CUP: Loudon Could Become Payback City

Sprint Cup

CUP: Loudon Could Become Payback City

Several drivers are still at odds after last Sunday's race in Sonoma...

Bob Pockrass | http://www.scenedaily.com | Posted June 27, 2010 Loudon, NH

Kurt Busch (2) and Jeff Gordon (24) battle last weekend at Infineon Raceway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

When the checkered flag fell at Infineon Raceway last week, several drivers had issues with other drivers.

Now, is it time for payback? Last week’s race could define how drivers race in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

As Jeff Gordon quipped on Friday to those who possibly want to retaliate against him, “Get in line.” Headlined by Martin Truex Jr., the line looking for Gordon includes Elliott Sadler and Kurt Busch.

Among others with some payback thoughts could be Joey Logano on Juan Pablo Montoya and Jeff Burton on Marcos Ambrose. And there probably are some others that went unnoticed because there was so much beating and banging on the California road course.

While a driver knows who might be mad at him, the bigger piece of the puzzle is: Does a driver need to know if the two guys in front of him have issues from the previous weeks?

Spotters often remind drivers if the guys in front of them might have a beef with each other. But drivers say they can tell on the track if someone is ready to retaliate.

“If my spotter sees something or if Chad sees the potential for something on track, we usually talk about it a little bit just to make me aware,” Johnson said. “But in most cases, it’s very apparent from the driver’s seat what is coming.

“You see things and how the race is going on. If someone’s being stubborn or if someone is setting up an opportunity. It’s usually pretty noticeable from inside the race car.”

For a guy such as Gordon, it will be noticeable if someone is coming after him.

“I’m going to deal with whatever comes my way,” Gordon said. “When you hit a guy, there are several ways that the whole thing goes down. If a guy hit you first and you hit him back, then he should know that he brought that on himself. If you run into a guy for no reason, then you should know that you’re going to have to deal with something going forward.

“Either the guy is going to have a lot of patience and just loom there and make you sweat it out, or he’s going to get you back right away. You don’t know how they’re going to deal with it. You just know that you probably have one coming from them. That’s something that I can’t control.”

Martin Truex Jr. was unhappy with his team's performance at Richmond. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Gordon’s priority when racing today will be to try to make it a little easier for those working with him and not necessarily himself. He doesn’t want his crew to have to fix a wrecked race car or face the ire of other crews.

“All I can do is go out there and race the best that I can and try to avoid incidents, try to make life a little easier on [the team] because they’re owed that,” Gordon said. “At the same time, we’re out there trying to win races, so we’ve got to keep doing that as well.”

So who will be first in line to get Gordon?

“I would say that I’m in the line, but I’m not at the top of the list,” Busch said. “There are a lot of guys in front of me that want to go talk to Jeff ‘Bulldozer’ Gordon.”

Busch said he believes drivers will take things into their own hands more now than in years past because of NASCAR’s more relaxed policy in letting drivers handle situations that arise on the track.

“NASCAR used to be looking over your shoulder when you had a run-in with somebody or you took it over the line too far and they would step in,” Busch said. “Now, it seems like you can turn a guy over on his lid and get three-week probation [as Carl Edwards did].

“It’s definitely a different game. When I first came in 10 years ago, I ran into a couple of guys at Rockingham and [NASCAR] threatened to park me because I was accidentally bumping into guys.”

Edwards said it is likely drivers will remember how they were raced by others last week when they take the green today.

“Last week seemed a little rougher to me than what I’ve seen before there at that race track, but what goes around comes around,” Edwards said. “The guys who drive like that end up getting driven that way themselves. That’s the way it goes.”

Polesitter Juan Pablo Montoya said he hopes most of the drivers have already gotten out their frustration.

“I think a lot of people settled their difference on the [cool-down] laps,” Montoya said. “The race was over and all of a sudden you saw the No. 14 [of Tony Stewart] and No. 26, I think Boris Said was driving, were hitting each other. Then here came Elliott Sadler and he hits the No. 24 [of Gordon]. I was like, ‘Wow, this is more exciting than the race.’”

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