As questions swirled around #15-Clint Bowyers late-race spin at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night an incident that altered the Chase for the Sprint Cup field with a caution NASCAR said it did not believe Bowyer did anything intentional. ‘Not at all’ Sprint Cup Series director John Darby told USA TODAY Sports. ‘Although we watch it we make a point of mentioning it in the drivers meeting and everything I dont think anybody realistically believes that was the case with the 15 car.” Bowyers spin with seven laps remaining fell under scrutiny because it happened by himself though #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in the proximity and ultimately helped Michael Waltrip Racing teammate #56-Martin Truex Jr. make the Chase. ‘He just spun right out’ Earnhardt said afterward. ‘Thats the craziest thing I ever saw. & He was hemming around on the brakes and jerking the car around, and then the thing just spun out. It was crazy. I dont know what was going on.” ‘I think we had something going wrong’ Bowyer said after the race. ‘I had so much wheel, by the time I got to the gas, he was underneath me. I spun out. I know its a lot of fun for you guys to write a lot of wacky things. Go ahead if you want to. Get creative. But dont look too much into it.”(see full story at the USA Today )(9-8-2013) UPDATE – NASCAR Investigating: With one suspicious snap of the steering wheel, Clint Bowyer changed the outcome of a race and maybe the championship, too. Accidental or intentional, his spin in the closing laps at Richmond International Raceway set in motion a chain of events that has shrouded the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship and raised many questions about the potential for a race team to manipulate pivotal moments of a race. Now NASCAR is reviewing evidence to determine if Michael Waltrip Racing deliberately altered Saturday nights race, potentially costing both #39-Ryan Newman and #24-Jeff Gordon spots in the Chase, to benefit MWR driver #56-Martin Truex Jr. NASCAR President Mike Helton told The Associated Press before Sundays Truck Series race at Iowa that officials in the scoring tower did not immediately see anything to believe Bowyers spin with seven laps remaining at Richmond was suspicious. The spin came while Newman was leading and brought out the caution that set in motion a chain of events that cost Newman both the race and a berth in the 12-driver Chase field. He was battling Truex for the final spot. ‘We didnt see anything that indicated that anything like that was taking place. And its natural when everything was as close as it was between who was going to get in and not go in to scratch your heads and try to figure out and wonder why’ Helton said. ‘But we didnt see anything initially (Saturday) night that indicated that, but certainly well go back through all the video and everything to be sure, because we take the responsibility very serious to be sure that its that everybody has had a fair chance.” But an ESPN replay that included communication between Bowyer and his team implied the spin was deliberate. Bowyer was shown the video after the race and denied he spun intentionally, a claim he repeated throughout the post-race activities.(in part from the Associated Press )
