and some of the media understand it looks pretty obvious of what caused that caution and it’s pretty obvious that the 15 came back down pit road, similar to what the 55 (of Vickers) did but yeah, that penalty didn’t really affect them,” he said. 

“It did affect MWR. It’s a huge penalty to MWR and it’s going to have consequences that go beyond just that penalty in my opinion; it’s going to affect them in the future, so in that sense I feel like the penalty was justified.” 

NASCAR’s Chase begins Sunday with the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Pat DeCola contributed to this report.

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NAPA Auto Parts, 5-hour ENERGY reviewing relationship with MWR

MORE: Full coverage of MWR penalties | Full Chase coverage

CHICAGO – Primary sponsors NAPA Auto Parts and 5-hour ENERGY are evaluating their respective relationships with Michael Waltrip Racing in the wake of penalties levied against the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series organization.

The companies serve as primary sponsors for two of the three Cup teams fielded by MWR. NAPA provides funding for the No. 56 Toyota of driver Martin Truex Jr. while 5-hour ENERGY is the primary sponsor for the No. 15 of Clint Bowyer. 

NASCAR penalized Truex Jr. and Bowyer, along with teammate Brian Vickers, 50 points Monday after it was determined that MWR officials attempted to “manipulate the outcome” of Saturday night’s race.

As a result, Truex Jr., who had initially qualified for the 12-team Chase For The Sprint Cup, fell to 17th in points and was removed from the Chase field. Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Newman will now join the Chase field instead.

MWR was also docked 50 owner points for the respective teams and the three crew chiefs – Brian Pattie, Chad Johnston and Scott Miller – have been placed on probation through Dec. 31. Ty Norris, executive vice president and general manager, has been suspended indefinitely.

In addition, MWR was fined $300,000.

On Wednesday, officials with NAPA posted a message on the company’s Facebook page expressing disappointment at the actions taken by MWR during Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. According to the message, NAPA officials are reviewing the current relationship.

“The actions taken by Michael Waltrip’s Racing team this past weekend leading to the penalties assessed by NASCAR, are very concerning,” the post stated. “We are disappointed that a partner associated with our organization would make such a significant error in judgment. In addition, we have launched our own review to determine the future of our partnership with Michael Waltrip’s Racing team. The NAPA AUTO PARTS organization is proud of its long-standing NASCAR relationship. We share a passion with our customers for high quality racing and seek to determine the best course of action for our customers, NASCAR fans, and the NAPA organization.” 

NAPA has been affiliated with MWR since the organization began fielding Cup teams fulltime in 2007. The company was also team co-owner Michael Waltrip’s primary sponsor when he drove for Dale Earnhardt Inc. It is in the first year of a multi-year extension with Truex Jr. and the No. 56 team.

5-hour ENERGY provided the following information via its Twitter account on Tuesday:

@5hourenergy: We respect NASCAR’s penalties against MWR & are addressing our sponsorship relations internally. We appreciate your understanding & patience.

Officials with Aaron’s, sponsor of the No. 55 car of Vickers, also reached out to fans and customers via its Facebook site, saying the company “appreciates your concern about Richmond’s race and your loyalty to NASCAR.

“We respect the decision NASCAR made … and do not condone any practices that violate NASCAR rules.”

Toyota, which supplies manufacturer support to MWR, has yet to comment publicly on the situation.

NASCAR’s reaction came two days after Bowyer spun to bring out a caution flag late in the race. At that time, Newman was leading, and appeared en route to clinching the final Chase Wild Card position.

A green-flag pit stop by Vickers, for no apparent reason, and subsequent actions by Bowyer, were called into question following the event.

NASCAR President Mike Helton said there was no conclusive evident that the Bowyer spin “was intentional.”

The most clear evidence, Helton said, was the direction that the 55 driver was given and the confusion around it, and then the conversation following that occurrence.

“That’s the most clear piece of what we found through looking at all of the detail that led us to make the conclusion,” he said.

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Country music star discusses his career, interest in NASCAR

Luke Bryan can lay claim to having the No. 1 country record with “That’s My Kind Of Night,” and his album, “Crash My Party” recently debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Earlier this year, the No. 2 Penske Racing Ford of driver Brad Keselowski featured a paint scheme promoting the debut of Bryan’s fourth studio album. Bryan discussed NASCAR and country music in a recent chat.

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Were you a race fan growing up? A Bill Elliott fan perhaps? Or just a car guy in general?
 
Obviously there was Awesome Bill from Dawsonville. My dad was a huge Cale Yarborough fan. We’ve always kept our eye on racing. Growing up in the south that’s the way it was. I’m a big Chevy truck guy. But I’ve got two classic Ford Broncos from the early ‘70s that I pull out on the road with me.
 
What made you choose country music instead of, say, rock?
 
I just started playing in bars, singing, it just always was something that, when it came down to it, I truly loved it. I loved being on stage in front of fans. It never seemed like there was ever anything else for me to do. Certainly not rock. I would havebeen working in my dad’s peanut mill or fertilizer company well before I would have played rock music. I’m a big classic rock fan, but rock and roll just wasn’t my path.
 
Is there a favorite song you’ve written? Or a song you wish you had?
 
I don’t know. I love doing “Country Girl Shake It For Me” every night. It’s still fun. But I’ve got a lot of songs through the years that I’ve certainly enjoyed having had out. I’ve got some songs that I’ve never recorded and never been recorded that are some of my favorite songs. As far as one I wish I’d written, it might be "What I’d Say" by Earl Thomas Conley. That was probably my favorite country song of all time.
 
Have you seen the face of the country music fan change as your career has evolved?
 
The fans change. I have a really, really broad fan base, very young fans and very old fans. I think everything – NASCAR is always evolving, country music is always evolving. All forms of something is changing and evolving. I’m not one of these people that sit back and say ‘Those were the good old days’ or ‘Things aren’t like they used to be.’ It’s just the natural progression. I just try to live in the moment and enjoy what’s happening around me right now.
 
Do you remember your first ‘public’ performance?
 
Oh gosh. I was playing in a garage in Leesburg, Ga., and got paid $50. I can’t even remember what I sang. I was singing through a karaoke machine.

What’s it like to have your face on a race car?
 
It’s pretty amazing. I don’t think that’s something you could ever imagine as a kid growing up in Georgia. It was pretty surreal to look at your face on a Miller Lite car. To have the Miller Lite sponsorship that I’ve had for years … I grew up close to Albany, Ga., which has a Miller brewery. So we grew up drinking Miller Lite; the fact that it all came together is pretty crazy.

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Waltrip discusses penalties against racing team

MORE: Full Chase coverage | Newman in, Truex out of Chase | Official NASCAR statement

Michael Waltrip said Tuesday he was not the mastermind of a conspiracy plan to manipulate Saturday night’s race at Richmond International Raceway and get his driver Martin Truex Jr. into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“We didn’t go into that race with a plan of helping Martin get into the Chase,” the team owner said in an interview with the television network FOX Sports 1. “Now, we certainly as things developed understood where we stood, and we knew that we needed that point. But we didn’t have this complex plan about how we were going to manipulate the race to get Martin in.”

NASCAR, though, saw enough to levy perhaps the most severe penalty in its history, one that as a result removed Truex from the Chase and put Ryan Newman in. Truex had claimed the second and final Wild Card berth in a tiebreaker with Newman on Saturday night, but on Monday NASCAR ruled that Michael Waltrip Racing had manipulated the outcome of the regular-season finale to help him do it.

In response, the sanctioning body docked 50 points each from MWR drivers Brian Vickers, Clint Bowyer, and Truex — but taking them from the standings before the Chase was seeded, a move that knocked Truex out of the playoff in favor of Newman. The team was fined $300,000, and Ty Norris, MWR’s executive vice president and Vickers’ spotter, was suspended indefinitely. The team’s three crew chiefs were also all placed on probation through the end of the year.

The point deductions do not seriously impact Vickers, a part-time driver this season in the No. 55 car, or Bowyer, who clinched his Chase berth three weeks earlier and remains the eighth seed in the playoff. But it was a suspicious spin by Bowyer that brought out the event’s final caution with seven laps remaining, and a surprise pit stop by Vickers on the ensuing restart that helped Truex gain the points needed to overtake Newman.

In an interview earlier Tuesday on ESPN, Bowyer denied looping his No. 15 car intentionally — although the driver running right behind him at the time, Dale Earnhardt Jr., contended over the radio that he had done just that, and the spin came after radio communication informing Bowyer that Newman was about on his way to winning the race, which would have clinched a Wild Card berth for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver.

“I stand behind my driver,” said Waltrip, who is also an employee of FOX television. “NASCAR looked at the situation, they didn’t think (Bowyer) spun on purpose. So I have reason to believe that’s the case.”

After the penalties were levied Monday night, NASCAR President Mike Helton said the sanctioning body had found no indication that Bowyer’s spin was intentional. The most damning piece of evidence in NASCAR’s eyes, he added, was the radio communication in the final laps between Norris and Vickers — in which the driver of the No. 55 car seemed surprised at a sudden and unforeseen instruction to pit.

“It was impossible to defend, because we did it,” Waltrip said. “But the caution was out, and Ty was looking at the numbers, and it was like, ‘Pit, pit, we need that position.’

“We pitted. If I had been standing beside Ty at that moment, I don’t know that I would have done it any differently. I’m afraid I wouldn’t of. Because we’ve seen people give up positions all the time in this sport to give a teammate a point. It happens. We’ve seen the leader pull over so another guy can lead. I would have screwed that one up too … and we’d have been in the same situation. It never, I don’t think, directly affected such an important event. So therefore, I get it. I understand.”

But entering Richmond with the intention of using two of his drivers to help a third get into the Chase? In his eyes, that’s something else entirely.

“We’re not immoral. We’re not irresponsible,” Waltrip said. “Decisions were made just based on circumstances. And as we look back obviously we would have been smarter and done things differently had we had that option.”

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Newman says it was tough to have his Chase fate decided at the expense of friends

MORE: Full Chase coverage | Full coverage of MWR penalties

As disappointing as the notion of not making NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup was, Ryan Newman said Tuesday the real tough part was having his fate decided at the expense of friends. And vice versa.

When the checkered flag fell at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night it looked like Newman would miss out qualifying for the 12-driver, 10-race Chase playoff run, losing out on a gut-wrenching tiebreaker with his friend Martin Truex Jr.

And that was largely because another of Newman’s friends, his hunting buddy and Truex’ teammate Clint Bowyer, controversially brought out a yellow flag with seven laps left in a must-win race for Newman, who was leading at the time.

“Those are the two guys I race with and quite honestly were friends with and still are friends with,’’ Newman said in a telephone interview with NASCAR.com Tuesday.

“And that’s the part of it to me, what was an extra hit: the friendship side. I don’t have many friends in our sport and to have that flag raised and questioned was difficult, no doubt.’’

And it didn’t get much easier.

On Monday night, NASCAR punished the three-car MWR team for “manipulating” the race outcome and issued a points penalty that resulted in putting Newman in the Chase and Truex out.

“It’s bittersweet for me just because of the Martin [Truex] situation,’’ Newman said. “I honestly believe he didn’t know anything that was going on with management in that organization and that makes it difficult.

“But in the end I still have the responsibility for myself and my team and that’s what I’m going with.’’

Newman was appreciative that Bowyer reached out Monday night to apologize shortly after NASCAR announced the outcome of its review of the situation. The two are going on a long-arranged hunting trip together in two weeks.

“I was really glad that Clint called me,’’ Newman said. “That was very professional and a true way of “man”-ing up. Martin and I also communicated. Outside of that I don’t need to have any communication with any other people [on the MWR team].

“Martin and I texted back and forth and we ended it with, ‘go get ‘em’. ”

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone that’s endured a steeper roller coaster ride than Newman in the past 11 weeks.

In July, he found out he would not have his contract extended beyond the season at Stewart-Haas Racing after a five-year run with the team. Two weeks later, Newman won one of NASCAR’s most prestigious races, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – from the pole no less.

Two weeks ago, Newman was surprised to find out through the media that Stewart-Haas was indeed going to field an extra car after all: for driver Kurt Busch. Then this week, Newman announced he had been hired by the championship Richard Childress Racing team for next year.

In the middle of all that was Saturday night’s final regular season race at Richmond.

It looked like Newman would race his way into the Chase, then fell out of the Chase and now he’s back in and expected to contend for a championship — all within a 48-hour time frame.

“It’s been a wild ride,’’ Newman said with a slight laugh. “And that’s what I texted [crew chief] Matt [Borland] on Saturday night. I told him, ‘Thank you for all your work but we’re not done yet.’

“And that was before we knew anything else was going to happen.’’

And so now Newman and his No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevy team must shift focus, putting all of the last 72 hours behind them to concentrate on making a true “go” for the trophy, beginning with the Chase opener at Chicago on Sunday.

He is SHR’s lone shot at a championship in the team’s fifth consecutive Chase run.

“I talked to Matt [Borland] for the better part of 45 minutes last night and just touched on some ideas of how we need to approach these last 10 races as a team from my perspective, and what our strengths and weaknesses are,’’ Newman said. “I think we have true potential if you look at our performance and the 78 (Busch) and the 22 (Joey Logano) and the other guys we’re racing for those positions. We really turned it up whether on purpose or on accident those last two races. And I think that’s got to at least wear on some other guys mind that were already locked in.

“In the end, it’s been an emotional roller coaster. .. we went from bottom of bottoms to one of the peaks of the season.

“But we still have more of the ride left.’’

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Driver discusses historic Michael Waltrip Racing penalties, his future

More: Full Chase coverage | Crew chief says itching comment was about poison oak rash

In an interview on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” Tuesday afternoon, Clint Bowyer apologized to fans who were upset with his role in Saturday night’s controversial finish at Richmond International Raceway, but the Michael Waltrip Racing driver insisted his team has “owned up” and that he is ready to move forward.

Asked directly if he intentionally spun late in the race, Bowyer said “No. … It all happens so fast, I didn’t even know if (teammate Martin) Truex was even in or out at that point.’’

He continued, “Let’s not dig too much in to this. I’ve dealt with that. There’s a lot of opinions on what happened to me. I gave my interview after the race as to what happened. We’ve been given the biggest penalty in NASCAR history. We will get through this as a race team. There’s a lot of racing left.

“Somehow through all this, I’ve got to get my focus back to the Chase and business as usual. I have a lot of fans that have been with me and I appreciate that. To those that don’t agree or are upset, I apologize.”

Bowyer explained, “I went from leading the race to in the middle of a disaster. I’m extremely disappointed in the way the race was. I could have easily been in Victory Lane; it was a bad deal all the way around. Again, we’ve been penalized and we stand by our actions and have owned up to them.’’

It was the first live interview for Bowyer, whose Michael Waltrip Racing team was issued a historic fine — $300,000 – as well as multiple point penalties, probationary status of its three crew chiefs and an indefinite suspension for one team official from NASCAR for attempting to “manipulate the outcome of the race” — and, in effect, attempting to manipulate the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field.

Bowyer was in the middle of the controversy as he had a solo spin with seven laps remaining. In-car audio revealed his crew chief telling him to “itch” his arm. Ryan Newman, who needed a victory to guarantee a spot for the Chase, was leading at the time, and Bowyer’s spin brought out a caution flag that shuffled the field.

The MWR team revealed Tuesday that Bowyer is suffering from poison oak, hence the “itch” comment. And Bowyer has consistently and adamantly denied spinning on purpose.

Bowyer also confirmed calling Newman late Monday night to apologize.

“I felt horrible that spinning on the race track actually caused him to end up lose the race and ultimately miss the Chase,’’ Bowyer said, noting he typically calls other drivers post-race to work through any on-track situation between them. “I felt bad for him. He’s a good friend, we’re going hunting in a couple weeks. I wanted to make sure that we were fine. I’m happy he’s in the Chase. As far as I’m concerned, that phone call needed to be made.

“There’s only one instance I haven’t made that phone call and that was with what happened last year,’’ Bowyer said referring to an accident between he and Jeff Gordon at Phoenix in November 2012 that resulted in a physical altercation between the drivers’ crews in the midst of the race.

Newman told ESPN on Monday night he was “shocked” when he got the call from Bowyer, but appreciated the gesture and effort.

“He called me 10 minutes after I got the phone call from NASCAR and apologized, told me he was sick to his stomach the past two days,’’ Newman recounted. “He was frustrated in his situation. He had a car that could win the race and when the caution came out he went a lap down and lost his chance to win the race and he was frustrated. We make poor decisions when we’re frustrated.

“I commend him for calling me as a competitor or a friend, someone I never thought would make that decision, but did. In the end, we’ll all go on.’’

NASCAR ruled Monday it didn’t have enough evidence to conclude Bowyer did spin on purpose. But the MWR team was also penalized in part for a questionable late-race pit stop by Brian Vickers that affected the race results, allowing Joey Logano to move up positions on track and claim a top-10 spot in the standings, which initially put MWR driver Martin Truex Jr. into the field as a Wild Card.

There was in-car audio of Vickers’ spotter, Michael Waltrip Racing President Ty Norris, directing Vickers to pit, a move the audio reveals even Vickers questioned from the cockpit.

NASCAR penalized all three MWR drivers 50 points in the standings — before the Chase field was set — which put Newman into the Chase and knocked Truex out.

During an awkward — even contentious — exchange between Bowyer and former NASCAR driver Ricky Craven — now an ESPN NASCAR analyst — Bowyer was asked if the controversy might put a dim light on the his credibility or force him to regain fan support.

“Of course,’’ Bowyer said. “I’m a fan of the sport, I love the fans, the passion the fans have for the sport.

“It’s a bad situation,’’ he continued. “There’s only one thing I can promise you. Chicago is going to happen this weekend and I’m going to be ready. I’m a big boy. I’ll put my helmet on this weekend and go to work.”

“I’ve got to just continue doing what I’ve always done. … Through all this, I have to do my job. I don’t want this to be the story of the Chase.

“I will earn their fan base back hopefully. I started with nothing, a dirt track racer coming up through the ranks with nothing and I’m not afraid to do it again.’’

On a later episode of Tuesday afternoon’s “SportsCenter,” Bowyer conceded it’s been a rough few days personally.

“It’s a tough situation and it is hard on me,’’ Bowyer said. “I love this sport, I love the people involved, I love my teammates. … I hate to see MWR look bad in this situation.

“The biggest thing is you learn from everything. There’s a lot of moving pieces and somehow we’ve got to pick up all the pieces from this and go on in the Chase.’’

Bowyer’s appearance on ESPN was part of a massive national NASCAR media tour featuring the 12 drivers who will begin competing in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup this weekend in Chicago.

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Crew chief says radio comments about itching weren’t a code

MORE: Full coverage of MWR penalties | Full Chase coverage | Bowyer apologizes to fans

Blame it on poison oak.

Brian Pattie, crew chief for Michael Waltrip Racing driver Clint Bowyer, said the “itching” comments made over team radio prior to his driver’s suspicious spin Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway weren’t some kind of code — they were in reference to a poison oak rash Bowyer had contracted.

MWR confirmed Tuesday that Bowyer was suffering from poison oak over the weekend, and that he had received a steroid shot in the infield care center to help with the discomfort.

Before Bowyer spun with seven laps remaining Saturday night, Pattie asked over the radio if his arm was starting to hurt. “I bet it’s getting hot in there. Itch it,” the crew chief said. Half a lap later the No. 15 looped around seemingly on its own, igniting a series of events that ended with MWR teammate Martin Truex Jr. securing the final berth to the Chase for the Sprint Cup over Ryan Newman, who was on his way to winning the race and locking up a playoff berth before the final caution flag flew.

NASCAR on Monday charged MWR with manipulating the outcome of the event and hit the organization with perhaps the most severe penalty in the sport’s history, which included 50-point deductions to drivers Bowyer, Truex and Brian Vickers implemented before the standings were reseeded for the Chase. As a result, Truex was knocked out of the playoff and Newman was in.

Bowyer has denied spinning his car on purpose to help Truex. Tuesday, Pattie told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that his comments to Bowyer about itching were part of the usual joking around the two do over the radio during the course of a race.

 “If anyone listens to our radio week in and week out they know that Clint and I [joke around] quite a bit throughout events. Three and four hours at a time, it kind of gets boring sometimes and we were talking about headworms at Atlanta, we were talking about all kinds of stuff throughout the year,” Pattie said.

“My man has poison oak all over his arms, and you ask him about how his arms feeling all of a sudden it’s a controversy. It is what it is. It’s all good. I guess we’ll stop playing around on the radio and be a little more serious, I guess, if that’s what the fans want and we’ll move on. But it’s definitely not what Clint and I anticipated, but we’ll get serious for the next 10 weeks.”

The 50-point pre-Chase deduction did not impact Bowyer, who still enters the playoff as the eighth seed, 15 points behind leader Matt Kenseth. The Chase begins Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.

“We’ve been planning for this time and this moment to run for a championship,” Pattie said. “… The whole team here at Michael Waltrip Racing is standing behind us, and we’re going to get after it.”

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Penalties to Michael Waltrip Racing still leave Gordon out of Chase

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Jeff Gordon, one of a handful of drivers impacted by Saturday night’s bizarre ending to the Federated Auto Parts 400, doesn’t appear to be entirely satisfied with NASCAR’s ruling and explanation of penalties announced by the sanctioning body Monday evening.

Gordon’s team didn’t run afoul of the law, but his team was one affected by what took place in the final laps of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event.

There is no recourse for the four-time Cup Series champion and winner of 87 races. His No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team will not be among the 12 contending for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup when the series heads to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend.

A day after the Richmond race, Gordon took to his Twitter account (@JeffGordonWeb), again stating his own disappointment while adding that in light of the questionable actions that had since surfaced, he felt worse for fellow driver Ryan Newman, who also had fallen short of qualifying for the Chase.

Following NASCAR’s announcement that it had penalized Michael Waltrip Racing and its three Sprint Cup teams for attempting “to manipulate the outcome of the race,” Gordon took to Twitter once more, stating “Feel bad for Truex. He got in under controversy now out due to it. But the guy who started all of this not effected at all??? Don’t agree!”

Gordon appeared to be referring to MWR drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer, two of the three drivers docked 50 points each. It was Bowyer’s spin with seven laps remaining that changed the outlook of the race and the lineup for the Chase. Truex Jr., initially benefiting from the late caution, fell out of the field with the points penalty. Newman is now the 12th driver to qualify.

The loss of points did not alter Bowyer’s position heading into the Chase. He is seeded eighth in the 12-team field, and his point total remains 2,000.

Having battled back from a mid-race loose wheel that left him two laps down at Richmond International Raceway, Gordon appeared en route to clinching a spot in the Chase with a finish that would have placed him 10th in points.

But Bowyer’s spin, coupled with questionable pit road moves on the part of teammate Brian Vickers, altered the outcome and led to the NASCAR sanctions, which also included 50-point owner points penalties, a $300,000 fine for the organization and probation for MWR’s three Cup crew chiefs.

Gordon will enter this weekend’s Geico 400 13th in points with no opportunity to advance.

“Take me out of this completely,” Gordon tweeted of the post-Saturday night shenanigans. “At this point all that matters to me is if @NASCAR decides to fix this then fix it completely!”

It’s clear Gordon was aware of NASCAR’s explanation of how officials arrived at the penalties, but in closing he seemed to indicate he wasn’t buying the end result.

“Phone bat going to die. Prob a good thing b4 I say something that gets me in trouble. Lastly, someone explain the ‘ripple effect’ to me?” he tweeted, a reference to NASCAR President Mike Helton’s explanation of why Gordon was not affected by the penalty decision.

“The way we go about these is we look at the incident and only the incident because we know from experience that if you try to look at the ripple effect of an incident, you can’t cover all those bases,” Helton said. “You can’t ever come up with a conclusion that is equitable and credible across the board.

“So we simply look at the incident and react to the incident, and whatever our reaction may create, that has a ripple effect to it, as well.

“But our focus is around the incident and what we were going to do to react around it, not the ripple effect of the incident or the ripple effect of our reaction.“

Gordon will participate in Wednesday’s inaugural Charlotte Kick-It kickball tournament, slated for CMC-NorthEast Stadium, home of minor league baseball team the Kannapolis Intimidators. The event is a fundraising opportunity for the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation.

Gordon is expected to meet with members of the media prior to the start of the program.

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Posted on by Nascar

Injured driver keeps busy even though his season is over

Tony Stewart wasn’t dressed in his typical post-race attire. Instead, a black dress shirt and shorts replaced the fire suit to which he was accustomed.
 
The black boot, carefully keeping his surgically repaired right leg stable, was the giveaway, a silent acknowledgement to the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion’s current status.
 
Paused on pit road, seated in a black motorized kart adorned with sponsor decals, Stewart seemed a bit weary, but otherwise happy to be back at the race track.

“I spent the first two and a half weeks laying on my back,” Stewart said moments after speaking quietly with teammate Ryan Newman, “so this has been a long week.”
 
Stewart, 42, suffered a broken tibia and fibula in a sprint car crash Aug. 5 at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa. He is not scheduled to resume competing in the Sprint Cup Series until the 2014 season. In his absence, veteran Mark Martin has taken over the driving duties of the team’s No. 14 Chevrolet, after one-race stints by Max Papis at Watkins Glen and Austin Dillon at Michigan. Dillon will also drive the No. 14 car at Talladega.

Hospitalized for one week, Stewart underwent two surgeries to repair his right leg. He began making public appearances before this past weekend’s race, beginning with a Sept. 3 press conference at the Stewart-Haas Racing headquarters in Kannapolis, N.C.
 
Sponsor gatherings followed prior to the trek to Richmond International Raceway, his first trip to a race track since being wheeled out in the back of an ambulance five weeks earlier.
 
“Two appearances and some other stuff going on,” he said, “including the (press conference) on Tuesday.
 
“It’s been five straight days of being busy … something that hasn’t happened for a month. So it’s taken some getting used to.”
 
Stewart-Haas Racing has put at least one driver in the 10-race playoff since Stewart became a co-owner in 2009.
 
Newman, who initially failed to earn one of the two Wild Card spots available in the Chase, got a reprieve late Monday night when NASCAR officials docked all three Michael Waltrip Racing teams 50 driver points for attempting to “manipulate the outcome of the race.”
 
It will be Newman’s fifth Chase appearance.
 
In 2011, Stewart won his third Cup title, and the first for SHR.
 
His injury, however, took him out of this year’s postseason picture, and Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Danica Patrick has managed only one top-10 finish in this year’s 26 races.

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Posted on by Staff Report

Track focused on 2014 events

NEWTON, Iowa – Iowa Speedway officials announced today that track CEO Doug Fritz tendered his resignation in August to pursue another opportunity on the east coast, which was effective on Monday.

“We wish Doug the very best in his new venture, and thank him for all of his efforts on behalf of our racetrack,” said Conrad Clement, Chairman of the Board and principal owner of Iowa Speedway. “Stan Clement will continue in his role as President of the track, and will consolidate the duties of CEO as well.”
 
“Right now, our senior staff is focused on assembling a very attractive schedule for our 2014 racing season,” Clement noted.  “We are discussing specific race dates with all of the sanctioning bodies, and plan to have a final schedule approved within the next two weeks. Season Ticket packages will be available for sale shortly after approval of the 2014 schedule.”
 
“Thanks to the great fan support we have enjoyed over the last seven years, Iowa Speedway has a very bright future ahead,” Clement said. “We have many facility improvements and fan amenities on the books for next season, and we are looking forward to another outstanding year in 2014.”

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