NASCAR lowers the boom on Kenseth for wrecking Logano

Matt Kenseth usually smiles, but not at this year’s Martinsville race.

One of the biggest problems with finding a standing ground on Kenseth’s issue is that there haven’t been many instances where a lap down vehicle has taken out the leader who also happens to be the favorite for the championship.

And while nobody is saying it, Matt Kenseth may have done NASCAR a favor when he ran Joey Logano into a fence last week at Martinsville.

In a pre-race interview the following week at Talledega, Kenseth said that Logano “should have stopped running his mouth, A, and No. 2, he’s lying when he said he didn’t do it on objective”.

“Additionally, we factored aspects of safety into our decision, and also the fact that the new Chase elimination format puts a premium on each and every race. These actions have no place in NASCAR”. NASCAR will not defer the suspension pending appeal. On that occasion, Logano had tapped Kenseth into a spin that ultimately contributed to him dropping out of this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, while Logano himself went on to claim victory. “There will be no further comments from JGR personnel during the appeal process”.

At Martinsville, Kenseth was involved in a restart incident with Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.

The question stands is NASCAR anxious about Kenseth continuing his vendetta against Logano, increasing his chances of not making the Chase finale. “That was really what got under Matt’s skin more than anything, about how Joey was arrogant about it. When you damn wreck a guy, admit it, you know?” It’s a tough sport.

If you want to mimic the stick and ball sports, take it all the way. It took NASCAR nearly a week to sort out all the shenanigans and it was made clear by chairman Brian France that manipulating races was a very serious crime. Logano saw none when he turned Kenseth in Kansas but it is fair to say that was a different circumstance. Would we sit back and accept in the middle of a game that an NFL Personal Foul was suddenly worth 50 yards because it’s the postseason? He went back to being among the top drivers in the business, winning in his fifth race back at Sonoma. “What happened on Sunday, that’s not quite the way that we would have liked to see that turn out”. That resulted in Logano’s second win of the round and contributed to Kenseth being unable to advance to the third round of the Chase.

He even engages sponsors – AARP’s Drive to End Hunger, for instance – that are all about social causes, and not trying to sell you a six-pack of beer. It is not okay to do what Kenseth did to Logano last Sunday, however. It’s understood that if Kenseth is not allowed to compete in this week’s race at Texas Motor Speedway or next week’s penultimate event at Phoenix worldwide Raceway then JGR’s development driver Eric Jones will be called up to replace Kenseth in the #20 auto. The punishment may appear to be harsh for many racing fans because in the previous suspensions, which were similar in nature, the usual band was usually one race and nothing more. “They have a lot to argue about that NASCAR, in these situations, either did nothing or assessed points and fines”. Plus, from a business standpoint with Gordon’s win that has brought a few fans out of hiding after Dale Jr. was eliminated from championship contention in a less than ideal ending to Talladega, and, as we all know more fans equal’s more money and more money makes NASCAR smile.

Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champion who has had 12 wins in the last three seasons since replacing Logano at Joe Gibbs Racing, has 36 career wins in 577 starts.