 Hamlin talks about Texas fight and Keselowski: from the NASCAR Teleconference
With #11-Denny Hamlin, the transcript, in part:
Q). Did you have any strong feelings, thoughts about what penalty should be for the fight last
week and what are they?
DENNY HAMLIN: Not really. I don't really have any strong feelings about it one way or
another. When things are as tense as they are and your whole season comes down to kind of
one cut tire by somebody else, you're of course going to be upset. So who knows what should
happen. But definitely it will probably be monetary, if anything.
Q). Obviously a lot of debate about the move that Brad Keselowski made when he collided
with Jeff Gordon near the end of the Texas race, whether there was a hole there or not. I was
wondering if you had a chance to look at the replay and what you thought of the move, is it a
move you would have made? Do you think there was enough room to justify it and do the
circumstances itself maybe sort of justify it?
DENNY HAMLIN: Well, I think going in, you know, I don't know what Brad thought. But I
thought from my perspective, if I was in that car and shoes, that I would have to know that
I'm not going to make it through that hole without having contact of some sort. That's fine.
But if it costs somebody a bad day, you're going to have to expect retaliation, which I'm sure
he did. So you'll have to take it with a grain of salt.
Q). Would you have made that move?
DENNY HAMLIN: I don't know. I think about that a lot and whether I would or would not.
He was on fresher tires. So saying that that was his only opportunity to get the win may not
necessarily be a true statement. He still had two laps to get around. And if you push the 48
there past the 24, it was a battle between him and the 48. I don't know. You know, it's tough
for me to say. And his points position, his actual position, I didn't have the tires he had. So
everyone has a different way of doing things. But I think a common feel amongst drivers is
that what they call that, people are calling that a hole that that was a very small hole. And the
car is call it six and a half, seven foot wide, that hole was six foot. It was not enough that a
car was going to fit without being in contact. Somebody was going to have to pay the price. It
was Jeff Gordon. And it made him have a bad day.
Q). Of course back to the fight. When you look at the aftermath of what happened, once you
got home, what did you see there? What are all the variables involved that made that such an
intense moment?
DENNY HAMLIN: Well, I think it was the moment where Brad kind of blew Jeff off was
when it set things off and that kind of goes back to what I just talked about, with Nate. That
the times that I've had tussles with Brad and other drivers, it's just oh, well, that's how a race
is, just deal with it. As drivers, you're just looking at someone to say I'm sorry I ruined your
day, I screwed up, oh, well, I apologize. When that doesn't get said, then immediately it just
lights a fire in your stomach that all he cares -- he doesn't have any remorse. It's just like oh,
well, it's your problem. And I think that just lights a fire in your insides, especially when you
just had a bad day and your season could have just rested on that one mistake or whatever
you want to call it. I think that that really set things off. I think if Brad would have talked to
Jeff and said, man, I was going for a hole. It was my only chance, you know, I'm really sorry
it cut your tire, I think it goes totally different. Instead, it was oh, well, sorry, bud, you left a
hole. If he did it to me I would have had the same reaction as Jeff. No question. I think that's
what escalated it the most.
Q). Is it a stretch to say that Brad is the most disliked driver in the garage?
DENNY HAMLIN: I don't know. I can't speak for many other guys. But I mean it's just -there's a lot of animosity. And that's all that you can really say. And so I don't know. It's just
something that's happened and a lot of built-up frustration over the years
 NASCAR penalizes crew members and crew chiefs: NASCAR has assessed penalties to
crew members from the #5 and #24 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams for their involvement
in post-race incidents on Nov. 2 at Texas Motor Speedway. In addition, the crew chiefs from
those two teams also have been penalized.
Jeremy Fuller, a crew member with the #5 team, along with Dwayne Doucette and Jason
Ingle, crew members with the #24 team, each have been fined $25,000 and suspended from
NASCAR through the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship
points races. All three were found to be in violation of:
" Section 12-1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing
" Section 12-4.9: Behavioral penalty - involved in a post-race physical altercation with a
driver on pit road
Dean Mozingo, a crew member with the #24 team, has been fined $10,000 and suspended
from NASCAR through the completion of the next three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
championship points races. He was found to be in violation of:
" Section 12-1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing
" Section 12-4.9: Behavioral penalty - involved in a post-race physical altercation with
another crew member on pit road
Kenny Francis, crew chief of the #5 team, and Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the #24 team,
have each been fined $50,000 and placed on NASCAR probation through the completion of
the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points races. They were found to be
in violation of:
" Section 9-4A: Crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his team members
" Section 12-1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing
" Section 12-4.9: Behavioral penalty
"While the intensity and emotions are high as we continue through the final rounds of the
Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the actions that we saw from several crew members
Sunday following the race at Texas are unacceptable," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR
senior vice president, competition and racing development. "We reviewed the content that
was available to us of the post-race incident along pit road, and identified several crew
members who crossed the line with their actions, specifically punching others. We therefore
have penalized four crew members as well as their crew chiefs, as they ultimately are
responsible for members of their team per the NASCAR rule book," Pemberton continued.
"A NASCAR championship is at stake, but we can't allow behavior that crosses the line to go
unchecked, particularly when it puts others in harm's way
 Hendrick Motorsports Statement about penalties: Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal
penalties announced Tuesday by NASCAR related to a post-race incident Sunday evening at
Texas Motor Speedway. "With NASCAR's new Chase format, we're seeing an unprecedented
level of intensity every single week," said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports.
"Emotions run high when you're racing for a championship, and that's exciting for our fans
and everyone involved with the sport. But there's a line the competitors need to be cognizant
of, and we understand that. "Jeff (Gordon) was rightfully fired up Sunday night, and it just
reiterated to me how passionate he is and how much he wants to win. The No. 24 team is a
group that works together and is loyal to one another. They have our full support as we go
into these final two races." Team members involved in the incident will not be additionally
sanctioned by Hendrick Motorsports
 HMS will pay fines for crew members: Hendrick Motorsports will pay the $185,000 in
fines levied against six crew members for their role in a post-race fight at Texas between #24Jeff Gordon and #2-Brad Keselowski. NASCAR fined and suspended four Hendrick team
members, while the crew chiefs for Gordon and Kasey Kahne were also fined. Hendrick
Motorsports general manager Doug Duchardt said Wednesday on Sirius XM that the
organization would cover all the fines
 Changes at Roush Fenway Racing: Roush Fenway Racing is taking steps to right the
ship. On Wednesday, RFR will announce the addition of respected motosports manager Mark
McArdle as engineering director. McArdle will oversee all engineering for the organization
and report to general manager Robbie Reiser. "My role is to provide the organization with
better vision, increased levels of direction and communication to allow all the available
resources to work together to find the solutions to the basic core problem of car
performance," McArdle said. McArdle most recently was director of racing operations at
Richard Childress Racing. He held the position since the summer of 2013 after four seasons
with Furniture Row Racing in Denver. The last two years at FRR, McArdle served as an
intermediary in the teams' technical alliance. He moved back to North Carolina to be closer to
his family - ultimately the reason McArdle chose to leave RCR and join RFR, which cuts his
commute in half. McArdle acknowledged he was grateful for the opportunity with Richard
Childress and still has tremendous respect for the organization. Although McArdle will join
RFR at the track this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, he only expects to be on the
road 25-percent of the time in order to focus on the challenges back at the Concord, N.C.based shop.
RFR has also hired Kevin Kidd as its Sprint Cup team manager. Kidd, who currently
oversees the #20 Nationwide Series team for Joe Gibbs Racing, earned an engineering degree
at Virginia Tech. He also worked with McArdle as the race engineer on the #19 at Evernham
Motorsports. Kidd's role will be similar to Eric Peterson, who was Roush Fenway's
operations manager before overseeing the Nationwide Series program
 Harvick to run classic Budweiser scheme at Phoenix: To celebrate the upcoming
holiday season, Kevin Harvick's #4 Budweiser Chevy features a special paint scheme for this
weekend's race at Phoenix. The paint scheme replicates Budweiser's classic holiday
packaging that was introduced this week by the King of Beers. The 12-, 18- and 24-pack
bottles available in the holiday packaging feature classic labels from 1918 - the last label
before Prohibition, 1933 - the first label following the repeal of Prohibition, and 1976 - the
Budweiser brand's 100th anniversary. In addition, Budweiser has introduced a limitededition, handmade wooden crate with 18 bottles of Budweiser and two pilsner glasses inside,
all featuring authentic classic labels. Only 10,000 of the wooden crates - handmade by
Vintage Editions in North Carolina - will be available, hitting shelves across the country this
week. The wooden crate is an exact replica of those stacked atop the world-famous
Budweiser Clydesdale hitch
 Special fans scheme to run on the #43 at Phoenix: Aric Almirola and the #43 Farmland
Ford team hope to rebound from Texas with a Top-10 finish at Phoenix International
Raceway this Sunday. The team raced in the Top-15 for the majority of the race this spring
and hope that their strong short track performances this season will translate to a good finish
this weekend. Almirola has seven Sprint Cup Series starts at the one-mile track and scored
four Top-16 finishes including his best finish of 12th. He tallied one pole, two Top-Fives and
four Top-10 finishes in nine starts in Nationwide and Truck Series races. Farmland Foods has
partnered with the Folds of Honor Foundation, which provides support to families of fallen or
disabled armed forces members, throughout the 2014 NASCAR season to support our
county's armed forces. As a result of the partnership, Farmland Foods is now donating
$100,000 to Folds of Honor, which will provide scholarships to families of fallen or disabled
armed forces members. Farmland Foods will highlight the partnership with Folds of Honor as
part of a customized paint scheme on the #43 car at this Sunday's race. The paint scheme was
chosen by fans through a vote on Farmland Food's Facebook page