NASCAR will examine video footage of the post-race brawl in Texas on Sunday night involving drivers Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick.
The championship’s vice-president of competition, Robin Pemberton, admits that there is “a lot of work to do this week” after the fight, which followed the penultimate race in the Eliminator round of the Chase.
Pemberton says that NASCAR has no issue with the on-track incident that preceded the fight, which saw Keselowski and Gordon make contact on a late restart.
Gordon led the points standings heading to Texas and appeared headed for another victory when an aggressive move from the Penske Ford driver punctured a tyre on his Hendrick Chevrolet, resulting in a 29th place finish.
Slipping to fourth in the standings as a result, Gordon approached Keselowski on pit-road post-race.
Video footage shows Harvick subsequently shove Keselowski in the back, triggering a brawl involving Gordon, Keselowski and a crowd of crew members from their respective teams.
“We knew the format was going to put a lot of pressure on people to perform and make aggressive moves and decisions out there on the race track,” Pemberton said following the incident.
“You could see the result of that after the race.
“We’re going to take our time. We’ve got a lot of film to review and things like that.
“The important thing is to make the right decision at the end of the day.
“You shouldn’t punch somebody,” he added.
“Everybody gets together, and when you’re holding onto each other and grabbing and this, that and the other, that’s one thing.
‘When punches are landed, that’s a different scenario. We have a lot of work to do this week.”
Keselowski, who appeared to throw no punches in the melee, was already on probation for his part in a post-race scuffle at Charlotte on October 11.
Team owner Roger Penske has again defended his star’s aggressive driving, which has come under increasing scrutiny this season.
“Brad Keselowski is a champion who competes to win in every race, which is what I expect of him,” said Penske in a statement.
“While the actions by others following the race in Texas were unfortunate, Brad has my 100 percent support as we now move on to Phoenix for the next stage of the NASCAR championship.”
Next weekend’s Phoenix race will see the eight current Chase contenders cut to four ahead of the Homestead finale.
Joey Logano (4072), Denny Hamlin (4072) and Ryan Newman (4070) hold the top three places despite relatively lacklustre nights in Texas.
Fourth-placed Gordon’s 4060 points sees him under siege from Matt Kenseth (4059), Carl Edwards (4059), Keselowski (4055) and Harvick (4054).
A win at Phoenix will see any of the eight drivers automatically advance, leaving only three to go through on points.
The two Eliminator races held to date have been won by Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jimmie Johnson, who both fell out of Chase contention in the preceding Contender round.
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