Following his actions in Sunday's race, four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon was fined $100,000, docked 25 points and placed on probation for the remainder of the season.
NASCAR announced the punishment on Monday in response to Gordon intentionally wrecking Clint Bowyer in one of the final laps in the Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway. The two also got into an altercation after the wreck.
"There's no doubt that a unique set of circumstances combined with a championship battle on the line resulted in raw emotions coming into play," NASCAR vice president for competition Robin Pemberton said in a statement. "We consider the penalties appropriate and those involved understand our decision and we expect them to abide by them."
The frustration between the two had been building all season and started to flare up 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.
The wreck left Bowyer in 28th place, putting him too far out of contention for the Sprint Cup championship with just one race remaining. Boyer 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.
"That's just ridiculous that a champion would act like that," Bowyer's team owner Michael Waltrip said to Fox Sports.
Boyer felt Gordon intentionally waited for him to pass and then crashed into him.
"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 on Sunday to the Associated Press. "Just completely ridiculous."
A fight broke out between the crews for Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon after the crash. Bowyer also rushed out of his car towards the garage to engage Gordon. Police were called in along with NASCAR officials to hold the sides back.
"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."
Gordon is now 11th in the standings after being docked points. Bowyer's crew chief was also fined $25,000 and placed in probation through the end of the year
According to ESPN.com, "Rick Hendrick was docked 25 owner points and Alan Gustafson was placed on probation for the remainder of the year under the rule that stipulates the crew chief is responsible for his driver and team members during a race event."
Other fines were also handed out on Monday, including a $25,000 fine to Keselowski, who was caught using a cellphone in his car during the race. According to the rules, a phone is considered an "on-board computer".
Keselowski came into the race trailing Jimmie Johnson by seven points and finished the day in the Sprint Cup lead after taking sixth place.
Driver Denny Hamlin wrote about the Gordon incident on Twitter, writing to his spouse on Twitter: "love ya Ingrid but your man was wrong. He wrecked trying to wreck 15 first."
ESPN Writer David Newton wrote about the Gordon incident and said that NASCAR did not go far enough in punishing the driver.
"...all Gordon got was basically a slap on the wrist, a $100,000 fine that is chump change for an athlete Forbes ranked 42nd in the world with total earnings of $23.6 million from June 2011 to June 2012."
"What happened at Phoenix deserved more than a slap on the wrist regardless of who was driving. What Gordon did was put other drivers at risk and impact the championship battle, which drivers were sternly warned by NASCAR not to do during their prerace meeting," wrote Newton.
Both sides commented on their actions in the incident, including Michael Waltrip Racing, who put out a statement.
"The goal of Michael Waltrip Racing is to be a championship-level organization both on and off the track," the statement said. "The on-track incident which occurred during Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway was extremely disappointing and brought raw emotions of a long and hard championship battle to the surface.
With one race left to go in the Chase, all Keselowski needs to do is finish 15th or better at Homestead-Miami Speedway and he will win the Sprint Cup championship.
