Jeff Gordon may have taken it a little too far on Sunday when he retaliated towards Clint Bowyer for clipping him on with seven laps to go.
When he was black flagged by NASCAR, he stayed on the track instead of going onto pit road and took out not just Bowyer but Joey Logano behind him as well, reports Yahoo! Sports .
The reaction from Bowyer’s team was immediate with his crew chief, Brian Pattie, saying over the radio it was no way for a champion to act. Gordon climbed from his wrecked car and headed for his hauler. What he wasn’t expecting, however, was the entire No. 15 team charging straight for him.
They reportedly shoved the four-time NASCAR champion into his hauler, and Gordon’s team quickly joined the fight as well. Bowyer, whose car was destroyed, sprinted to the scene but was held back from joining in the brawl by a NASCAR official.
Once they could regain control of the situation, Gordon and his crew chief, along with a few others, were escorted by police to the NASCAR hauler. USA Today notes that, after meeting with officials, Gordon stated of the incident:
“It’s just things have gotten escalated over the year, and I’ve just had it. Clint’s run into me numerous times, wrecked me, and he got into me on the back straightaway and pretty much ruined our day. I’ve had it and was fed up with it and got him back.”
Considering Kyle Bush was suspended last year for doing the same thing to Ron Hornaday Jr. in Texas, reaction from NASCAR to Jeff Gordon will likely be stiff. Michael Waltrip, the owner of Bowyer’s car, stated of the incident, “Cowardly, chicken and sad. What a sad act that was by Jeff Gordon.”
Joey Logano, who was also taken out of the race by Gordon’s move, took to Twitter after the race to express his frustration over the wreck, saying:
When I was young I thought @ jeffgordonweb was the best driver. Now I’ve lost a lot of respect for him. #verydumb
— Joey Logano (@joeylogano) November 11, 2012
Clint Bowyer also spoke about the incident, saying:
“It’s just a shame, man. The last thing you want to get into anything with is Jeff Gordon. I didn’t even need to pass him. All I was doing was biding my time. For him to act like that, I barely touched him… It’s pretty embarrassing, and not what you expect from a four-time champion and what I consider one of the best the sport’s ever seen.”
There has been no ruling by NASCAR on what punishment they will dole out to Jeff Gordon for wrecking Clint Bowyer or on Bowyer’s crew for attacking Gordon.