Happy Hour: You know the drill, it's all about Kenseth and Logano
Throughout the week you can send us your best questions, jokes, rants and just plain miscellaneous thoughts to happyhourmailbag@yahoo.com or @NickBromberg. We'll post them here and have a good time.
We didn't even have a chance to ask for Tweet submissions this week because of the overload in our email inbox. So let's get the old Chase standings out of the way before we hit the craziness,
1. Joey Logano, 2,274
2. Carl Edwards, 2,262
3. Jeff Gordon, 2,260
4. Denny Hamlin, 2,2,51
5. Martin Truex Jr., 2,250
6. Kyle Busch, 2,236
7. Ryan Newman, 2,231
8. Brad Keselowski, 2,224
9. Kurt Busch, 2,223
10. Kevin Harvick, 2,220
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2,220
12. Jamie McMurray, 2,200
13. Matt Kenseth, 2,197
14. Jimmie Johnson, 2,183
15. Paul Menard, 2,175
16. Clint Bowyer, 2,124
Time for the madness.
Racing is racing! NASCAR didn't have any issues with Logano taken out Kenseth, they can not have any issues with Kenseth taking out Logano! Race how you want to be raced! - Ron
Because Logano and Kenseth were racing? The parallels being drawn between what happened at Kansas and what happened at Martinsville simply do not exist. How is this so hard to understand? One was hard racing, the other was premeditated revenge. Even if you believe Logano put the bumper to Kenseth to crash him on purpose, they're still not the same.
------
Looking at the multiple action “big picture”, not just the final event, I say Kenseth was mild and well justified to take some action against the Penske Pair. - David
Why does "some action" = a deliberate crash? You can race a driver harder, knock him out of the way, etc. About 100 different other things than putting a driver in the wall while being nine laps down.
--------
Why didn't you write about Kenseth's lie about his tire going down. That makes him a liar and a cheat in my book. - Paul
Because it's been pretty well established that Kenseth's move was on purpose?
--------
I read your article regarding this issue and I have to disagree with you. I think that Joey had it coming and deserved what he got. Of all the places to take someone out (which is NO DOUBT what Matt did), this is the place to do it. Relatively slow cars make the chance of serious injury very minimal. I have to be honest and I was yelling and screaming and so happy to see Matt take Joey out. I rewound the DVR several times to watch it happen again and again. To me, this is what racing is about. Tension mounts and tempers flare.
I think that this is no different than Danica going after Gilliland or Carl going after Brad or Jeff going after Clint. Payback is a b---- and if you are going to intentionally take someone out who is leading the race (which is EXACTLY what Joey did, regardless of what he says) then you better not be surprised when the same happens to you. - Brian
So NASCAR is simply a game of an eye-for-an-eye at this point and that's how it should be?
There are limits. And the onus is on NASCAR to establish those limits. I have no problem with revenge or the "race someone how you should be raced" mantra (assuming we actually know what it means) but there are limits. From what drivers have said, they didn't feel like there were many/any limits in place. And now there are, creating much of the discord.
--------
Nick, concerning your article that I just read about the Kenseth/Logano wreck at Martinsville on Sunday, one only has to listen to the tapes and here Logano's spotter tell him that he is still there on the inside and watch Logano come down on Kenseth and cause the wreck. I don't know why NASCAR doesn't treat one and all alike. This is my last year watching NASCAR. My favorite driver has always been Gordon since his inaugural appearance in Winston Cup. - Dan
Uh, what? Kenseth didn't stop. He was inside because Logano raced his normal line while Kenseth's car didn't slow down. Come on.
--------
Would people think differently if Kenseth took out Logano at Homestead, while leading for the championship? - Craig
Possibly? The next two emails may answer the question in a different way.
--------
Do you think drivers and fans are defending Kenseth's actions simply because there aren't many people who like Logano? When Jeff Gordon wrecked Clint Bowyer three years ago, it seemed like there were many people who were upset with Gordon's actions. I think it was because people like and respect Clint Bowyer because he is humorous and very friendly. However, Logano has a reputation of being arrogant and a spoiled rich kid which is why Kenseth isn't receiving the same scorn from fans and drivers. - Robert
Do you think there's an Old vs. Young dynamic going on with the drivers these days? I didn't see NASCAR for about 25 years (1979-2004) so I don't know what Jeff Gordon was like in his younger days, but I thought I read where HE could be aggressive and occasionally upset some older drivers. (Those dang hotshot kids! Don't know to respect their elders or how to give and take, consarn it!) (I may have my facts wrong, but was away for a long time.)
So maybe we have a new group of "elders" (Johnson, Stewart, Gordon, Kenseth, etc.) who don't like those hotshot new kids (Keselowski, Logano, Lasrson, etc.) being aggressive and trying to win races when they should let the established older drivers win the races once they have the lead (think about the move Kes put on Gordon last year)? - Paul H.
The personalities involved in this situation dictate the reaction. NASCAR fans have always and will always react to a situation based upon the people involved even if the circumstances were the same. If Junior was in Logano's position, do you really think that Kenseth would be getting the love he is now?
And Paul is right, a generational divide also wouldn't be new to NASCAR. Think of how Gordon was received when he came up through the 90s.
Also, what the heck is up with Logano being arrogant? Sure, there's the Tom Logano angle that people harp on, but the kid was thrust into a situation he wasn't ready for at 18, didn't do well and was replaced (by Kenseth). Is there anywhere that Logano has shown arrogance? He wasn't the one who coined "Sliced Bread."
We'll end on this beautiful email.
--------
Keselowski taking Matt out was like logano taking Matt out. they are team mate's. does anyone not see this was well planned. It's funny when Matt won his champingship, they changed the rules on the champingship and so on. Matt has been on the short end of the stick with nascar as long as he has been racing in nascar. logano also got back at joe gibbs racing for getting rid of him when Matt replaced him, get the picture. nascar is no longer on my tv but I still like Matt Kenseth. I would not respect Matt if he didn't take logano out. nascar car has screwed Matt every time. nascar will have to give away more free tickets to fill the stands. the announcers for nascar are morons and suck ups. I have no use for nascar. the races are boring, nascar is boring, steve O'Donnell is, well? - Jacquelyn
Anyone else wondering how Jacquelyn thinks NASCAR announcers are morons and suck ups if she doesn't watch?
- - - - - - -
Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
