Drivers foresee return of explosive tempers once the Chase begins
Are the boys about to have at it again?
Ryan Newman thinks so and Clint Bowyer does, too.
Newman, the second-place finisher in the 2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, said this year he expects to see the same kind of hot tempers and explosive moments that last year's playoff round produced.
Among the memorable moments last year: Matt Kenseth put Brad Keselowski in a headlock in the garage after the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Jeff Gordon punched Keselowski at Texas Motor Speedway.
Speaking before Sprint Cup practice at Richmond International Raceway on Friday, Newman said similar incidents could be on the horizon.
"I think after last year's Chase, everybody had to calm down a little bit in the off-season," said Newman. "It's probably been a little tamer these first 25 races, just kind of watching, people giving and taking and not being quite as aggressive. I saw a little bit more of that at Darlington than I thought I was going to see. I thought it was going to be more give and take because it was Darlington, and there were quite a few guys that typically when you'd get underneath somebody, they'd let you go. And that didn't happen last week."
Newman said Darlington might be a harbinger of things to come.
"I think it's building, especially going into the Chase," said Newman of the on-track tension. "But I think the Chase itself is what really lit that fire. There was a lot of fuel in the air last year, and that Chase lit that fire. I think there is potential for that to happen again.
"I think once the competition level steps up, when you have to win or have to move up five spots to get your five points on that third race of the Chase, I think it will definitely light."
As for Bowyer, who right now is the last driver in the Chase field, he concurred with Newman's assessment.
"I think this weekend could be the first step in some wild activity on the racetrack, and it will only progress from there," said Bowyer. "The pressure cooker definitely heats up, just like they intended it to in this Chase, and that's when you guys (reporters) started getting blisters on your fingers writing stories. I think that's going to be the case again.
"It just seems like there's no time, there's nothing -- no period of the Chase that it's a comfortable moment where you can ride a little bit. It's always crunch time and you've got to go."
