Posted on Sunday, 11.22.09
Hamlin, Keselowski a budding NASCAR feud
BY ADAM H. BEASLEY
abeasley@MiamiHerald.com
Give Denny Hamlin this: He is a man of his word.
Hamlin promised to get even with Brad Keselowski after the latter spun out the former at last week's Nationwide Series race in Phoenix.
In the 36th lap of Saturday's Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he followed through on the threat. Hamlin turned Keselowski off his line and sent him spinning, although both cars remained in the race. For his insolence, NASCAR parked Hamlin for a lap and told the two drivers to steer clear of each other the rest of the way. The penalty proved costly for Hamlin, who made it back to the lead lap and finished fifth. He didn't seem to care one bit.
``The sun was real bad at that point, and I couldn't really see a whole lot at that point,'' Hamlin said, tongue firmly planted in cheek.
As for Keselowski, who also brushed the wall earlier in the race, his season ended with a 12th-place finish.
``It's cool. I'm all right,'' Keselowski said. ``Hell, we spun out and didn't even tear it up. We're ready to move on and hopefully he is, too. We just wanted to finish out with a stronger run than we did.''
The feud has become an all-out war between Hamlin, a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, and JR Motorsports' Keselowski. It was the fourth time in 10 races that the two have tangled, including last week's race in Arizona.
DIRTY WORK?
Mike Rowe has washed windows at 500 feet, replaced a broken lift pump at a water treatment plant and chipped clean the inside of a cement drum on a concrete truck.
So serving as a Grand Marshal for Sunday's Ford 400? Child's play. Rowe is host of the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs, but finds nothing filthy about yelling ``Gentlemen, start your engines'' in front of 60,000 or so at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
STEWART STILL PLEASED
Although it might seem like ages ago, Tony Stewart was the points leader heading into the 10-race Chase for the Cup.
That all faded into the background after Jimmie Johnson ripped off eight top-10 finishes in nine races to take a commanding lead, but Stewart still considers the 2009 season -- his first year as a boss -- a success. The No. 20 car left Joe Gibbs Racing to start his own company, Stewart-Haas Racing, with some success. He is fifth in the Sprint Cup standings.
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