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Drivers Got Into Verbal Spat After Crashing Saturday
By JENNA FRYER
AP Sports
CONCORD, N.C. (May 22) - Tony Stewart vs. Matt Kenseth.
Two NASCAR series champions bumping and banging on the race track, then trading barbs off of it.
Add in Stewart going nose-to-nose with Kenseth's crew chief - while Kenseth's cronies lurked nearby - and the showdown turned out to be far more exciting than the race going on around them.
Not since Kevin Harvick feuded with Greg Biffle and/or Kurt Busch (depending on what day it was), Busch tangled with Jimmy Spencer, or the pit-road row between Biffle's and Busch's lady friends has NASCAR had a rivalry with this much potential.
Round 2 of Stewart-Kenseth - the first was during the season-opener at Daytona - started in the final segment of Saturday's All-Star race, when both were racing for the $1 million prize.
Stewart was having a rocky night, and his Chevrolet had been damaged in an earlier six-car accident. But a quick trip down pit road for repairs had him all fixed up and back in contention.
Kenseth was having a much cleaner race, lurking back in the pack until it was time to make his move.
But the drivers eliminated themselves 18 laps from the finish when they crashed while fighting for the same piece of real estate.
Madness, NASCAR-style, ensued.
"At the finish line, I could see that Tony was getting a run and I was going to try to stay on the bottom," Kenseth said. "Maybe he was a way in there and I squeezed him off. I didn't think he could have got in there that good to have that good of a run, but he must have."
Stewart, who can be somewhat of a loose cannon in the heated moments of competition, was stewing inside his hauler when he saw Kenseth give his version of the accident on TV.
"I had a pretty definitive view from what I saw. I got a run on him, at least he got that part right," Stewart sniffed. "That's a pretty demented view in my opinion. I think he screwed up on this one.
"If he thinks I did that and that was my fault, he's screwed up in the head."
Then things got really interesting. As Kenseth's team was milling in the garage, Stewart confronted crew chief Robbie Reiser in a heated verbal exchange that quickly drew a crowd.
"That's racing, boys," Reiser shrugged after Stewart had been pulled away.
But Kenseth took exception to Stewart confronting his crew chief.
"Robbie don't drive the car, he should come confront me if he's mad," Kenseth said. "Tony is always mad at somebody. I'm not going to go out there and do the name calling like he does every week."
NASCAR officials didn't assign blame, and didn't appear to be very concerned with the dustup on Monday.
"It was two objects trying to occupy the same place at the same time, and it doesn't work," said competition director Robin Pemberton. "One was coming up and one was in the hole, it was just hard racing. But it was an All-Star race. I don't think they would have been driving that hard if it was a points race."
Stewart and Kenseth had an earlier run-in this season at Daytona, when Stewart shoved Kenseth's car out of his way and into a spin through the grass that sent him into the wall. Kenseth retaliated by running Stewart off pit road, and both drivers were penalized.
So Stewart and Kenseth are starting to resemble a legitimate rivalry, and if given time to fester, it could be a very good one. It could slowly build through a weekly dose of on-track nudging and off-track needling, until it finally erupts into a full-blown helmet-throwing brouhaha.
Alas, NASCAR will never let it happen. The fines would come fast and furious for every minor infraction, and as their wallets got thinner, the drivers would be forced to kiss and make up. Or at least stay 100 yards (meters) away from each other.
That's why Kenseth's and Stewart's spat is much ado about nothing. It's brief entertainment, but doesn't have the legs to grow into a weekly drama.
As drivers of championship-contending race teams, neither Stewart nor Kenseth can afford to carry this on. There are too many points, too much money and too many chances to land on NASCAR's bad side.
That's exactly how NASCAR wants it.
Although the fans loved it when Robby Gordon tossed his helmet at Michael Waltrip, when Harvick snatched Biffle up by his firesuit, and when Spencer punched Busch in the nose, NASCAR didn't even crack a smile.
NASCAR has worked hard to change its image as a rough-and-tumble redneck sport, and fisticuffs or other garish behavior don't fit the new mold. The sanctioning body has proven how serious it is by issuing stiff monetary fines for everything from cursing to shoving another competitor on pit road.
So Stewart and Kenseth will have likely moved on by the time they meet back on the track later this week, and any retaliation will be so minor that the casual fan would never even see it.
Those seeking a more ostentatious outcome can only dream.
By JENNA FRYER
AP Sports
CONCORD, N.C. (May 22) - Tony Stewart vs. Matt Kenseth.
Two NASCAR series champions bumping and banging on the race track, then trading barbs off of it.
Add in Stewart going nose-to-nose with Kenseth's crew chief - while Kenseth's cronies lurked nearby - and the showdown turned out to be far more exciting than the race going on around them.
Not since Kevin Harvick feuded with Greg Biffle and/or Kurt Busch (depending on what day it was), Busch tangled with Jimmy Spencer, or the pit-road row between Biffle's and Busch's lady friends has NASCAR had a rivalry with this much potential.
Round 2 of Stewart-Kenseth - the first was during the season-opener at Daytona - started in the final segment of Saturday's All-Star race, when both were racing for the $1 million prize.
Stewart was having a rocky night, and his Chevrolet had been damaged in an earlier six-car accident. But a quick trip down pit road for repairs had him all fixed up and back in contention.
Kenseth was having a much cleaner race, lurking back in the pack until it was time to make his move.
But the drivers eliminated themselves 18 laps from the finish when they crashed while fighting for the same piece of real estate.
Madness, NASCAR-style, ensued.
"At the finish line, I could see that Tony was getting a run and I was going to try to stay on the bottom," Kenseth said. "Maybe he was a way in there and I squeezed him off. I didn't think he could have got in there that good to have that good of a run, but he must have."
Stewart, who can be somewhat of a loose cannon in the heated moments of competition, was stewing inside his hauler when he saw Kenseth give his version of the accident on TV.
"I had a pretty definitive view from what I saw. I got a run on him, at least he got that part right," Stewart sniffed. "That's a pretty demented view in my opinion. I think he screwed up on this one.
"If he thinks I did that and that was my fault, he's screwed up in the head."
Then things got really interesting. As Kenseth's team was milling in the garage, Stewart confronted crew chief Robbie Reiser in a heated verbal exchange that quickly drew a crowd.
"That's racing, boys," Reiser shrugged after Stewart had been pulled away.
But Kenseth took exception to Stewart confronting his crew chief.
"Robbie don't drive the car, he should come confront me if he's mad," Kenseth said. "Tony is always mad at somebody. I'm not going to go out there and do the name calling like he does every week."
NASCAR officials didn't assign blame, and didn't appear to be very concerned with the dustup on Monday.
"It was two objects trying to occupy the same place at the same time, and it doesn't work," said competition director Robin Pemberton. "One was coming up and one was in the hole, it was just hard racing. But it was an All-Star race. I don't think they would have been driving that hard if it was a points race."
Stewart and Kenseth had an earlier run-in this season at Daytona, when Stewart shoved Kenseth's car out of his way and into a spin through the grass that sent him into the wall. Kenseth retaliated by running Stewart off pit road, and both drivers were penalized.
So Stewart and Kenseth are starting to resemble a legitimate rivalry, and if given time to fester, it could be a very good one. It could slowly build through a weekly dose of on-track nudging and off-track needling, until it finally erupts into a full-blown helmet-throwing brouhaha.
Alas, NASCAR will never let it happen. The fines would come fast and furious for every minor infraction, and as their wallets got thinner, the drivers would be forced to kiss and make up. Or at least stay 100 yards (meters) away from each other.
That's why Kenseth's and Stewart's spat is much ado about nothing. It's brief entertainment, but doesn't have the legs to grow into a weekly drama.
As drivers of championship-contending race teams, neither Stewart nor Kenseth can afford to carry this on. There are too many points, too much money and too many chances to land on NASCAR's bad side.
That's exactly how NASCAR wants it.
Although the fans loved it when Robby Gordon tossed his helmet at Michael Waltrip, when Harvick snatched Biffle up by his firesuit, and when Spencer punched Busch in the nose, NASCAR didn't even crack a smile.
NASCAR has worked hard to change its image as a rough-and-tumble redneck sport, and fisticuffs or other garish behavior don't fit the new mold. The sanctioning body has proven how serious it is by issuing stiff monetary fines for everything from cursing to shoving another competitor on pit road.
So Stewart and Kenseth will have likely moved on by the time they meet back on the track later this week, and any retaliation will be so minor that the casual fan would never even see it.
Those seeking a more ostentatious outcome can only dream.
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