Quaker State 400 Countdown: July 9th 2006

The last time the Sprint Cup boys ran a race on July 9th things got a little touchy between two drivers who have had a history of on-track issues.

Matt Kenseth was leading the USG Sheetrock 400 in Chicago when Jeff Gordon closed in on his rear bumper with four laps to go. While shuttling through turn two, Gordon got close enough to Kenseth to loosen the No. 17 so much that the 2003 Winston Cup champ spun out.

Earlier that season, Kenseth put his bumper to Gordon near the end of the spring race at Bristol, causing the four-time champ to get out of his car and shove Kenseth.

If anything like this happens in 17 days at Kentucky, it’ll be a headline story here on the blog for weeks to come. While I hope nothing that crazy happens, just remember the last time the big boys strapped it up to race on July 9th. It’ll be five years since this incident.

Maybe I’ll ask Matt and Jeff about that if I can before the race. That would provide for an interesting blog. For now, enjoy this Wednesday, and remember, trucks will be on the track in two weeks.

The countdown is on.