2015 NASCAR Chase ...

It's awesome that Gordon grabbed another win. I saw him lead 40 laps at Joliet. About the most I've seen a race crowd in one guy's corner other than perhaps Tony Kanaan a couple times at Indy.

 

Controversy on the track, and a once hated veteran picks up a popular victory before he hangs it up. It was a good day for NASCAR.

 

The about-face regarding Gordon has been amazing. I think people have seen some real heels in sports in the last decade-plus: Bonds. Armstrong. Aaron Hernandez.

Ending the 3 car's reign once upon a time doesn't seem so awful by comparison.

 

I think part of it was when Gordon came in he was seen as part of the new breed of sponsor-friendly drivers, (young, telegenic, not necessarily from the South) people dismissed his ability because he was so successful out of the box. Seeing how responded to not winning every week went a long way to boost his image.

 

Earnhardt was even becoming more well liked before his death. I don't know if it's the NASCAR culture, but there seems to be an appreciation for the greats when they near retirement that doesn't seem to exist in other sports.

 

I hated Elway forever (still do) but was glad to see him finally get an SB.

I don't think you can diminish the impact of Gordon and NASCAR's move beyond their base market (both geographically and demographically).

 

For sure. You look at a season's roster prior to Gordon, and 90% of them had N.C. addresses. It's still heavily Tobacco Belt, but it's undergone a change.

 

Will be interesting to see the penalties for Kenseth--I would expect them to be pretty harsh. I don't think NASCAR wants to see contenders getting virtually eliminated in these short stage Chase sequences by someone intentionally wrecking them.

 

I won't be surprised if Kenseth is parked next week and maybe for the next few weeks.

I remember Gordon winning at Talladega to either tie or exceed Sr's win total and the beer cans rained down from the stands. Now, he gets a standing ovation. Though Martinsville is his best track. He's pretty well received there anyway.
He'll never be the most popular driver, but fans respect him, his career and the things he's done for the sport's profile. I hope he's good in the booth next season. I don't think he'll be colorful enough.


The win Sunday there's a good shot he can win The Chase. He's done well at Texas and Phoenix and of the three I think Homestead was his most recent win. The Hendrick cars are nowhere close to Gibbs and Penske programs this year, so he'll have some work to do, but he's in good shape and well, it's NASCAR (insert conspiracy theory here).

 

Oh, there's definitely the pro wrestling aspect of it. Always has been. Still ...

Logano all but pulled the plug on Kenseth's chances. Kenseth returned the favor. I can't say they're both in the right, but to paraphrase Ron Washington ... that's the way racin' go.

 

I dunno, that might be insulting to pro wrestling.
How can NASCAR be harsh on Kenseth? A few years ago in Phoenix Jeff Gordon drove slowly around the track after a wreck, then intentionally pile drove into Bowyer as payback. That was the dirtiest, most intentional move in racing I can recall. Gordon was fined but he got to drive the next week (I think he may have even won). Of course, dirty moves like that by Gordon are conveniently being forgotten this season, but that's another topic altogether.
Point is, if Gordon gets a slap on the wrist for what he did, how can NASCAR do more than that to Kenseth? The Chase has been a farce from the beginning and NASCAR is loving the attention. The NASCAR Twitter feed had a pic of the wreck yesterday and "The drama continues" as the message. NASCAR did nothing to Logano two weeks earlier for punting Kenseth, NASCAR did nothing to Harvick for what he did at Talladega. So NASCAR pretty much put itself into a box. Penalize Kenseth, it'll be widely seen as hypocritical, both in light of other actions and in light of the "Boys have at it" motto. Don't penalize Kenseth and intentional wrecking will continue. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Kenseth's teammate Denny Hamlin, out of the championship chase, reignites his battle with Logano by wrecking him at Texas.