Gordon raises RCR questions

JEFF GORDON wondered yesterday if Richard Childress Racing intentionally caused a caution at Richmond that helped Kevin Harvick win last Saturday's race.

Gordon was leading Harvick when RCR driver Paul Menard spun with 16 laps to go. The drivers pitted, Harvick was first off pit road and pulled away on the restart four laps later, going on to win his fourth race of the season. That tied Harvick with Kyle Busch for the top seed in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. It was a big swing for Gordon, who was denied his fourth victory and trails the leaders by three points for Sunday's opening Chase race at Chicagoland Speedway.

This week, there has been speculation in the NASCAR world that the incident was intentional.

"I don't want to blame [Menard] for any of that if it's not true. He might have just lost it off of turn four and the caution came out. But when you listen to the radio, and I've had other people translate it to me, it sounds a little fishy."

Gordon said he's not personally heard the radio transmission, and there doesn't appear to be concrete evidence to prove the allegation. Radio chatter between Menard and his team that was played this week on Speed Channel indicated there was a moment the group switched to an encrypted frequency before Menard spun.

A spokesman for RCR said the organization had no comment on Gordon's claim. But Harvick said he made internal inquiries and has been told a flat tire on Menard's car caused him to spin.

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