Post by dalejrfan on Feb 24, 2006 22:22:05 GMT -5
FONTANA, Calif. -- Matt Kenseth typically is soft-spoken and well-mannered.
He's not one to bash a fellow Nextel Cup driver without being provoked or to hold a grudge longer than 24 hours.
So when the 2003 Cup champion arrived at California Speedway still upset over Sunday's run-in with reigning Cup champion Tony Stewart, one knew he'd been pushed too
"Obviously, today I still have bad feelings,'' Kenseth said on Friday. "It would be hard for me not to. It's a little bit harder to get over than most things.''
Kenseth was challenging for a top four position on lap 106 of the Daytona 500 when Stewart slid down the track and drove him into the infield grass. His car eventually spun back up the track, amazingly avoiding hitting another car.
Stewart said he was retaliating for an earlier incident in which he said Kenseth turned him sideways in Turn 2.
"He started the whole thing and I finished it,'' Stewart said at the time.
Kenseth laughed, saying he never touched Stewart's car.
"What he was mad about was when he got loose by himself and saved it and everybody was talking about what a great save it was,'' he said. "The dude was mad at me for that for some reason, and I don't really know why.''
Kenseth was surprised that Stewart, who was sent to the rear of the lead lap for aggressive driving, wasn't penalized further by NASCAR this past week. He reminded that other drivers have been penalized when admitting to retaliation.
"It was the best speedway car I ever had,'' Kenseth said. "It was my best shot at winning the Daytona 500. Growing up in stock car racing, to win the Daytona 500 is all of our dreams. I felt I had that taken away from me unfairly.
"It would be like Tony running the Indy 500 and me taking him out for no reason, how mad he would be. Kind of the same thing. I just thought it was unnecessary. It was frustrating, disappointing.''
Kenseth said he and Stewart haven't talked since the incident, and that he doesn't feel it's his place to make the first move.
"I've never had a lot of run-ins with Tony,'' he said. "I've had a couple, but not a lot. We've always raced each other really clean. He just gets mad for stuff.
"But I've never heard him say, 'Boy, I messed up there.' I feel like no matter what, I don't feel I need to go talk to him because I don't feel I was in the wrong at all.''
Kasey Kahne, who had a run-in with Stewart last season, understands.
"I'd get mad at Tony too if I was Matt,'' he said. "It was a pretty blatant deal.''
Jeff Gordon agreed.
"It looked pretty blatant to me,'' he said. "It looked so blatant that it had to be an accident. Usually, any move like that you're just going to spin yourself out.''
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was behind Stewart at the time of the incident, doesn't know about blatant. But he knows Kenseth well enough to know he doesn't get upset for no reason.
"Yeah, Matt handles his business,'' he said. "If he's mad he usually has a pretty good reason. ... I don't really know if Tony meant to do it or not. I don't think Tony meant to turn him into the infield.
"They had been beating on each other. Maybe that's all that was intended to be. I'm sure Tony would do it differently if he the opportunity.''
Blatant or not, Kenseth has no plans to retaliate this weekend. All retaliation -- he drove up beside Stewart coming off pit road to express his displeasure -- did at Daytona was get him black-flagged for a drive-through penalty that contributed to a 15th-place finish for a car that could have won.
"Right now, do I have bad feelings?'' Kenseth said. "Yeah, I do. Am I going to race him different or hold a grudge or go out and do something silly? No, I'm not.''
Stewart declined to comment on last week, saying, "We talked about last week last week. Talk about something new.''
He's not one to bash a fellow Nextel Cup driver without being provoked or to hold a grudge longer than 24 hours.
So when the 2003 Cup champion arrived at California Speedway still upset over Sunday's run-in with reigning Cup champion Tony Stewart, one knew he'd been pushed too
"Obviously, today I still have bad feelings,'' Kenseth said on Friday. "It would be hard for me not to. It's a little bit harder to get over than most things.''
Kenseth was challenging for a top four position on lap 106 of the Daytona 500 when Stewart slid down the track and drove him into the infield grass. His car eventually spun back up the track, amazingly avoiding hitting another car.
Stewart said he was retaliating for an earlier incident in which he said Kenseth turned him sideways in Turn 2.
"He started the whole thing and I finished it,'' Stewart said at the time.
Kenseth laughed, saying he never touched Stewart's car.
"What he was mad about was when he got loose by himself and saved it and everybody was talking about what a great save it was,'' he said. "The dude was mad at me for that for some reason, and I don't really know why.''
Kenseth was surprised that Stewart, who was sent to the rear of the lead lap for aggressive driving, wasn't penalized further by NASCAR this past week. He reminded that other drivers have been penalized when admitting to retaliation.
"It was the best speedway car I ever had,'' Kenseth said. "It was my best shot at winning the Daytona 500. Growing up in stock car racing, to win the Daytona 500 is all of our dreams. I felt I had that taken away from me unfairly.
"It would be like Tony running the Indy 500 and me taking him out for no reason, how mad he would be. Kind of the same thing. I just thought it was unnecessary. It was frustrating, disappointing.''
Kenseth said he and Stewart haven't talked since the incident, and that he doesn't feel it's his place to make the first move.
"I've never had a lot of run-ins with Tony,'' he said. "I've had a couple, but not a lot. We've always raced each other really clean. He just gets mad for stuff.
"But I've never heard him say, 'Boy, I messed up there.' I feel like no matter what, I don't feel I need to go talk to him because I don't feel I was in the wrong at all.''
Kasey Kahne, who had a run-in with Stewart last season, understands.
"I'd get mad at Tony too if I was Matt,'' he said. "It was a pretty blatant deal.''
Jeff Gordon agreed.
"It looked pretty blatant to me,'' he said. "It looked so blatant that it had to be an accident. Usually, any move like that you're just going to spin yourself out.''
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was behind Stewart at the time of the incident, doesn't know about blatant. But he knows Kenseth well enough to know he doesn't get upset for no reason.
"Yeah, Matt handles his business,'' he said. "If he's mad he usually has a pretty good reason. ... I don't really know if Tony meant to do it or not. I don't think Tony meant to turn him into the infield.
"They had been beating on each other. Maybe that's all that was intended to be. I'm sure Tony would do it differently if he the opportunity.''
Blatant or not, Kenseth has no plans to retaliate this weekend. All retaliation -- he drove up beside Stewart coming off pit road to express his displeasure -- did at Daytona was get him black-flagged for a drive-through penalty that contributed to a 15th-place finish for a car that could have won.
"Right now, do I have bad feelings?'' Kenseth said. "Yeah, I do. Am I going to race him different or hold a grudge or go out and do something silly? No, I'm not.''
Stewart declined to comment on last week, saying, "We talked about last week last week. Talk about something new.''