Will Gordon, Kenseth rivarly continue beyond Martinsville?

 Gordon was none too please with Kenseth (AP Photo/Steve Helber

Four years ago at Bristol, Jeff Gordon shoved Matt Kenseth on pit road following an on-track altercation while battling for the third position. Kenseth initially intended to apologize to Gordon for spinning him on the final lap. However, Gordon was in no mood to accept any apologies as you can tell by his forceful shove.

Fast-forward about three and a half months to the July race at Chicagoland Speedway. Kenseth was leading late in the race when the hard-charging driver of the No. 24 caught the Ford of Kenseth. Gordon was clearly faster, but he used his front bumper to spin Kenseth en route to the victory. While Gordon insisted the incident was inadvertent, Kenseth was convinced that it was calculated retaliation for the scuffle in Bristol just a few months prior.

Since the notorious bump-wreck-n-run by Gordon in the summer of 2006, the rivalry seemed to fade away. While they never became travel buddies, Kenseth and Gordon had no major conflicts on the track…until the Monday rain-delayed race at Martinsville Speedway.

On the final restart, Gordon and Newman raced side-by-side until eventual race winner Denny Hamlin gave Newman a shot to the bumper. Kenseth drove to the inside of Gordon, as the two made contact. Kenseth slipped up the track just a little, enough to where Gordon made contact, sending Kenseth towards the outside fence.

Gordon held on to finish third while Kenseth plummeted to an 18th place showing.

Both drivers had conflicting perspectives regarding the series of events that took place at Martinsville.

“I got an okay restart…spun the tires a little bit, got going. I looked at my mirror and the 17 (Kenseth) was pretty far behind me. I made sure I didn’t drive in too deep. Next thing I know, I got nailed…I made sure he (Kenseth) didn’t win the race down the straightaway,” said the agitated Gordon.

“If a guy gives you a cheap shot like that, he doesn’t deserve to win the race, in my opinion,” he went on to say.

Kenseth, equally riled, felt that Gordon was out of line

“Jeff is sneaky. He’s good at that stuff. He comes away squeaky clean all the time. That’s about the third time he took me out of a top three finish. I’m about tired of that,” said Kenseth.

He explained his side of the contact.

“I got under Jeff there…He just kept slamming me in the door and knocking me down so low I got into the marbles and then he hit me again and turned me around. It’s a disappointing end.”

In my opinion, it was just typical short track racing. Sometimes you receive the short end of the stick, and sometimes you come out smelling like a rose. Hamlin’s contact with Newman was no love tap either. It was an aggressive attempt to move Newman out of the way, and it worked out well for Hamlin. There was nothing wrong with it.

With that said, I love the emotion these guys showed after the race. Call it whining or whatever, but Gordon and Kenseth were frustrated and vented their frustration to the public.  Is that not what you want from the drivers?

It is doubtful that this hostility will carry over into Phoenix. Even with the ‘have at it, boys’ approach, most drivers at least attempt to mend fences.

I would love to see a rivalry between the two drivers with five championship combined. Most rivalries consist of antagonistic hotheads. Kenseth and Gordon are two of the perceived nice guys among the garage area. According to Kenseth, Gordon still races him with a little resentment.

“He never gives me an inch. He wants me out of his way every time he’s faster, and I get out of his way every time he’s faster, but when it comes the other way around, he never wants to give anybody any room back.”