FORT WORTH, Texas — Brad Keselowski’s face was puffy, and he took a couple quick drinks of water to wash the blood from his mouth. So close to a big playoff win, Jeff Gordon was left with a cut on his lip.
The Chase for the Sprint Cup championship took another intense turn Sunday night when past champions Gordon and Keselowski were a part of a brawl after Jimmie Johnson won his third consecutive Texas fall race.
Johnson emerged from a frantic finish, the second attempt at an overtime two-lap sprint to the finish after his teammate Gordon spun out from the front following contact with Keselowski.
While Johnson celebrated his fourth victory at Texas and 70th Sprint Cup win overall, fireworks exploded in the sky — and on pit road.
An irate Gordon stopped his car right by Keselowski and confronted him. There were plenty of punches thrown, with NASCAR officials in the middle of crew members and others around Keselowski’s No. 2 car.
“I couldn’t even tell you what happened,” said Keselowski, who confirmed he was hit by someone. “Just a melee of people.”
It seemed the only contact among drivers was when Kevin Harvick shoved Keselowski in the back to push him into the fracas, and Gordon briefly appeared to grab hold of Keselowski’s firesuit.
All the punches thrown appeared to come from crew members — including a member of Gordon teammate Kasey Kahne’s team who appeared to land several shots on Keselowski from behind.
Gordon was leading on a restart on lap 335, one more than the race’s scheduled length, when he took the outside lane. When Gordon drifted up a bit, Keselowski pushed through the gap, and made contact that left Gordon’s car with a cut tire.
“We were just racing for the win. I didn’t wreck him, and just raced him hard. He left a hole. Everything you watch in racing, you leave a hole, you’re supposed to go for it,” Keselowski said. “I don’t want to ruin anyone’s day. I wanted to win the race and that was the opportunity.”
Gordon said he was on older tires when “out of nowhere I got slammed by the 2.” He then used an expletive in referring to Keselowski, who finished third.