Daytona 500 2000 - Tempers flair after practice crash

Tempers flair after practice crash
Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Nothing like a push, a shove, some heated words and a little bloodshed to liven things up at Daytona.

Racing and wrestling came together for one explosive moment Wednesday when Winston Cup drivers Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon got into a shoving match after an accident in Daytona 500 practice.


	Home Depot pit crew members separate Robby Gordon, left, and Tony Stewart after the two got into a scuffle in the garage area.

Stewart tapped the left rear of Gordon's car as Gordon was trying to pass him in the backstretch on the 2½-mile oval. The contact forced Gordon to spin out and head to the garage with damage to the front fender, the left rear and in the drive line.

Then, the Main Event.

Upset because he felt Stewart didn't allow him to complete his pass, Gordon stormed into Stewart's garage.

"I said, 'Hey, can you give me a little room, it's only practice,"' Gordon said. "He told me, 'Get out of here until you learn how to race Winston Cup."'

Gordon, whose main experience is in open-wheel racing, started to walk away. Then Stewart, last year's Winston Cup Rookie of the Year, shoved him.

Gordon turned to retaliate, but five or six members of Stewart's crew intervened. In trying to break up the fight, one of the crew members swiped Gordon's face, leaving a bloody cut near his mouth.

The 30-second scuffle made for a day's worth of lively conversation and speculation.

"I'm not inside his mind," Stewart said. "Obviously, he made a mistake. Nobody wants to crash a race car in the last practice before the 125."

Gordon and Stewart are entered in the first Gatorade 125 on Thursday, one of two qualifying races that determine the starting order for the Daytona 500. Stewart will start in the eighth position, with Gordon four rows behind him.

NASCAR officials said they were investigating the fight to determine whether the drivers would be fined.

Gordon had one of the 10 fastest cars in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. His crew chief, Fred Graves, said he didn't think the damage to the Ford would be a problem.

Gordon said he hasn't had other run-ins with Stewart, who also is a former open-wheel racer. In earlier years, the two competed at the Indianapolis 500.

"He's a great race-car driver," Gordon said. "He hangs it out. He has a lot of car control and he knows how to win races, so I have a lot of respect for him."

Stewart said he did everything he could to avoid the accident, but Gordon kept pushing him lower and lower on the track as he tried to complete his pass.

Stewart thinks Gordon should have talked about the fender-bender with his own spotter before rushing into his garage.

Still, his biggest complaint was the loss of practice time.

"I don't think he would have kept coming down there if he didn't think he was clear" to pass, Stewart said. "Now, it's a setback for both of us. It costs us both time on the track."

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