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Kenseth, Gordon point fingers over Sunday's wreck
By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Jeff Gordon (24) and Matt Kenseth pass Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) on a late restart in the UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
David Griffin
NASCAR Scene
Jeff Gordon denies Matt Kenseth's charge that it was Gordon's "laying back" on a restart Sunday that led to their crash Sunday in the closing laps of the UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Gordon was trailing Kenseth on a restart with five laps to go in the race, and when Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun the tires on his No. 88 Chevrolet, Kenseth darted to the outside while Gordon went inside Earnhardt Jr. After both passed Earnhardt Jr., Gordon slid up the track into Kenseth, causing both to spin. Gordon slammed the inside wall and was knocked out of the race, while Kenseth limped to a 20th-place finish.
“It’s disappointing, but it all started back on the restart,” Kenseth said after the race. “Jeff is kind of famous for laying back, and NASCAR has a rule that you can’t lay back more than a car length or you can be black-flagged, but it’s usually not enforced, so I saw him laying back.
“I knew he was going to get a run on me, so I laid back a little bit. [Leader] Carl [Edwards] went late and that kind of started the chain, and we were three-wide going into [Turn] 1. We came off 2, and I was up as high as I thought I could get, and Jeff just came across. Whether it was on purpose or not, it just kind of wiped us out.”
Gordon responded to Kenseth on Monday at the NASCAR test at Phoenix International Raceway by saying, “First you need to talk to your teammate who was behind me.”
“Any restart we have, I’m looking more behind me that I am in front of me,” Gordon said. “I want to see what the guys are doing behind me because I want to get a good restart, but I want to make sure somebody doesn’t get a jump on me and get me in a bad position.
“I started looking in my mirror, and Greg Biffle [Kenseth’s Roush Fenway Racing teammate] was laying back quite a bit. Actually, my spotter came on and said, ‘They’re laying back behind you.’ So I dropped back to him. Then as we rolled up there, we sort of came together a little bit more.
“I didn’t really feel like anybody was laying back a ton. The biggest issue with that whole thing is Junior spun his tires. I did get a pretty good restart but not really much better than Matt. It’s just once he got beside Junior, it stalled him out and gave me the momentum.”
Mentioned Drivers: Jeff Gordon
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Comments
30 responses to "Kenseth, Gordon point fingers over Sunday's wreck". Post a Comment.
Trey Thompson said:
Mar 4, 2008 at 3:27 PMSorry, new NASCAR fan. But what is "laying back" on the restart?
chauchi filice said:
Mar 4, 2008 at 7:14 PMjeff gordon used bad judgment on sunday. should of got behind kennseth then try the pass,instead he finished laps down.where is the big picture racing there for all you gordon fans.thats using your head jeff.
lynn hughes said:
Mar 4, 2008 at 7:48 PMRacecar not being close to the racecar ahead of him. The goal is to get in the gas before the car ahead of you and get a run on him which may allow you to pass.
Tim Edick said:
Mar 4, 2008 at 7:49 PMI like Matt but when it comes to Jeff he sure cries and throws the blame a lot. I admit Jeff made the mistake but Matt should be extremely glad that Jeff chose to swerve left to avoid him puting himself in peril. Jeff could have just kept going and spun Matt what with being at his rear quarter panel. I've always liked Matt but his crying is getting old. Grow up Matt, every job has it's pressure's.
Jeff said:
Mar 5, 2008 at 5:49 AM" It was just one of them racin' deals. "
Jeff said:
Mar 5, 2008 at 5:51 AMNot a Gordon fan but I was impressed he spun himself out to avoid hitting Matt again.
Jeff said:
Mar 5, 2008 at 5:51 AMNot a Gordon fan but I was impressed he spun himself out to avoid hitting Matt again.
Jeff Bosch said:
Mar 5, 2008 at 2:58 PMSorry, but Gordon didn't spin himself out trying to avoid Matt. Gordon touched the back of Matt's car in front of Jr, then as Matt spun he hit the 24 and sent him into the inside wall. I don't think it was intentional when Gordon hit Matt. I am a Kenseth fan, but I will not blast Gordon for the accident. They both tried to go to the same place at the same time.
Jeff Bosch said:
Mar 5, 2008 at 4:50 PMOk, I do have to put Gordon down a little. He was behind Matt so he should not have hit him. But, at those speeds he probably didn't have the time to react. I just wish the Gordon fans would quit blaming Matt for taking out the 24.
eddie guerra said:
Mar 7, 2008 at 5:22 PMif 88 would have clean his tires better 24 & 17 would not have to split him on the restart (start cleanning your tires a lap sooner )
J.D. Harris said:
Mar 7, 2008 at 6:00 PMFor you gordon fans, If you open your eyes and look at gordon going high up the track you can he done it on purpose but he is nascars little prissy. So he will continue to get a way with it. However if you watched the race then you know that Biffle was right on gordons' bumper and that was pretty stupid to take someone out that thier team mate is behind them. Biffle never slowed down for gordon. He got just what he deserved.
Timothy Schultze said:
Mar 8, 2008 at 7:19 PMYou know most of those guys are friends no matter what the media prints it was quite clear the 24 tried to steer under the 17 check out what the 16s comment was. As far as laying back the 17 was backed all the way in to the 24 so that would put the 16 on his bumper.Its just to bad you dont see the whole picture and just what you want.
DANIEL HORNADAY said:
Mar 9, 2008 at 11:05 AMDaleJr.spun his tires that caused the whole thing it was no bodys fault it just happened.I think when edwards shoved Kenseth he gave him the cey baby disease
DANIEL HORNADAY said:
Mar 9, 2008 at 11:06 AMDaleJr.spun his tires that caused the whole thing it was no bodys fault it just happened.I think when edwards shoved Kenseth he gave him the cey baby disease
LEVI ROGERS said:
Mar 9, 2008 at 2:48 PMIT WAS AN ACCIDENT THAT JEFF TOOK CREDIT FOR ON SUNDAY SAYING HE JUST COULDN'T HOLD IT ON THE BOTTOM. HE APOLOGIZED TO MATT. THEY NEED TO QUIT THROWING BLAME AND GO ON. I'M A GORDON FAN.
Trey Thompson said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMSorry, new NASCAR fan. But what is "laying back" on the restart?
chauchi filice said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMjeff gordon used bad judgment on sunday. should of got behind kennseth then try the pass,instead he finished laps down.where is the big picture racing there for all you gordon fans.thats using your head jeff.
lynn hughes said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMRacecar not being close to the racecar ahead of him. The goal is to get in the gas before the car ahead of you and get a run on him which may allow you to pass.
Tim Edick said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMI like Matt but when it comes to Jeff he sure cries and throws the blame a lot. I admit Jeff made the mistake but Matt should be extremely glad that Jeff chose to swerve left to avoid him puting himself in peril. Jeff could have just kept going and spun Matt what with being at his rear quarter panel. I've always liked Matt but his crying is getting old. Grow up Matt, every job has it's pressure's.
Jeff said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PM" It was just one of them racin' deals. "
Jeff said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMNot a Gordon fan but I was impressed he spun himself out to avoid hitting Matt again.
Jeff said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMNot a Gordon fan but I was impressed he spun himself out to avoid hitting Matt again.
Jeff Bosch said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMSorry, but Gordon didn't spin himself out trying to avoid Matt. Gordon touched the back of Matt's car in front of Jr, then as Matt spun he hit the 24 and sent him into the inside wall. I don't think it was intentional when Gordon hit Matt. I am a Kenseth fan, but I will not blast Gordon for the accident. They both tried to go to the same place at the same time.
Jeff Bosch said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMOk, I do have to put Gordon down a little. He was behind Matt so he should not have hit him. But, at those speeds he probably didn't have the time to react. I just wish the Gordon fans would quit blaming Matt for taking out the 24.
eddie guerra said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMif 88 would have clean his tires better 24 & 17 would not have to split him on the restart (start cleanning your tires a lap sooner )
J.D. Harris said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMFor you gordon fans, If you open your eyes and look at gordon going high up the track you can he done it on purpose but he is nascars little prissy. So he will continue to get a way with it. However if you watched the race then you know that Biffle was right on gordons' bumper and that was pretty stupid to take someone out that thier team mate is behind them. Biffle never slowed down for gordon. He got just what he deserved.
Timothy Schultze said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMYou know most of those guys are friends no matter what the media prints it was quite clear the 24 tried to steer under the 17 check out what the 16s comment was. As far as laying back the 17 was backed all the way in to the 24 so that would put the 16 on his bumper.Its just to bad you dont see the whole picture and just what you want.
DANIEL HORNADAY said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMDaleJr.spun his tires that caused the whole thing it was no bodys fault it just happened.I think when edwards shoved Kenseth he gave him the cey baby disease
DANIEL HORNADAY said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMDaleJr.spun his tires that caused the whole thing it was no bodys fault it just happened.I think when edwards shoved Kenseth he gave him the cey baby disease
LEVI ROGERS said:
Mar 17, 2008 at 9:16 PMIT WAS AN ACCIDENT THAT JEFF TOOK CREDIT FOR ON SUNDAY SAYING HE JUST COULDN'T HOLD IT ON THE BOTTOM. HE APOLOGIZED TO MATT. THEY NEED TO QUIT THROWING BLAME AND GO ON. I'M A GORDON FAN.