At Pocono, Jeff Gordon Defends NASCAR Reporter Involved In Kurt Busch Situation

SportingNews.com reporter Bob Pockrass, the target of Kurt Busch’s comments which drew a suspension from the NASCAR Pocono race this weekend, had an influential driver spring to his defense on Friday.

When asked about Busch’s suspension, four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon first gave a short answer about how officials were perhaps trying to send a “wake-up call” to Busch. But then he suddenly veered from the question and addressed Pockrass’ role in the matter, unprompted.

“The one thing I will say is I really support Bob Pockrass in this situation,” Gordon said. “I don’t think Bob asked anything out of line. I don’t think he provoked anything. He was just kind of following up on some things Kurt was leading to.

“I think Bob is one of the premier writers and investigative reporters in the garage area. Nobody works harder than this guy.”

That’s much different than what Tony Stewart said about Pockrass on Wednesday, when the defending champion labeled Pockrass as “the biggest mixer in the whole media center” and a “tabloid journalist.”

Gordon disagreed with Stewart’s comments and said the media’s role is “to create entertainment for people to watch and read.”

“We as competitors have to understand that side of it,” Gordon said. “If you don’t like a question, don’t answer it. It doesn’t mean you have to go to the level that Kurt went to in how he responded to it.”