Sparks were flying all over the place during Sunday's NASCAR race at Phoenix International Raceway---and it wasn't just on the track.
There was a fight between drivers, an intentional crash, a multiple car wreck and a new Chase leader that was left fuming. Basically just another day in NASCAR.
Brad Keselowski came into the race trailing Jimmie Johnson by seven points and finished the day in the Sprint Cup lead after taking sixth place. But with only one race to go, he wasn't ready to celebrate just yet.
"I wanted to take the points lead by winning a race and not relying on a failure," Keselowski said to the Associated Press.
Johnson blew a tire late in the race and was forced to head into the garage for repairs, allowing Keselowski to take the lead. Keselowski is now 20 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson for the Chase points lead and will win the Sprint Cup next Sunday if he finishes 15th or better at Homestead-Miami Speedway
The race at Phoenix was the most chaotic of the season--and maybe the best.
Kevin Harvick won the race following a late restart and crossed the finished line ahead of a huge car crash pileup that was caused when Danica Patrick was spun out on the restart.
"There was a lot of stuff on the race track, there was oil all over it. Ray Charles could see that," second-place finisher Denny Hamlin said.
NASCAR officials did not call a caution and numerous other cars were hit after sliding on oil, including Keselowski.
"I'm more just disappointed in the quality of racing that we saw," Keselowski said. "I thought it was absolutely ridiculous, and I was ashamed to be a part of it."
Keselowski got even more heated after the race when discussing the crash and the criticism he took in last week's race after other drivers said he was racing too hard out of a restart.
"It's the double standard that I spent a whole week being bashed by a half a dozen drivers about racing hard at Texas and how I'm out of control and have a death wish, and then I see bulls--- like that," Keselowski said. "That's all you can call that. These guys just tried to kill each other. You race hard and I get called an a------ for racing hard and called with a death wish, and I see s--- like that, and it just pisses me off.
The crash wasn't the only controversy during the race. A fight broke out between Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon after a crash that took both drives out of the race.
Everything started on lap 305 when Bowyer slid into Gordon while both drivers were battling for fifth place. The two came into contact again with just a few laps to go when Boyer caught up to Gordon on his left side.
Gordon slammed his car into Bowyer and also took out Joey Logano and narrowly missed Keselowski, who was able to avoid the crash and finish sixth.
"It's pretty embarrassing for a four-time champion and what I consider one of the best this sport's ever seen to act like that," said Bowyer. "Just completely ridiculous."
Boyer still had an outside chance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup if he finished in the top five, but the crash took him completely out of the picture. Boyer felt Gordon intentionally waited for him to pass and then crashed into him.
"We got used up by Clint several times this year, and enough is enough," Gordon's crew chief Alan Gustafson said, according to FoxSports.com. "If you're going to mess with the bull, you're going to get the horns."
The crash was only the beginning. Following the incident, Bowyer rushed out of his car towards the garage to engage Gordon.
"The sport was made on fights. We should have more fights. I like fights," Harvick said after the race, according to ESPN. "They're not always fun to be in, sometimes you're on the wrong end, but fights are what made NASCAR what it is."
Both crews started brawling before the drivers could arrive, and police were called in along with NASCAR officials to hold the sides back.
"That's just ridiculous that a champion would act like that," Bowyer's team owner Michael Waltrip said to Fox Sports.
After the race NASCAR officials did not say if anyone would be suspended or fined for the incident.
"It's Sunday night," vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said after meeting with drivers and crew members from both teams. "Your best decisions are made sometime after Sunday night, maybe potentially Monday or Tuesday."
Keselowski is still a favorite to win the Chase next week, but after a race like the one at Phoenix, a championship might not even be that exciting.
