Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon denied that Chevy manipulated the race at Martinsville.
Jeff Gordon via Bob Pockrass on X
In the closing laps of the race, Chevy drivers Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon refused to pass William Byron ensuring that he would have a point advantage over Christopher Bell and lock himself into a playoff position.
Radio communication from Austin Dillon’s team indicates that a “deal” was made to ensure that both Dillon and Chastain did not pass Byron.
Radio comms between Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon’s crews.@AlwaysRaceDay pic.twitter.com/MLLFr6mBmi
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) November 3, 2024
During a Zoom conference, Gordon was asked about the race manipulation and said, “We really just focused on what we were doing. The 24 group was just laser focused on finishing it out and not losing any more positions.”
He continued, “I think that one thing that we do all year long, this is something you build on year after year after year as an organization with your teammates as well as with your OEM. And Chevy it’s having these conversations about how do we work together, how do we not work against one another, how do we share information, and what do we do about being aware of one another on the race track, no matter what race it is all year long, but especially when you get into the playoffs that’s your job as a driver, and as a team, as a crew chief is to be aware of what’s on the line and who’s in the championship hunt, who’s got a shot to transfer through if they win, who is tight on points.”
“So I think that’s what you really saw play out yesterday. It was individuals out there on the track racing as hard as they could but also racing to advance and racing to make sure you’re aware of what others are doing and what they have on the line. That means you don’t go and wreck somebody or turn somebody. You just give them a little bit more room and leniency. And I feel like that’s what I saw play out from a Chevy side of things,” he concluded.
On the prescheduled NASCAR zoom with Champ 4 team executives, Jeff Gordon said the Byron team was focused on what they were doing at the end of the race. He said he felt it was Chevy drivers being aware of what others have on the line, giving them a little bit more room/leniency. pic.twitter.com/o0TU5yNWMw
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 4, 2024
NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer informed the press following the race on Sunday night that NASCAR would be investigating the race manipulation.
He said, “If you look at the other situations that were going, The 23 and the cars behind the 24, really no bearing at this time. We’ll look at those at a later time. But when you really just dissect what happened, look at the situation with the 20 getting up against the face and then riding the fence, which we clearly stated in our statement after Ross did that that that would not be accepted.”
NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer says they the No. 23 and the Chevy’s behind the No. 24 really have no bearing on the decision made tonight.
He says they will look into those specific things at a later date.
The penalty assessed tonight was strictly a safety violation for wall riding.… pic.twitter.com/Z7IGxrw1VV
— Noah Lewis (@Noah_Lewis1) November 4, 2024
Speaking with NASCAR.com, Sawyer said, “We’re going to take a deeper dive into that and look at the data and look at things like that.”
NASCAR Senior VP of Competition Elton Sawyer addresses the penalty issued to the No. 20 car and the closing laps at @MartinsvilleSwy. pic.twitter.com/GvGtiVDah7
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 4, 2024
What do you make of Gordon’s comments?