People should understand NASCAR confrontation

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Sunday evening, I sat court-side at Rupp Arena watching two physical teams go at each other.

On my computer screen, NASCAR drivers Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon and their crews turned a post-race discussion into a full-on melee, complete with Keselowski, a former NASCAR champion, strong-armed into a headlock by a member of Gordon’s crew.

UK dunked and sprinted its way to a exhibition victory over Pikeville. It did not hold a candle to the action at Texas Motor Speedway, for better or for worse.

Fighting over disagreements is ingrained in the culture of auto racing. Older fans like to hark back to the old days, when not every driver was necessarily skinny and full of manners after physical racing on the track. But the last two years have reintroduced verbal and aggressive disagreements between drivers and teams after races.

Joey Logano and Tony Stewart were held back by crew members during a fight last ye­ar in California.

Denny Hamlin and Logano did the same thing weeks later in Bristol.

Matt Kenseth attacked Keselowski — legitimately, with forearms flying — between two car haulers three weeks ago in Charlotte. As a professional wrestling fan, it was a wondrous throwback to when Triple H and Stone Cold Steve Austin slugged it out backstage in the early 2000s.

Acquaintances of mine like to ask — how can you disagree in a sport that involves turning cars to the left, keeping it straight and then turning cars to the left again?

People should relate to getting cut off on the highway at high speeds. I’ve almost been in a crash because of it, and I have cut people off on occasion.

Imagine if our everyday disagreements could be solved by a drag out fight between you and your friends. My roommates and I could solve every dish-washing conundrum by attacking each other, pushing each other, but not necessarily a fist fight.

We have not seen that kind of action at Kentucky Speedway yet in the Sprint Cup Series’ four years at the track. And officials wonder why attendance has fallen each year.

NASCAR’s key to growing as a league and a sport is grabbing casual fans outside of the southern part of the U.S. These skirmishes and brawls give auto racing the tinge of reality television-like elements that draw those sort of people in, especially when it involves two champions.

Wouldn’t you want to fight the person who cut you off on New Circle Road?

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