The playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway in 2014 saw more than just bumps on the race track. The AAA Texas 500 was the eighth of 10 races in what was then known as the Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series championship. Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon were both seeking a spot in the coveted Championship 4.
Contested over 334 laps on the 1.5-mile oval, that Sunday‘s race had Matt Kenseth starting on the pole. Throughout the race, it was really a battle among Gordon, Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson as to who had the fastest car.
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Gordon had seized the lead from Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, on a restart with nine laps remaining and seemed headed toward his second victory at Texas. But a caution for debris set up a green-white-checkered finish, and Gordon lost the lead to Johnson after choosing the outside lane for the restart.
The No. 2 of Keselowski then collided with Gordon as he tried to split the middle between the No. 24 and Johnson. Gordon spun with a flat tire, falling a lap down and finishing 29th. It was a huge blow to his championship chances.
In the moments after the race, Gordon tracked Keselowski down on pit road after the race to exchange words. He stopped his car next to Keselowski’s, climbed out and moved over to have a chat. A few more words were exchanged between Keselowski and Gordon and then — after Keselowski got a nudge from behind from Kevin Harvick — both crews got involved, which led to punches being thrown.
The post-race brawl left both Gordon and Keselowski with cuts on their lips, while Johnson was in Victory Lane.
Check out how Jimmie Johnson, who was eliminated in the previous round for the championship that year, won for a record fourth time at Texas Motor Speedway in this Classic Race Replay of the 2014 AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
