There is nothing better in the world of NASCAR than a good rivalry, and there was a good one developing this past weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.
Jeff Gordon won the USG Sheetrock 400 Sunday, yet nobody was talking about the victory itself, but rather how Gordon accomplished it. With four laps to go, Gordon put a charge into an otherwise mundane day of racing by catching leader Matt Kenseth going into Turn 2, then spinning him out mid-corner to take the lead.
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The move sparked bad feelings between the two drivers that started back in March at Bristol. On the last lap of that race, Kenseth spun Gordon as the two raced in third and fourth position. Kenseth ended up taking third, while Gordon had to settle for a 21st-place finish. The pair made headlines after the race when Gordon jumped out of his car and shoved an apologetic Kenseth on pit road.
Gordon was put on probation by NASCAR after that incident, and it was almost forgotten before the closing laps of Sunday?s race, where the roles were reversed. This time Gordon sent Kenseth spinning back to a 21st-place finish, while Gordon ended up celebrating in victory lane.
Gordon said that the contact between Kenseth and himself was incidental and not related to Bristol, but Kenseth was adamant after the race that Gordon?s move was nothing but retaliation.
NASCAR will watch the pair closely in the upcoming weeks, and recently the trend on their part has been to penalize drivers for incidents both on and off the track. But if there is one thing NASCAR could use over the course of the season: it is a rivalry. Not since Kurt Busch tangled with Jimmy Spencer a few years back has there been a season-long battle between two drivers to keep fans on the edge of their seats.
Sure, Tony Stewart has traded some paint with Kenseth this season, and everybody has been angry with Kyle Busch at some point, but with NASCAR not ready to step in after Sunday?s incident, the stage is set for Gordon and Kenseth to clash on the track again before the season is over.
While NASCAR now frowns upon the kind of ongoing bad behavior that used to occur every weekend between Richard Petty and Bobby Allison, or Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace, there is no question that is makes for more excitement on Sunday.
So while the media talks this week and the fans keep an eye out on the No. 24 and No. 17 cars to see if anything else happens between them, just remember how much fun a good NASCAR rivalry can be.
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