Race Weekend Central

Kickin’ the Tires: Accidents Happen, Maybe

There are obviously several different ways for the Joey Logano – Matt Kenseth debacle to play out, but I can’t blame Kenseth for doing what he did, even if it was wrong – perhaps justifiable but wrong… unless the splitter really was dragging and he couldn’t steer going into turn 1.

If that is the case, then darn the bad luck.

Obviously, after last’s week race at Talladega Superspeedway anything is believable. I predicted this type of thing was going to happen at the end of my previous column. Logano had one coming but I never expected to see it go down the way it did.

And then, of course, we have to go back to the possibility that Kenseth wrecking Logano was all a coincidence. Besides, isn’t this what NASCAR wanted? If I recall correctly, Brian France defended Logano dumping Kenseth when this whole fiasco started back in Kansas.

Well, it didn’t end there, because last week, Logano brake-checked Kenseth heading to pit road to exacerbate the issue. This week, Logano and Brad Keselowski were running a game on the field – and in my opinion manipulating the outcome of the race – by making a deal over the radio for Keselowski to back off and let Logano get in front of him on the restarts.

Is that cheating?

In retrospect, this is what caused Keselowski to wipe out Kurt Busch and Kenseth in the first place. Had the Nos. 2 and 22 not been scamming the system, Kenseth wouldn’t have been wrecked. If Kenseth wouldn’t have been wrecked, he would have gone for the win and there wouldn’t have pile-driven Logano’s car into the safer barrier. Instead, for the second time in four weeks a Penske Racing driver destroyed Kenseth’s chances at a win and he was probably angry about it.

So, the blame falls on Keselowski and Logano for creating this monster. And rather than chop off the infected appendage, NASCAR celebrated it. The first bite occurred at Kansas and over the next week, at Talladega, the infection set-in. After Keselowski ruined Kenseth’s shot at the win by manipulating the restarts a full-blown zombie apocalypse had set in.

To say this incident was anything different than what happened previously is hypocritical. However, this needs to be the end of it. This sport doesn’t need to make national headlines because its drivers are taking each other out and manipulating the outcome of the championship. Instead, it needs to make headlines for the storybook ending that resulted in Jeff Gordon punching his ticket to the final round of #TheChase at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

About the author

Jerry Jordan, is a two-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) award-winning writer covering the world of NASCAR. He is the founder, editor and radio host of Kickin' the Tires, which is a motorsports media outlet focusing primarily on NASCAR.
The goal is to bring visitors a behind-the-scenes look at what's happening in the sport of NASCAR through the printed word, in pictures and with audio from the who's who of NASCAR.
Each week, Jordan's award-winning Kickin' the Tires syndicated column is featured first at Frontstretch.com, and then published in print publications covering Southeast Texas and on the Kickin' the Tires Web site.

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kb

You must write this drivel to create clicks or stir up a hornets nest because your life sucks?

Tommy T.

Yet, you have contributed at least 9 different posts on this article – ironic.

kb

MATT KESNETH MANIPULATED THE OUTCOME OF A RACE! DOES NASCAR HAVE THE BALLS? THEY WENT FULL BORE ON MWR, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Ross

So did penske on each of the restarts. So did Harvick last week. So did Danica. Nascar allows this to happen. Look back on just this year, I’m sure you can find 20-30 different in tension able wrecks. None got fined. This is no different.

kb

I see a lapper taking out the leader who more than likely was going to win the race…doesn’t matter about the other stuff. Ethics and obvious blatant screwover for personal gain, because somebody has been living rent free in his head. That was the ultimate manipulation, look who won and is now in the final 4. A miracle, a miracle, a miracle and a complete and utter farce.

Ross

I hope you were saying last week Harvick should have been banned for causing the big one for personable gain. It shouldn’t matter if they are battling for the win or a car is 10 laps down. Or for that matter if the battle is for 30th place. If you wreck someone on purpose the penalty should be the same. The 2 car should have been black flagged for not going 100% on restarts. Harvick should be out of the chase for his wreck at telledaga. This wreck is no different. If the 20 gets fined I hope he does it again in Texas to prove a point.

kb

I make no judgment last week regarding harvick, I am not convinced it was intentional.

jim

Where’s NASCAR’s blame ….they created this BS
Playoff and the same cars race each week

Bill B

Yep. That is why this format is so stupid. It is impossible to police and lends itself even more to manipulation, shenanigans and straight out tampering. Even under the old chase format this wouldn’t have happened as frequently because there was no official elimination. Kenseth and Harvick would still have a chance at the championship and therefore common sense and self preservation would have prevailed. This bracket system is arbitrary and has a high probability of resulting in not rewarding the driver that deserves the championship based on their season. NASCAR gets what they deserve, a mess and more doubt cast on whether it is a sport or reality television show.

Carl D.

It doesn’t matter how impossible the format is to police or even whether Nascar is a reality televion show or a legitimate sport. All that matters to Nascar is that we’re talking about it on Monday. Cha-Ching!

That said, there’s a world of difference in what Joey Logano did at Kansas and what Matt Kenseth did at Martinsville. Anyone who can’t see that is blind or hasn’t been following racing more for than a week. I truly think Kenseth should be parked for a couple of races. They did it to Kyle Busch when he intentionally wrecked Ron Hornaday in the CWTS a few years back… the precedent has been set, not that Nascar gives a rat’s ass about consistency when enforcing the rules.

Richard

Thanks Jerry for speaking the truth. What happened to The France 100 percent rule. Don’t tell me he wasn’t holding back to allow Joey in. This is not the first time the Penske cars played games because they did the same at Bristol. And Joey is famous for break checking the field on the restart, he did it at Talledega and several times at Martinsville. Nascar loves these Penske drivers so they get away with everything, don’t believe me go back and listen to the cheers when Joey got wrecked. Good job Matt

kb

So you are o.k. with a lap car taking out a leader…Matt needs a mental eveal. Penske is always the bad guy to some, it is comical what others tolerate.

kevin

My desire to buy a Ford pickup in the near future may have just changed due to your pea sized brain calling it a conspiracy against Fords.
You are prob one of those 9/11 “truthers” too.
Your Fords are being driven by drivers with no respect for the other 41. They are on an island of their own and the crowd at Martinsville made it clear where they stood.
Bravo, Matt

kb

Oh Kevin, wow…I don’t know what to say. I feel like I am living rent free in your head…lol. And the influence I have..well…I feel it is a little stalkerish…Just saying.

kb

…and the team that stepped up with a big check and a warning to Nascar, the Toys.

Ken

Penske is always made out to be the bad guy and Team Evil. Especially by media clowns like Jerry Jordan and Babblin’ Bob Pockrasshole! After all, the teams out of Saint Gibbs Racing never do anything wrong, as they are so perfect!

kb

Well most folks don’t want to admit anything a Ford driver does in the slightest is made to be news. I said it for years and will continue to say it. The media is Chevy bias and the 2 car team is made to be the villain. I get shit for it, but I believe it to be true.

Ken

kb, you and me both!

DoninAjax

How’s your application to be another one of Brian’s toadies going, Jerry? We used to call guys like you brown nosers. Smell that sweet air!

russ

I was actually surprised that this article was pretty evenhanded. But maybe thats part of the problem. Nascar has let this genie out of the bottle and its going to be darn hard to get him back in again. But while there is a segment of the fan base that applauds this sort of stuff another group doesn’t. So which way is it going to be Nascar?

Bill B

Come on man. Open your eyes, use your powers of reasoning and deduction, and make a call.
Logano purposely spun/moved Kenseth out of the way at Kansas (albeit for the win which has been deemed acceptable through the years).
Harvick definitely blatantly wrecked half the field at Talladega for his own selfish purposes.
Kenseth definitely blatantly wrecked Logano yesterday as payback.

Stop playing dumb and making excuses. What should be done about it is open to debate but there is no denying what is going on in all these instances. There will always be doubt because these guys know what to say to cast that doubt but at some point you have to say there is enough evidence to make a call. Just as I believe OJ was guilty of murder, I believe every one of these incidents was intentional.

Speedzzter

Yeah and Harvick wrecked a FORD at Talleadega to insure that his broken, slow, safety-hazard car wouldn’t get freight-trained. It’s open season on Fords in NASCAR.

When will the Fords start intentionally wrecking the Chevy and Toyota chasers?

spot1

What are you yammering about? Didn’t you see at Kansas????? A Ford spun the race leading Toyota out of his way then was so smug about it, you wanted to bitch slap the punk.

kb

So blocking all over like a nervous on the autobahn grandma is acceptable, which it is…but so is the patience running thin of the P2 driver holding his line…much the same way Newman did the week before at Charlotte. Matt made his own grave, not anybody else. I loathe Harvick, I am not 100% convinced what he did was on purpose, despite the protests to the contrary. Make no bones about what happened yesterday, he rammed him on purpose taking out the lead car with him being 9 laps down. Now way to justify that whether you hate Logano or love the mentally unstable Matt. Dirty pool no matter who it is. Nascar will be weak in handling this I am sure Toys is at Castle Daytona with Jesus Joe in tow…and it will all be nice, nice. Which it should not be. This sport is teetering, and not in a good way.

Ken

And don’t forget that, at Charlotte, Carl Edwards held his line when Junior blocked him. Haven’t heard boo about that, have we?

Speedzzter

It’s apparently open season on Fords in NASCAR. Talentless sideshow Danika dumps the 38 and repeatedly squawks about it on the radio, and the France mob says nothing. Then then that gutless turncoat choad Kenseth, “driving” for Traitor Joe Gibbs first repeatedly blocked a faster Ford at Kansas, then hit Fords several times (both at Talledega and Martinsville) before he accelerated into a race-leading Ford at Martinsville . . to essentially end Ford’s chances at having a car in the Chase at the Ford 400.

Kenseth should be banned for the rest of the season and Traitor Joe stripped of at least 100 owners points. Of course, if Traitor Joe were really the “Christian” he claims to be, he’d punish Kensith without any NASCAR prompting (that’ll never happen because Traitor Joe appears to be the most virulent stain of hypocrite)

NASCAR created the problem when they sold out to Toyota . . . . It’s devolving into WWE-on-wheels instead of being a real sport now.

If NASCAR lets Kenseth slide, “KY BU” (who’s only in the Chase because of a special rule) and that worthless, back-stabbing chump Edwards better watch their backs . . . . Boycott JGR sponsors!

PCar

Trader Joe’s is a grocery store. Why penalize them?

Steve

You do realize that all the cars are the same. Especially to get so butt hurt that as you are about different manufacturers. Lighten up man. If Ford didn’t build such crap vehicles, maybe more people would own them.

Ken

Ya, Steve, that’s why G.M. needed a Government bailout to survive, because their cars are so good! My neighbour had a Cobalt and she had so many recalls for some very serious mechanical issues. Then, her insurance company said they would cancel her insurance if she didn’t get rid of the car! Oh ya, G.M.’s are so great! I had a recall on my 2012 Focus. They had installed the wrong emissions sticker during assembly. “Here is the correct sticker. Refer to the diagram. Remove the incorrect sticker and replace it with the correct one. Thank you.” As for Honda, have you ever read, “Arrogance and Accords”? There’s a lot about Rick Hendrick in that book! Sorry, Steve, I’ll stick to my “crap” Ford. At least it won’t cut out while driving down the street just because I have more than one key on the key ring.

Jb

Wasn’t Earnhardt Sr. The king of taken people out? Nobody said anything when he did it…..Or punished him! A Ford driver does it and all Hell breaks loose!

J. Smith

Hey Jerry, would you please consider writing F1 articles? We need to get the number of comments up so that F1 may get moved out of the “Other Series” drop down to a heading of it’s own. Thanks in advance.

salb

Matt must have talked to Carl about lying in wait to take out a competitor. Ask Kez about that. Looks as if Matt has gone to the Dark Side along with the rest of the JGR crew

Ken

People have conveniently forgotten about the situation between Keselowski and Edwards. That was all over blocking too! They also like to bring up Tony Stewart threatening Joey for blocking him at Fontana, but have conveniently forgotten about Stewart throwing a block on Michael Waltrip at Talladega and wiping out half the field. They also have forgotten about Kenseth deliberately spinning Gordon out at Bristol, and then he took Stewart out, also at Bristol, and Stewart threw his helmet at Matt’s car as Matt was leaving the pits. I kind of wish Jeff Gordon would remind Kenseth of what he did, if he already hasn’t.

Gerry Blachley

Yarborough-Allison fight from the 1979 Daytona 500 race, has been credited with bringing NASCAR to the mass television audience. The reality is NASCAR privately loves this the ratings go up the money goes up, so quit crying from your pulpits it will do no good, Or better yet keep Crying keep writing articles and do everything you can to let everybody know how terrible this is. NASCAR will have a luncheon for the writers and thanking them for all their efforts in raising the ratings, oh sorry I meant money.

Steve

In a few years, you may be the only one here Gerry

Steve

Let me guess. Jerry’s next article laying in wait, is how Nascar got all this right and us readers are stupid for not seeing how exciting and unpredictable the season has been. My guess is it will come just after Homestead.

Tommy T.

There is no good answer to how to handle the Kenseth/Logano deal, but NASCAR using their judgement as to what is or isn’t a fair penalty for this kind of stuff certainly isn’t in anyone’s best interest. For better or worse the drivers will have to sort this kind of stuff out. The chronic NASCAR haters on this site surely aren’t suggesting that NASCAR is capable of sorting out whether a wreck was intentional when the driver say’s it wasn’t or when which intentional wrecking is worthy of a more severe punishment than others. Not a hater, but even I know that would be a difficult job for any organization, let alone NASCAR.

JohnQ

Just to clarify, a hater is anyone that makes a statement with which you do not agree, correct? So much easier to name call than actually try to refute an alternate point of view. Hater is a term used by the intellectually lazy.

Tommy T.

No. A ‘Hater” at least in the context of this site is one that not only constantly professes their dislike of NASCAR but attacks any writer or commenter that admits they like watching the sport and quite often agrees with NASCAR’s point of view.

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