Posted on by Nascar

Drivers appear to have put incident behind them but it’s still on the minds of many

AVONDALE, Ariz. –- Clint Bowyer said he had “plenty of good ones,” when asked about his favorite memories of racing at Phoenix International Raceway.

“Only one bad one,” the Michael Waltrip Racing driver said behind a look that was part grin, part grimace. “I’ll take it. I’ve had a lot of good memories; one was really bad.”

A glimpse of the “one bad one” can be seen in television spots promoting this weekend’s Subway Fresh Fit 500, the second stop of the 2013 season for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series.

 Kevin Harvick was the race winner the last time Cup teams competed at the 1-mile PIR facility. But Harvick’s victory, which took place last November, likely isn’t what most fans recall. Instead, it is a late-race altercation between Bowyer and Jeff Gordon, their on-track incidents escalating into a monumental shoving match in the garage between crewmen from the two teams.

"I can’t run every lap worrying about every guy I’ve ever had an incident with."

— Jeff Gordon

Video of the incident, and Bowyer running down pit road, into the garage and up on the back of Gordon’s transporter, has been shown plenty of times since the incident took place, and portions of it are included in the television spots for this weekend’s race.

Gordon, whose retaliatory move sent Bowyer into the wall with little more than one lap remaining, was fined $100,000, docked 25 driver points and placed on probation following the incident. Team owner Rick Hendrick lost 25 owner points and crew chief Alan Gustafson was placed on probation.

Brian Pattie, Bowyer’s crew chief, was fined $25,000 and placed on probation.

The crash slammed the door on any hopes Bowyer had of contending for the Sprint Cup title –- he trailed the points leader by 36 entering the event, and 52 once the dust had settled and just one race remained. 

“I think we all know what (Clint) means,” Waltrip joked as he and his driver took part in a March 1 press conference with sponsor Peak motor oil. “You want to see enthusiasm and passion; there’s a great video of Clint running somewhere (that) shows you how into this thing he is.” 

Bowyer will start 13th in Sunday’s race; Gordon will line up a bit closer to the front, his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet checking in with the fifth-fastest time on Friday.

“It’s hard to get away from it,” Gordon said of the incident. “They’re still using it to advertise for the race and it was a big story.“

With teams attempting to dial in the new Generation-6 car for this weekend’s race, Gordon said he and his team had enough on its plate to work through without worrying about past situations. 

“We’re just focused on getting the most out of the car and having a good, solid, and fast race car and a good weekend,” he said.

Still, Gordon is cognizant of the situation and realizes there is interest from the outside. He won’t, he said, race Bowyer any differently should the two cross paths on the track here this weekend.

“We’ll race hard. We’ll race hard for position and hopefully we don’t have any incidents,” the four-time Cup champion explained. “I can’t run every lap worrying about every guy I’ve ever had an incident with.”

Waltrip, co-owner of the three-team organization, made 24 starts at Phoenix as a driver. Yet he agreed with his driver when asked about his least favorite recollections of PIR — last fall’s incident was tops in his book as well.

“Because while (Clint) was running and everybody was running, I was standing there thinking, ‘what the hell am I supposed to do?’ And I never have figured it out,” Waltrip said.

“But we didn’t have a policy in place for that type of occurrence (at that time) and now we do, so we’re smarter. 

“So I know what I’m supposed to do now: chase Clint.”

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Posted on by Staff Report

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For Jimmie Johnson, winning the Daytona 500 was a piece of cake — compared with the four days that followed. (Photo: Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS ©2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc.)

GLENDALE, Ariz. — For Jimmie Johnson, winning the Daytona 500 was a piece of cake — compared with the four days that followed.

From green flag to checkered flag last Sunday, Johnson spent three hours, eight minutes and 23 seconds behind the wheel of his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS.

Johnson spent the next 96-plus hours criss-crossing the United States, visiting eight different states and flying over perhaps a dozen more. The non-stop tour that started with the traditional Champion’s Breakfast at Daytona International Speedway included an appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman" and ended with a visit to the Phoenix Coyotes-Minnesota Wild National Hockey League game in Glendale, Ariz.

"Our sport is hopefully transitioning into mainstream."

— Jimmie Johnson

The term "media blitz" doesn’t adequately describe the grueling schedule that took Johnson completely out of his normal routine. From Daytona he flew to North Carolina and from there to Connecticut for appearances on ESPN.

The New York stint came Tuesday, with his day divided into 10-to-15 minute segments with an array of media outlets,. That night, after the Letterman taping, Johnson flew to Dallas for a series of media hits at Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday afternoon, Johnson flew to Los Angeles for more media appearances and a trip to Auto Club Speedway before leaving for Las Vegas and sales meeting for sponsor Lowe’s that night.

Then it was back to L.A. for more media before flying to Phoenix for the hockey game on Thursday night. After dropping the ceremonial puck before the game, Johnson took questions from a crush of TV reporters in one of the sky boxes.

You can forgive Johnson for being a little frayed around the edges by the time the last interview at the hockey game was over.

"I’m so freaking tired," Johnson told the NASCAR Wire Service on the way out of Jobing.com Arena on Thursday night. "Last night we had our national sales meeting with Lowe’s so we had 3,000 store managers in a huge, huge venue in Las Vegas.

 

Johnson is a creature of habit. Typically, his days are regimented, with time allocated for a rigorous workout regimen and consultation with crew chief Chad Knaus. The Champion’s Tour, however, obliterated his normal schedule.

Understandably, he felt a bit behind the curve heading to Phoenix International Raceway on Friday morning.

"I haven’t had a chance to train, do my team debrief, get prepped or our team prepped for this race," Johnson said. "Chad’s cut me some slack, clearly, for obvious reasons, but it’s weird to be completely out of your routine. I’m a routine guy."

Naturally enough, Johnson wouldn’t trade places with the 42 other drivers who didn’t win the Daytona 500, and he was gratified to sense the buzz that attached to his victory and to NASCAR racing in general. 

"It was awesome," he said. "To be a part of all of it … honestly, through the championships that I’ve won and the ’06 500, there was always great excitement and buzz surrounding our sport attending these events. 

"But there was a buzz that I haven’t seen before. I’m excited for our sport right now. There are a lot of great things going on. TMZ chased me down twice. Our sport is hopefully transitioning into mainstream, and the whole TMZ factor says that to me more than anything." 

And how much of the buzz is attributable to the arrival of Danica Patrick as a full-time Sprint Cup driver?

"I don’t know how much, but yes, absolutely (she is a factor)," Johnson said. "I think the Gen-6 car and the positive thoughts of the drivers, the owners, the manufacturers—there’s a lot of momentum. 

"We were seeing some good momentum through the end of last year with the ad buys increasing on TV and all that. I don’t know what’s solely responsible for it, but I like it. It’s a great shot in the arm for our sport."

Even though Chad Knaus was part of an official announcement at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Johnson was so wrapped up in his media activities that he hadn’t heard about changes to the format of the Sprint All-Star Race in May. Johnson is the defending champion of that event, too.

"I saw there was an extra million bucks (for winning all five segments)," he said.  "They’re going to make me think to figure this out. Hopefully, I win."
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