Patrick, Wheldon exchange blows

Patrick apparently shoved Wheldon after angrily questioning him about a situation earlier in the race that nearly caused Patrick to spin.

Patrick was attempting to pass Dario Franchitti and Wheldon going into Turn 1 on the 89th lap.

Wheldon was on the outside, and the left rear of his No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda/Dallara made contact with the right front of Patrick's No. 7 AGR Honda/Dallara.

Patrick nearly spun but saved it, then lost a lap to repairs of the car's steering rod before coming back to finish eighth.

Afterward, she approached Wheldon on pit road, put an arm around him, and began lecturing.

"I said, 'What happened? Did you not see me? Why didn't you back off?'" Patrick said. "He didn't say anything. I was clearly inside of him. I'm not sure what was lost in translation there, but I was clearly inside of him.

"Then he said, 'Well, you can't get caught in the marbles,' and I said, 'That's a pass, Dan. I was beside you. You need to let off. You didn't. You turned into me. If you don't think I'm going to remember this, you're crazy.'"

The conversation ended with Patrick pushing Wheldon, reminiscent of an incident in the 2005 season finale at California Speedway in which she allegedly slapped Jaques Lazier while the two rode together in an ambulance after a crash.

"She seems to whine a lot," Wheldon said. "She's obviously got a lot of pressure on her. Her teammates are winning races and she's not."

The incident, and the anticipated morning-after buzz it's likely to create, wasn't lost on race-winner Kanaan.

"I'm not in racing to be famous, and I'm not in racing to make the news," Kanaan said. "The check is mine, the trophy is mine, 50 points are mine, and I'm fourth in the championship.

"If they want to be on the front page of USA Today, be my guest. If I ever want attention, I'm just going to get out of the car and beat the hell out of somebody."