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« Transcript: Mark Miles and Will Power Talk about 2015 IndyCar Season | Main | Shea Holbrook Launches Crowd-Funding Effort, ClutchFunded Launches New Platform »

November 03, 2014

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senorsoupe

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.

A fan

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

pressdog

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.

Dylan

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.

OSCA

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!

pressdog

Hear hear, OSCA. Well put. Well spoken.

billytheskink

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.

H.B. Donnelly

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.

Savage Henry

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.

GeorgeK

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.

ramblinman

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.

Cheryl

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.

Kent McCuddin

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.

Nick

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.

Nick

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.

redcar

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!

Chiefswon

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.

Ron Ford

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.

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