In and among all of the demolition derby type action that was the Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway earlier today including a few "The Big One" wrecks, a red flag, two-car tandem drafting, large pack racing battles for the lead and more. There was one incident between 12-Sam Hornish Jr. and 7-Danica Patrick on the final lap that received a lot of attention and is being debated just like so many things in that race.
But from what I saw from replays on TV and the video below, Sam Hornish Jr. was racing for position coming off turn 4 heading down though the tri-oval when Danica Patrick (who had a head of steam) was trying to make a pass on the outside. In the tri-oval, it looked when Danica Patrick got to Sam Hornish, Hornish moved up the race track blocking Patrick right into the outside wall. They were racing for a top 15 spot.
After the race heading into turn 1, Danica Patrick was upset and looked like she wanted to voice her displeasure and hit Hornish which sent him into the outside wall.
In an interview with ESPN, Sam Hornish Jr. said, he blow a tire coming off turn 4 and it wouldn't turn by the time he got to the tri-oval. Which could explain why he went up the track into Danica Patrick. But if Hornish did blow a right front tire, why wouldn't he get on the apron and limp it around to finish the race and not just go at speed into the tri-oval risking he go into the outside wall. Not a good move at all and Danica Patrick had every right to be upset.
As for after the checker flag, I believe Danica Patrick was upset and wanted to voice her displeasure. I don't know if she meant to just hit Hornish or turn him into the outside wall, but she got her point across.
Honestly, I think Sam Hornish Jr. if he blow a right front tire shouldn't have stayed in the throttle and instead backed out and limped it around. If he didn't blow a tire, then that was just terrible driving. As for Danica Patrick, well I'm not a fan of putting a driving into the outside wall for retaliation unless it's a driver's last resort, but hitting them from behind and giving them a good hit to get their attention is fine. No harm, no foul. Of course when Patrick hit Hornish like that, the flat tire would have sent him into the outside wall anyway.
Interesting.
Update: It's been 24 hours and while I stand behind my statement above, I do believe that both drivers could have handled this better. Sam Hornish Jr. with his experience should have gotten out of the throttle since he had a blown tire instead of heading off into the tri-oval at speed and risk not only taking himself out, but another competitor. Its a respect thing. And Danica Patrick should have waited for another day to go hit Sam Hornish Jr. for his move. Don't get me wrong, Hornish deserved a good hit to the bumper, but wrong move for Danica.
So NASCAR should penalize both Sam Hornish Jr. and Danica Patrick for there parts in this incident. I believe a 6-10 race probation and a fine. If either driver gets out of line again, then a bigger penalty should be given.
But from what I saw from replays on TV and the video below, Sam Hornish Jr. was racing for position coming off turn 4 heading down though the tri-oval when Danica Patrick (who had a head of steam) was trying to make a pass on the outside. In the tri-oval, it looked when Danica Patrick got to Sam Hornish, Hornish moved up the race track blocking Patrick right into the outside wall. They were racing for a top 15 spot.
After the race heading into turn 1, Danica Patrick was upset and looked like she wanted to voice her displeasure and hit Hornish which sent him into the outside wall.
In an interview with ESPN, Sam Hornish Jr. said, he blow a tire coming off turn 4 and it wouldn't turn by the time he got to the tri-oval. Which could explain why he went up the track into Danica Patrick. But if Hornish did blow a right front tire, why wouldn't he get on the apron and limp it around to finish the race and not just go at speed into the tri-oval risking he go into the outside wall. Not a good move at all and Danica Patrick had every right to be upset.
As for after the checker flag, I believe Danica Patrick was upset and wanted to voice her displeasure. I don't know if she meant to just hit Hornish or turn him into the outside wall, but she got her point across.
Honestly, I think Sam Hornish Jr. if he blow a right front tire shouldn't have stayed in the throttle and instead backed out and limped it around. If he didn't blow a tire, then that was just terrible driving. As for Danica Patrick, well I'm not a fan of putting a driving into the outside wall for retaliation unless it's a driver's last resort, but hitting them from behind and giving them a good hit to get their attention is fine. No harm, no foul. Of course when Patrick hit Hornish like that, the flat tire would have sent him into the outside wall anyway.
Interesting.
Update: It's been 24 hours and while I stand behind my statement above, I do believe that both drivers could have handled this better. Sam Hornish Jr. with his experience should have gotten out of the throttle since he had a blown tire instead of heading off into the tri-oval at speed and risk not only taking himself out, but another competitor. Its a respect thing. And Danica Patrick should have waited for another day to go hit Sam Hornish Jr. for his move. Don't get me wrong, Hornish deserved a good hit to the bumper, but wrong move for Danica.
So NASCAR should penalize both Sam Hornish Jr. and Danica Patrick for there parts in this incident. I believe a 6-10 race probation and a fine. If either driver gets out of line again, then a bigger penalty should be given.
