FOX NASCAR Quotes: Gordon & Keselowski Discuss Pocono Controversy on FS1’s NASCAR RACEDAY

On Sunday’s NASCAR RACEDAY on FS1, FOX NASCAR analyst Jeff Gordon sat down with Brad Keselowski to discuss the controversy that ensued last week when Gordon compared Keselowski’s No. 2 team’s rules violation at Pocono to an incident at Las Vegas for which the team was not penalized. Following Gordon’s comments on-air during Monday’s FS1 telecast from Pocono, Keselowski publicly criticized what he claimed was Gordon’s conflict of interest in the television booth.

Below is the complete transcript from Gordon and Keselowski’s conversation on NASCAR RACEDAY regarding the Pocono controversy, as well as Gordon’s comments to FOX NASCAR’s Chris Myers and Darrell Waltrip after the piece aired:

Gordon: “You’re a very intelligent guy. You’re a great race car driver. Your passion is second-to-none when you look at what you put into the sport and how you feel about the sport. I guess that’s why your comments struck me off-guard with the limited amount of information that you had. So, walk us through that. What all started that?”

Keselowski: “First off, you know as well as anyone that getting out of the car and doing an interview in the media scrum never goes the way you want it to go. But yes, you’re right. I did not have a chance to see or hear the whole piece that went on at Pocono, but the parts that I was upset about was more than Pocono race – it was maybe the cumulative over the course of about a month or so.”

Gordon: “But it was geared directly toward it.”

Keselowski: “My take on it is, what part of this sport is entertainment and what part is not entertainment, and where the line is, is a little bit blurry. But you fit into the equation in a way that I don’t think anyone else has ever fit in. There has never been someone who has entered a booth that has the brand, the success, the investment and all the things that you have …”

Gordon: “I’m hesitant to say ‘thank you’ because I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming (laughing).”

Keselowski: (laughing) “There’s no ‘but’ to that. What I’m trying to get at is when you exit the realm of talking about drivers and get into talking about the cars and specific things to regulations, rules, teams, etc., that that should be considered out of bounds when you have an investment in the sport."

Gordon: “Certainly that’s fair. That’s your opinion, It is very challenging. I have put a lot of effort into wanting to represent not just my brand or FOX but the sport. I’m, like you, very passionate about the sport and I want to see the sport grow. I feel like my job up there (in the FOX booth) is to help the fan base understand, well, ‘Why would they (teams) do that.’ If I don’t do my job with 100-percent commitment, to me, I don’t belong there.”

Gordon: “Do you feel like your team did that for a specific reason, to try to get an advantage?”

Keselowski: “There’s two pieces of the equation. There’s Las Vegas, which was a definite ‘yes,’ and I think there’s this past weekend at Pocono, which was a definite he hit it but he didn’t do it intentionally.”

Gordon: “Is that because you were warned or something?”

Keselowski: “We were told not to do it.”

CLICK HERE to view the interview in its entirety, which also includes Keselowski’s thoughts on Team Penske, the dominance of Joe Gibbs Racing and more.

Transcript of Gordon’s comments to FOX NASCAR’s Chris Myers and Darrell Waltrip in the Hollywood Hotel following the airing of the Gordon/Keselowski feature:

Gordon: "That was set up prior to that incident at Pocono last (Monday) and I really appreciate Brad Keselowski agreeing to do the interview and keep it on the schedule. There may be a lot of drivers in the garage area that may have backed out of that, and he didn’t, and I appreciate that.

“I can’t help if Jimmie Johnson is a six-time champion and Dale Jr. is one of the most popular drivers there’s ever been in this sport and Chase Elliott is one of the most amazing rookies that has come along. They just happen to drive for Hendrick, so it makes it a little bit easier for me to compliment them and talk to them. I don’t do that in a bias; I do it because it’s a part of the broadcast. I will say this about Brad — I think we left there with a greater appreciation for one another and what we bring in our opinions and I think he appreciates the effort I put into it, but we’re still going to disagree on some things, and that’s fine.”