After races, the top cars plus select others are stopped on pit road while the remainder drive into the garage and park at their haulers. Crews often surround the car to push it to inspection or onto the hauler. It can add to the volatility of situatons when drivers and/or teams are angry with each over.
Last Sunday, an angry Jeff Gordon confronted Brad Keselowski on pit road. They argued for a moment before Keselowski got pushed toward Gordon by Kevin Harvick and then the brawl among the Gordon-Keselowksi crews erupted on pit road.
Harvick said he has suggested to NASCAR officials that drivers be parked after a race in an area the crews cannot immediately enter.
“You have a contained area, where ever you want to put it, and you put that in whatever the specified area is and if a crew member goes in, then your car is disqualified,” Harvick suggested. “It is a pretty simple policing process.
“They (at NASCAR) are definitely listening. They don’t want to see something like that, which could have an outcome that nobody wants.”
NASCAR won’t make any changes to its procedure this weekend. All eight of the Chase drivers — the four who advance as well as the four eliminated — will be stopped on pit road after the race, with the lone exception if one of them wins, they’ll head to victory lane.
“We’ve got two races left,” NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said. “We’ve had some issues. The tension level is high. The competition level is at an all-time high. The pressure is at an all-time high to perform.
“We feel like the teams don’t want to what they’ve done and misbehave. We’ll address it in the offseason like so many things that we do.”
Harvick said drivers can easily get out of their cars on their own.
“We can all get out of our cars by ourselves and take our helmets off and take our window nets down,” Harvick said. “I think that would solve a lot of problems.
“A lot of these guys are 280-pound linebackers that came from whatever school, professional football, baseball, whatever team. That part of it is not good.”
Gordon said the crews should be able to be out there and conduct themselves appropriately.
“There is nothing wrong with crew members being out there,” Gordon said. “But I think what their roll is in that kind of situation is just back off, and let the drivers handle it.”
The attorney for Kurt Busch’s ex-girlfriend said a custody battle resulted in her waiting six weeks before contacting police with allegations that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver assaulted her in his motorhome during the Dover International Speedway race weekend.
Patricia Driscoll’s attorney Mark Dycio told USA Today that because Kurt was being characterized as a stepfather to her son, Houston, that those allegations could have had an impact in the custody litigation ongoing between Driscoll and her ex-husband.
“As any parent will tell you, their child is their primary concern,” Dycio told USA Today. “So legally, it took some time to work through the process of how Mr. Busch’s situation with Ms. Driscoll would affect that custody case.
“It was only until that was resolved to a certain degree of satisfaction that we were able to pursue the second avenue.”
The AP reported Friday that Driscoll alleges in court documents that Busch grabbed her by the face and smashed her head against the motorhome wall during an argument a week after breaking up as a couple.
Busch has not been charged and, through his attorney Rusty Hardin, has denied the allegations. Hardin said that the allegations are a fabrication.
Dycio said that Driscoll has provided police investigators with text messages and photographs to support the allegations. He said she her allegations are not being done to get money out of Busch.
“No monetary demands have been made,” he told USA Today. “Ms. Driscoll is very successful in her own right. She’s a defense contractor in Washington. Her foundation does numerous great events and supports both men and women. So this isn’t a case of some young kid trying to come in and squeeze a dollar.“
The common theme about the melee at Texas Motor Speedway last week was that if there wasn’t a shove by Kevin Harvick, there is not fight.
But there could be another culprit. A flared out side skirt.
NASCAR teams have flared out the lower portion of the passenger-side bodywork near the tailpipe to increase downforce. Because the car isn’t legal in prerace tech with the body panel sticking out, the crews make the adjustment on the first pit stop by tugging on the panel.
But NASCAR won’t legislate it because the area could also get damaged during a race. So all these drivers compete with what virtually could be considered knives sticking out near their right rear tires.
‘The tailpipes stick out, too, and as hard as the impact was, it’s possible that the tailpipes may have done it,” Jeff Gordon said about his flat that occurred after contact with Brad Keselowski that eventually resulted in the crews brawling. “But it doesn’t help that those skirts and the whole fender — everything is being pulled out on the pit stops the way they are.
“It is definitely getting a little bit out of control.”
Gordon wasn’t the only driver to suffer a flat from a possible flared out side skirt. Keselowski teammate Joey Logano had a flat earlier in the race from contact with Marcos Ambrose.
“I would assume it was something like that,” Logano said. “Everyone has been so aggressive with that stuff lately. I got hit in the door and the next thing you know I had a right-rear flat.”
Drivers don’t expect NASCAR to do anything about it until at least next season.
“You can only go so far until it doesn’t make a difference anymore,” NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said. “Right now, the rules are what they are. We’ll continue to run out the season policing areas that we police the way we do and areas that we don’t police the way we don’t police them.
“It’s not anything new. It’s just something that there’s more evidence out there than ever before. I can’t remember when it hasn’t been done. Everybody starts (the race) the same and that’s our goal.”
Pemberton said it was unclear whether the side skirts were what cut the Logano and Gordon tires.
“There are steel bodies, there’s car-to-car contact and that’s not the first flat tire (by contact) we’ve seen on the race track this year, so it would be hard to pick that out,” Pemberton said. “There is (in history) people pointing fingers to different things over time. That happens to be it over time.”
So don’t be surprised if you see more of the same Sunday at Phoenix.
“Everyone is taking advantage of what is there as they should,” Logano said. “I don’t blame anyone. Obviously the consequences of that is you touch each other and you can get a flat tire, but that’s all part of it. We all know it. We can see it. We know if we touch each other we’ll have an issue because of everyone being so aggressive in that department, but that’s the name of the game right now.”
Kevin Harvick proved he is the man to beat Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway as he consistently turned the fastest laps in practice Saturday.
Harvick had the best 10-lap average in both sessions, including an average speed of 136.406 in the final 50-minute session on the 1-mile track.
No other driver topped 136 mph for a 10-lap average in the final session, run under conditions that are expected to be similar for the Quicken Loans 500, the race that will determine which four drivers will be eligible for the Sprint Cup title next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Harvick, who has won three of the last four races at PIR, can only guarantee himself a spot with a win although a good finish could allow him to advance if other contenders falter.
The other Chase drivers in 10-lap average in final practice were Matt Kenseth (second), Brad Keselowski (seventh), Jeff Gordon (13th), race polesitter Denny Hamlin (15th), Joey Logano (17th), Ryan Newman (23rd) and Carl Edwards (26th).
Non-Chase driver Jamie McMurray had the best one-lap run at 137.106 mph, followed by Harvick (137.065), Kenseth (137.018) and Logano (137.002). Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was knocked out of the Chase in an earlier round, posted the fifth-fastest lap in final practice.
On the single-lap chart, other Chase drivers: Gordon (sixth), Hamlin (10th), Keselowski (12th), Newman (19th) and Edwards (21st).
There were no accidents in practice Saturday.
The race Sunday is scheduled for 312 laps (3 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Contributors: Bob Pockrass, The Associated Press
