(SportsNetwork.com) - The gloves are off for those drivers and teams that remain in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. That was quite obvious in Sundays race at Texas Motor Speedway, where Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski were involved in one of the most memorable brawls in NASCARs history. Texas was the second race in the Eliminator Round of the Chase. Eight drivers are currently in the playoff field, but after next Sundays event at Phoenix International Raceway, the field will be trimmed to just four drivers who will battle for the Sprint Cup Series championship on Nov. 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This year, NASCAR radically changed its format for the Chase, which included an expanded field of 16 drivers and a series of elimination rounds. In the next chapter of NASCARs Boys, Have At It, mayhem broke out on pit road after the race had concluded at Texas. While Jimmie Johnson was heading to victory lane, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Gordon, parked his car right next to Keselowski on pit road and then approached him to express his displeasure for an incident that occurred in the closing laps. Gordon, who is attempting to win his fifth series title this year, held the lead for the restart in the first of two green-white-checkered finishes, but Keselowski bumped into him while battling for position following the restart. Gordon suffered a flat tire from the contact and then spun out in turn 3. He ended up finishing one lap down in 29th, while Keselowski placed third. At first, Gordon had heated words with Keselowski while crew members from both of their teams were engaged in a shoving match. Then second-place finisher Kevin Harvick approached Keselowski from behind and pushed him. That sparked the big brawl with plenty of punches being thrown. Kevin likes everybody to fight for some reason, Keselowski said. I came here to race, not to fight. I raced as hard as I could, and these guys just didnt like it. Harvick also was irritated with Keselowski for his actions on the track. If youre going to race like that, youre going to have to man up at some point, Harvick said of Keselowski. Hes done it several times. Cant just turn around and let everybody fight all the time without you in there. Have to stand up for your actions at some point yourself. Both Gordon and Keselowski suffered cuts and bruises to their faces and lips during the altercation. There wasnt a conversation, Gordon said. You cant have a conversation with (Keselowski). He gets himself in this position, and he has to pay the consequences. Im going to race him the same way he races me. That kind of stuff is just uncalled for, and Im not going to stand for it. NASCAR is reviewing the incident, and penalties could be forthcoming. NASCAR senior vice president of competition and racing development Robin Pemberton said the sanctioning body will look at the film of the fight and determine what, if any, actions will be taken. We knew the new (Chase) format was going to put a lot of pressure on people to perform and make aggressive moves and decisions out there on the racetrack, Pemberton said. You could see the result of that after the race. Were going to take our time, and weve got a lot of film to review and things like that. The important thing is to make the right decision at the end of the day. Pemberton did note that NASCAR had no issue with Keselowski making contact with Gordon after the restart. To them (NASCAR), Im sure its a racing incident, but to me, its just a bunch of crap, Gordon said. The kid (Keselowski) is just doing stuff way over his head. Thats just uncalled for. Youre racing for a win and a championship. You dont go slam someone and cut their left-rear tire. If thats what it takes, then no problem. We can do the same thing to him. This is the second time in this 10-race Chase that Keselowski has been in a physical altercation with another competitor. After the Oct. 12 night race at Charlotte had ended, Denny Hamlin had to be restrained from going after Keselowski in the garage area and then Matt Kenseth started a fight with Keselowski between a pair of team haulers. Keselowski intentionally bumped Hamlin from behind and attempted to spin him out during the cool-down lap after the two tangled multiple times following the last restart with two laps to go. Then on pit road, Keselowski purposely ran into the back of Kenseth before he bumped Tony Stewart from behind. NASCAR fined Keselowski $50,000 and placed him on probation for four races for his actions at Charlotte. The following week, he won the elimination race for the Contender Round at Talladega Superspeedway, which automatically advanced him into the Eliminator Round. Well go through these battles, Keselowski said. Ive gone through them before and come out stronger. Ill go through them again and come out stronger, a better racecar driver. But what Im not going to do is back down. Im not going to get in the spot where I was in 2013 where I tried to be exactly what they all wanted me to be, because what they want me to be is a loser, and Im not here to lose. Im here to win. That means Im going to have to drive my car, harder, stronger, faster than everybody out there. Thats what I feel like I did (Sunday at Texas). There were no punches thrown at Charlotte, as Kenseth managed to put Keselowski in a headlock before Kenseths team members were able to pull him away. Kenseth was not penalized. With the brawl at Texas being more physical than the skirmish at Charlotte, NASCAR might hand down stiffer penalties. You shouldnt punch somebody, Pemberton said. Everybody gets together, and when youre holding on to each other and grabbing and this, that and the other, its one thing. When punches are landed, thats a different scenario. Two years ago in the Chase race at Phoenix, Gordon and Clint Bowyers teams were involved in a post-race fight after Gordon intentionally wrecked Bowyer in the closing laps. Gordon was not suspended for the season finale at Homestead, which he won, but he received a $100,000 fine and a loss of 25 points for his actions. The series is now heading to Phoenix, but who knows what will happen there this weekend. Everything is just so intense right now, Harvick said. Everybody is just kind of throwing caution to the wind to do all they can for their team. Everybody is racing as hard as they can. Just glad to be in the mix. Just 18 points separate the eight drivers who are still in the Chase. With none of them winning at either Martinsville or Texas, all four positions for the championship race at Homestead have yet to be determined. Aaron Jones Super Bowl Jersey . Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley told local media in comments published Wednesday that John Tomic would not be allowed into Melbourne Park in any official capacity or as a spectator. Clay Matthews Super Bowl Jersey . While he was away, it was the division-rival Baltimore Orioles conducting a little business of their own, scooping up Ubaldo Jimenez on Monday evening to a reported four-year, $50-million contract. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/Elite-Marquez-Valdes-Scantling-Packers-Jersey/ . "Uuufff," was all shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria could come up with after Stantons latest mammoth shot. Bart Starr Super Bowl Jersey . -- Felix Girard scored on the power play in the third period to lift the Baie-Comeau Drakkar past the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Friday. Adrian Amos Super Bowl Jersey . Lexie Lou earned a commanding 4 1/2-length win Sunday in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks.HONOLULU -- Ryo Ishikawa and Hideki Matsuyama are separated by five months on earth, and five years in professional golf. The two biggest golfing stars are members of the PGA Tour this year. They were to play in the Sony Open, the first full event of the year on the PGA Tour, until Matsuyama withdrew on the eve of Thursdays opening round with a wrist injury. How they arrived could not be any more different. One year after their paths first crossed in junior golf, Ishikawa became the youngest player to win on any of the major tours in the world. He was a 15-year-old amateur when he won the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup. The "Bashful Prince" received rock-star treatment in Japan and had the largest entourage of photographers. Some players said the hype over the kid reminded them of Tiger Woods when he first turned pro. He turned pro at 16 and kept piling up the wins on the Japan Golf Tour. He first played in the Masters when he was 17. He played in the Presidents Cup when he was 18. And he shot 58 in the final round to win The Crowns in Japan when he was 19. All this time, Matsuyama was moving along at his own pace without hardly anyone noticing. "I was never tempted to turn pro," Matsuyama said in an interview last fall. "Ryo did and its been good for him. For me, I was glad I went the college route. Back when I was 16 or 17, I didnt have enough confidence in my game. As it turned out, now was the right time." Matsuyama is strong and sturdy, and to see him throw a baseball in a hotel parking lot is to appreciate his athleticism. He first received attention when he won the Asia Pacific Amateur and earned a spot in the Masters. He made the cut. He repeated at the Asia Pacific the following year, won his first professional tournament Taiheiyo Masters) and made another cut at Augusta National the following year. When he finally turned pro last April, he was on the fast track. His four wins on the Japan Golf Tour enabled him to be the first rookie to win the Order of Merit. He qualified for the U.S. Open and tied for 10th at Merion. He qualified for the British Open at tied for sixth. His worst finish in a major was a tie for 19th at the PGA Championship. If there was a rivalry based on performance alone, a case could be made for Matsuyama and 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, the PGA Tours rookie of the year. Spieth (John Deere Classic winner, No. 7 in the FedEx Cup) ended last year at No. 22 in the world. Matsuyama was No. 23. Ishikawa was simply trying to get his card. Whetherr it was a back injury, relentless attention from the Japanese media and the pressure to play more at home, or simply a steady diet of the toughest competition, Ishikawa failed to keep his PGA Tour card last year.dddddddddddd He fell out of the top 100. And he had to go through the Web.com Tour Finals just to get his card back. "My back was no good," said Ishikawa, who speaks English with ease these days. "I had a little back injury since last January and February. It was good since July. I can practice more. That was a great experience to play the Web.com Tour Finals. That was huge to have three top 10s in a row. That was a good moment for me." He was not bashful about taking a step down if it meant getting back to the top. A runner-up finish in Las Vegas should secure him a spot in the FedEx Cup playoffs this year. A runner-up finish in Japan enabled him to return to the top 100 (No. 83 going into the Sony Open). But hes still a long way from catching up to Matsuyama. "He was a good player when he was a junior golfer. I met him a lot in junior tournaments," Ishikawa said. "Its just timing, you now? I was faster than him. But now were in the same place." Theyre at least on the same tour. Matsuyama is fully exempt and has a spot in the four majors. Ishikawa, having gone back to the Web.com Tour Finals to get his card, is not guaranteed a spot in The Players Championship, much less the four majors. He has to perform to get those spots. They remain friends, and Matsuyama hopes to lean on Ishikawa this year. It can be lonely on the PGA Tour, especially with a language barrier. Matsuyama needs a translator to conduct interviews. The Japanese media tend to favour Ishikawa, who carried Japanese golf for much of the last decade and enjoys a more engaging personality. "I havent been able to make much friends yet, but luckily Ryo from Japan is on this tour with me, so Id like to make friends along with him," Matsuyama said. Matsuyama keeps his head down and doesnt smile as much. Thats just the way hes built. But its been a successful formula, even if he chose to take longer to get to places he always wanted to be. And he is looking forward to another trip to Augusta National as a top-50 player. "Im ecstatic I qualified for the Masters through my play this year," he said. "Im happy to be in the top 50. Now the real test from now on is whether I can stay in the top 50. Its a lot easier to get there, a lot harder to stay there." ' ' '