Fenders were crunched and fists flew in a wild finish to the NASCAR Sprint Cup series race at Phoenix International Raceway Sunday. Late race contact with Clint Bowyer sent Jeff Gordon into the wall; Gordon exacted payback on Bowyer a few laps later sending both cars into the garage. It ended with crews rioting in the garage area and a 15 minute red flag on the track.
The big story of the day should have been the crash for point’s leader Jimmie Johnson. Johnson lost a right front tire on lap 235 exiting turn four sending his Chevy into the wall followed by a trip to the garage. He would lose his point’s lead to Brad Keselowski who is now firmly in control of the championship with one race to go.
The bigger story however was the simmering feud between Gordon and Bowyer that came to a head on lap 312. Seven laps earlier Gordon and Bowyer made contact that sent Gordon into the wall. Gordon was able to continue, but bided his time. Five laps later Gordon, was able to exact his revenge when he turned down into Bowyer sending both cars and sweeping up Joey Logano, into the wall. All cars were able to leave the scene but were done for the day. MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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