NASCAR adds Jeff Gordon to Chase field amid controversy

So NASCAR decided to add my favorite driver, Jeff Gordon, to the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. It’s a shocking move since…well…this little bit from Fox News

"Gordon was running seventh at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night when Michael Waltrip Racing driver Clint Bowyer spun to bring out the caution with seven laps remaining in the race. At the time of the caution, Gordon had the position and the points to qualify for the top 10 in the standings and a spot in the Chase."

Essentially what’s going on is that folks are saying that Bowyer spun on purpose to give Joey Logano a spot for the Chase while Gordon was bumped to 13th. The Chase normally holds 12 spots. Today, Friday the 13th, the CEO, Brian France, decided to expand it to 13 drivers. Mhm. But here’s the idea:

"During Saturday night’s race, Michael Waltrip Racing’s Clint Bowyer came under fire when his late-race spin, which created a caution, was called into question. Critics accused the driver of intentionally spinning, an accusation he denied in his postrace interview but has since largely evaded discussing when asked directly about it. Then radio communication between his teammate, Brian Vickers, and his crew was closely studied, particularly a late pit stop that gave MWR’s Martin Truex Jr. a needed position on the track. Stops by his teammates, and Bowyer’s spin — whether intentional or not — changed the outcome of the race.Ryan Newman, leading at the time of the caution, lost his shot at the Chase in the ensuing pit stop. Gordon, too, was eighth before the caution and ahead of Logano in the standings, but lost his edge on Logano by race’s end. After the race, Truex and Logano were in the field; Newman and Gordon outside of it."

So yeah, that’s what happened. We’ll see what happens in the future with this story.