Gordon speculates on high drama and conspiracy in NASCAR

September 16, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

RICHMOND, VA.

Jeff Gordon finds it “a little fishy” that Paul Menard spun out at Richmond last weekend, forcing a caution that helped teammate Kevin Harvick win the race. He also wondered if Richard Childress Racing ordered Menard to do it.

Gordon was leading Harvick in Saturday night’s race when Menard spun with 16 laps to go. The drivers pitted during the ensuing caution, and Harvick was first out of the pits to take the lead. He pulled away on the restart four laps later.

Harvick went on to win his fourth race of the season, which tied him with Kyle Busch for the top seed in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. It was a big swing for Gordon, who was denied his fourth victory and trails the leaders by three points for Sunday’s race at Chicagoland Speedway.

“If any of that is true of what’s being speculated right now, all I can say is I’ve lost a lot of respect for Paul Menard if that’s the case,” Gordon said.

“I don’t want to blame him for any of that if it’s not true. He might have just lost it off of turn four and the caution came out. But when you listen to the radio, and I’ve had other people translate it to me, it sounds a little fishy.”

Gordon said he hasn’t heard the radio transmission. Chatter between Menard and his team that was played this week on Speed Channel indicated there was a moment the group switched to an encrypted frequency before Menard spun out.

A spokesman for RCR said the organization had no comment. Harvick said he was told a flat tire caused Menard to spin out.

“Everything that I’ve heard about the situation was the right rear tire was down to the cords,” Harvick said. “I guess I wish I could have brought it with me. Obviously when a situation like that happens, that’s going to be the first thing that people migrate to.

“That’s really all I know about the whole thing. I asked what the deal was and that was the answer I received.”

NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said officials have no evidence Menard or RCR did anything suspicious.

“We haven’t seen or heard anything that would indicate [Menard] did anything inappropriate in Richmond,” Tharp said. “We watch closely the activity in each event all season long to maintain a fair and even event for all competitors. We naturally will do the same for the balance of the season.”