As a child, I would occasionally attend the local race track near my home with my pops. It was one of those cool dudes only events for a father and son, and, to be honest, the races were always awesome.

I remember the noise and the on edge nature of the racing. I remember the smell of the burning fuel and the twinkle off the cars as they rounded the dimly lit track. I remember the squealing of cheap tires and the passion the low budget drivers showed, and how, no matter what, they would let kids down on the track between races so the drivers could give away their trophies.

But as with any sport, tempers always ran high. I can recall infield altercations nearly every time. They were sometimes the highlight as my dad and I would reminisce on the car ride home.

Now we see that high-octane aggression overflowing in the highest of motorsports, NASCAR. Granted, this left turning trolley of high horse powered tin cans may not interest all, but the fact of the matter is that these men and women have some of the largest “cojones” of anyone, and with the intensity that they have to drive with, tempers are bound to flare.

This past weekend Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski proved to be a high profile example of this circumstance as they were the creators of an all-out brawl following the Sunday race at Texas Motor Speedway.

The issue began following an aggressive on-track move made by Keselowski, winner of the NASCAR championship in 2012, which resulted in the race leader, Gordon, cutting a tire and losing control, causing his eventual finish of 29th.

The action cost Gordon a chance to take the lead in points before the tail end of the chase to the championship in Homestead, Fla., making it an issue that neither Gordon or his crew were willing to let pass.

Still, with this occurrence being one of many, and surely not the last, the issue in my mind is Gordon’s fellow Keselowski hater, Kevin Harvick, a notorious hot-head, who by all accounts was nothing more than a bystander to the situation, getting involved by shoving Keselowski into a crowd ready and willing to throw punches.

In the end, it seems that you can take the driver out of the dirt tracks, but you can never take the dirt track out of the driver.