By now the video is all over the place, and I’ve read tweets that it’s getting monster air on at least one morning TV show.
In case you missed it, after the NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday, Jeff Gordon thought he had been done wrong on the track by Brad Keselowski. That’s what led to this ..
OK, a few things …
First, the mechanics of the fight (“scuffle” is more like it). The crew guys always get involved. I suppose that’s natural to “protect their guy,” but inevitably it goes all West Side Story and the crew guys set it all off by yanking on each other, which only adds to everyone's rage. So, if you get the crew guys out of the mix, the two drivers probably get all up in each other’s faces and yap for a while and it’s not that big of a deal, or at most it’s a hockey-like two guys punching deal.
Second, speaking of hockey … it’s hard for me to condemn this kind of stuff in NASCAR in particular while giving all other sports a pass. Nobody says "baseball is so WWF" when they have a bench-clearing brawl. Fights happen in every sport, and they’re PART of the sport in hockey. So hockey fans who have a big problem with this are being hypocritical, in my view. You have brawl-like events in basketball and baseball as well. Not regularly, but they do happen.
The difference is, of course, in all sports except hockey, there are big penalties for fighting. Not so in NASCAR, which we’ll get to.
Third, is this part of the NASCAR “brand?” I say yes. Hard racin’, moonshine-runnin’ good ole boys. Full-contact racing when the stakes are super high as they are in the NASCAR Chase for the Championship leads to this stuff.
Fourth, is NASCAR encouraging it? I’d say “tacitly.” No penalties for previous scuffles on the justification of “no punches thrown” seems at least a little disingenuous to me. I haven’t parsed the video enough to see if there was an actual “punch” (with a fist) thrown, let alone landed, in this one. There’s no way NASCAR sits anyone down for a race after this since both these guys are still eligible for the championship.
I reject any “staged” accusation for lack of evidence. Keselowski caused Gordon to spin (intentionally or not) so if it was “staged” then the script included Gordon getting turned and his title shot getting severely damaged. If it was between two people who were out of the race for the championship then the “staged” accusation would be a bit more plausible.
Fifth, third-man in is bullshit. Kevn Harvick needs to stay out of other people's fights. If you're going to have a hockey-like deal, then the third-man in needs to feel the pain, penalty wise, as he does in hockey.
Sixth, are you not entertained? Some are, some aren’t. Listen to the crowd roar when the scuffle breaks out. Welcome to THUNDERDOME! It reminds me of the roar of blood lust at a hockey game when a fight breaks out. And, look at us all talking about it, sharing the video (a quarter million views on the video I shared above by 8:30 a.m. Central). It's making national morning shows and probably the national TV news tonight. (I’ll tune in to NBC’s Brian Williams to see if he touches on it.) Regardless of what you think of the kerfuffle itself, the evidence is ample that it’s generating major interest. In general, publicity = cash.
Seventh, outrage or not? Depends on your personal preference. I’m kind of pragmatic here. I personally greatly dislike hockey fights and would be happy to see them banned, as they are in international hockey. Same deal here. But this sort of dust up (calling it a “fight” is an overstatement) didn’t really result in any injuries or real ugliness (no NASCAR equivalent of bloody ice, in other words), so I was like “oh look, they’re pushing and shoving” and that was about it. Neither joy nor UMBRAGE about it. Kind of a “that’s so NASCAR” reaction from me.
Eighth, marketing opportunity for NASCAR competitors, which they won't take. Again (and again), IndyCar is presented with an opportunity to be the anti-NASCAR and they walk away. No lawless “boys have at it” on the track and our drivers don’t assault each other in the pits. That, along with the road-and-street courses and relative lack of yellows, make IndyCar a clear alternative to NASCAR for those who dislike the beating and banging, on and off the track. The fly in the ointment there is the lack of ovals for IndyCar to attract the oval-centric NASCAR fan. You might get them to watch clean, high-speed, skill-not-brawling racing … but on a twisty track? Another fly in the ointment: I think a big majority of NASCAR fans love this kind of stuff.
Ninth, praise for passion. I don’t want to see pit brawling -- it strikes me as about as entertaining as a hockey fight -- but I would like to see more passion and UMBRAGE taken in IndyCar. Most IndyCar drivers -- and you might forcefully argue it’s to their credit -- don’t get pissed at each other, or even very pissed in general. That is to say they don’t SHOW that they are pissed. I’d welcome drivers throwing more stuff and saying another driver is a “dipshit,” as Gordon said of Keselowski Sunday night. Not sure if they restrain themselves because they personally think it’s better deportment, or because IndyCar will fine any flinging of equipment and "dipshit" bombs, or they think the sponsors will be pissed at them, or all of the above. But, I’d like to see a little more raw emotion in IndyCar, short of head locking someone.
But, on the other hand, see the eighth point above. IndyCar’s brand could be “the ladies’ and gentlemen’s racing league.” something like “racing, without all the bullshit.” Would that attract more fans? Great question.
Tenth, NASCAR’s reaction will be very interesting. Expect fines at the most. As I said, NO WAY NASCAR sits anyone down after this race. If they did, they’d have far larger attachments than I give them credit for. Maybe they sit someone for the first race of 2015. The rule in child rearing is this: “behavior that achieves the desired outcome will be repeated.” So, absent any real punishment, this behavior will continue. At least they didn’t go after each other in their cars this time, which is major safety progress.
So, net-net, long-story-short, end of the day: I was mildly amused. A hockey scrum broke out in the pits. A little bit of blood was drawn (looked like from scratches) and a lot of UMBRAGE was taken. It does set up a lot of anticipation for the final two races of the year, especially Phoenix next week which reports its grandstands are sold out. And then, after the final race at Homestead, there may be shots fired. Kidding … I hope.
Let me know what you thought if the whole deal below!
It certainly got people talking about NASCAR, which is never a bad thing for them. I personally thought the fight was a bit childish and Harvick's actions were un-called for, especially considering the on track incident was a racing incident, not some sort of intentional take-out attempt by Keselowski like some are saying. Either way, this is a culture that NASCAR has actively encouraged and it will continue.
Posted by: senorsoupe | November 03, 2014 at 09:32 AM
and pressdog compares something that happens in NASCAR with Indycar once again. come on.
This won't improve ratings and will only reinforce that racing is redneck, like usual
Posted by: A fan | November 03, 2014 at 10:24 AM
Ah, ok A fan, I think what I really said is it's an opportunity for IndyCar to appeal to fans who DON'T like brawls and that I don't want brawls in IndyCar. So if there is any comparison it's favorable to IndyCar. Come on yourself.
Posted by: pressdog | November 03, 2014 at 10:49 AM
I thought the fight was awesome, which is apparently a blocking offense with Indy car fans on twitter. I don't think any major penalties are needed; I wouldn't even fine anyone, but I imagine some fines and probations are coming out. I am a huge Jeff Gordon fan and a huge Brad K fan so I see both sides there, I think overall Gordon was right to be mad about having his tire cut down by Brad K. Contact would have been fair, cutting the tire less so. I don't see this as being manufactured; rather it shows just how much pressure and drama the Elimination Chase has added to NASCAR.
I disagree Bill on Indycar; I think Indycar needs this type of thing too. Obviously there's less on track contact, but lets face it the only thing that keeps street races worth watching is the occasional contact and resulting upset driver or two. I really would love to see some anger/fighting in Indycar, and we have seen it in the past, but most of the current drivers are too close to one another to do it. Maybe Power will come unglued; only problem is where Brad K can go from fighting to winning the next race, Power seems to get in downward tailspins a bit more easily.
I get advertising that Indycar is more pure than NASCAR to a point, but I think it's a mistake for pure to become boring, and I think that's where it would lead to. The Indy 500 was the best race I've seen this year, but overall I've found NASCAR 100X more exciting than the rest of the Indycar season. Having Gordon/Harvick/Junior/Lagano/Keselowski/Edwards/Hamlin/Busch's all running well helps a lot. Those are some of the more interesting drivers in NASCAR, and having them win, fight, and compete week after week keeps things interesting in a way that Indycar post-Iowa really didn't.
Posted by: Dylan | November 03, 2014 at 12:27 PM
I was around open wheel racing starting in the 1940's before and after the war, and believe me those drivers would fight and often did. More recent, A.J.Foyt has been know to throw a punch or wrench on occasion. Parnelli Jones knocked Eddie Sachs out after Parnelli won the "500" and Eddie accused him of spraying oil that cause his Eddie's to spin. (Parnelli was, and Sachs was right)!!
So did drivers in NASCAR and I was present when a very important driver (who is now dead, and in NASCAR's Hall of Fame) needed to be told that his behavior, if it continued, would be dealt with at, or away from, the track, and he understood and refrained from his abhorrent behavior. But it often ended in fights.
Drivers today in IndyCar don't fight most probably because who fights over $25,000 to win? (Well except Indy) And more likely since every full time team receives $1,000,000 from the IRL so why fight since you get paid for just showing up??
In 2012, Cup champion Brad Keselowski earned $6.23 million in race winnings, $150,000 in special awards and $5.73 million from the season-ending point fund for a total of $12.1 million. So fighting for this kind of pay day.....might make more sense if IndyCar drivers raced for anywhere that much....plus NASCAR actually pays their drivers to drive and provide their sponsors with exposure.....How novel!!
But I'd find it interesting to see Helio and TK have a dust up in Brazilian!! Actually see them fight? Heavens NO!!...How gauche!!!.....That is for those "red necks" from down south, you know South Detroit for Bad Brad, and Jeff who was from Indiana and moved to California.
Racing is rubbing, and rubbing causes crashes, and crashes causes fights....well at least among those with balls bigger than mustard seeds!
Posted by: OSCA | November 03, 2014 at 12:57 PM
Hear hear, OSCA. Well put. Well spoken.
Posted by: pressdog | November 03, 2014 at 01:45 PM
NASCAR fights are like Formula 1 pit stops. There are too many people around the action to see what is happening and they end in less than 5 seconds.
Gotta like the guy from Kasey Kahne's crew who hops onto a pile of people that may or may not include Brad Keselowski and starts rabbit punching anyone within reach. Haven't seen anyone spoiling for a fight that hard in a long while.
And to tie this to Indycar and the series' own bum luck:
AJ Foyt's expansion to 2 cars got some good press in Houston, making it in the weekday and Sunday extra sports coverage on the local TV news. Nevertheless, the conversation in the interviews swung away from Indycar to NASCAR's fights, which AJ gave his stamp of approval.
Posted by: billytheskink | November 03, 2014 at 02:01 PM
A couple of things:
At least Gordon decided to settle it with his hands and not with his 190-m.p.h., 3,500-pound race car. My fear is that all of this is going to result in something like what Carl Edwards did to Keselowski at Atlanta several years back.
If the drivers want to fight, let the 'em have at it. But we need some honor in these fights. The drivers are the ones whose lives are put at most risk by on-track idiocy, yet the crew guys are the ones who land the most punches (see photo floating around twitter this morning). One crew stands to one side, one crew stands to the other, and the drivers do their thing in the middle. NASCAR officials can hold the lines and stop things when they get unreasonable. Any crew guy that throws a hand should be suspended for a week without pay.
Finally, Kevin Harvick should be excluded from Phoenix for his actions. He seemed to turn the whole thing from a shouting match into what it became, then slinked off to drink Buds or whatever. That's pretty ridiculous, if you ask me. I wouldn't be shocked if his car is introduced to the wall by the 2 car at some point this coming weekend.
Posted by: H.B. Donnelly | November 03, 2014 at 02:04 PM
Obviously this wasn't staged, per se, but NASCAR definitely works hard to create the conditions for these fights to happen. How many "debris" yellows fell in the first 3/4 of the race to give everybody a chance to get back on the lead lap to increase the carnage at the end? It is good publicity now but it seems like there sure are a lot of fights after NASCAR races these days. Ultimately it will become cartoonish and will be a negative.
I like the analogy to hockey fights, which seem to happen mostly during the long, cold months of fairly meaningless games mid-season. They are there to put butts in seats. How much confidence can NASCAR have in their product and The Chase if they are relying on fights as a cheap gimmick to get attention?
Finally, I'm happy to have the drivers settle their differences with their fists (or whatever) after the race when they are out of their cars. That smash-up derby on pit road and in the garage a couple weeks ago was unconscionable. They are extremely lucky that a bystander wasn't hurt in that mess. Hopefully NASCAR put out the word to everybody that there will be hell to pay next time.
Posted by: Savage Henry | November 03, 2014 at 03:02 PM
First class entertainment all around. Glad to see Jeff standup for what he thought was a stupid racing move.
Can't wait to see if he administers any on track vigilante type rubbin' to Bozo Brad at the next race.
I haven't watched a NASCAR race all year, now I may have to! Marketing? Call it what you will but it will definitely generate more on screen eyeballs.
Posted by: GeorgeK | November 03, 2014 at 03:34 PM
I'd rather they have at it in the pits than crash into each other on the track. But everyone else needs to stay out of it.
Was that Jamie Little in the midst of things? (I don't follow nascar but I do recognize that ponytail.) If she got hurt, I would be upset.
If two drivers want to fight...let 'em.
Just my 2 cents.
Posted by: ramblinman | November 03, 2014 at 07:09 PM
Kevin Harvick is a sly old fox! He knew what he was doing by instigating the melee. Deflect all the attention elsewhere. Get everyone all mad at each other and he scoots right in. I still think the push was a punk move.
Posted by: Cheryl | November 03, 2014 at 07:21 PM
I think Keselowski drove into a hole left open by Gordon and when Gordon wanted his spot back it was already take by Keseloski. If anyone should be upset it should have been Keselowski and that bad boy held his composure the best.
Posted by: Kent McCuddin | November 03, 2014 at 07:54 PM
Nascar needs to decide whether they want to be the corporate marketing darling they've been the last several years or go back to being a bunch of southern rednecks masquerading as race car drivers. Right now they're moving towards the latter.
Posted by: Nick | November 03, 2014 at 08:52 PM
I'd love to see IndyCar drivers show more emotion and maybe not be so buddy, buddy. I loved watching Pagenaud go off on Power when he got taken out. But what takes place in Nascar is neither professional, nor appealing to me.
Posted by: Nick | November 03, 2014 at 09:07 PM
If the cameras aren't there, is there still a fight? My only complaint is that there were no metal folding chairs in the pit area. You can't have a good rumble without a metal folding chair to the head!
Posted by: redcar | November 04, 2014 at 08:11 AM
PDog....you get it. That's why I follow you. Very Very good read for those who want to see what it's like on the other side of the microphone.
Posted by: Chiefswon | November 04, 2014 at 12:30 PM
I found the so-called "fight" about as exciting as watching Danica Patrick and Milka Duno trade insults. Particularly since no metal folding chairs were involved.
IMHO, anyone who thinks IndyCar is boring without driver fights is likely bored with his or her own life.
Bill, you are practically drooling with anticipation of what happens when the bell rings for round whatever next week.
Posted by: Ron Ford | November 04, 2014 at 12:41 PM