NASCAR officials on Saturday said there was no evidence to support the claim that Paul Menard spun out intentionally with 16 laps remaining in last weekend’s Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway.
An investigation was undertaken when Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon said something “fishy” was going on with the spin out which forced a caution and changed the final results of the race.
The spin out ultimately allowed teammate Kevin Harvick to gain the positioning he needed for a win. Gordon made his comment after he was in first place but ultimately lost to Harvick who beat him out of pit road with only 12 laps remaining in the race.
Childress Racing says the spin out occurred when Menard’s race went down. Responding to Gordon’s claim on Friday NASCAR president Mike Helton revealed:
“In light of the suspicions, we’re going to look into it and see if there is anything,” while adding, “And a lot of it is going to be interpretation. Certainly, it is on us to understand exactly what all we can find as far as facts are concerned.”
According to Helton race procedures are “unappealable and unchangeable.”
“The biggest thing is to make sure we get the facts right and police the environment moving forward.” Helton said. “We joke about there not being gentlemen’s agreements anymore in our sport. But I do feel there is a code of ethics among drivers that is alive and well.”
Do you think Menard spun out on purpose to help Harvick win the race?
