Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon put drama aside in NASCAR's final race

After last week's ruckus between Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon, many NASCAR fans and analysts wondered if either driver would retaliate further on Sunday during NASCAR's final race of the season in Miami.

Bowyer and Gordon were involved in one of the more memorable off-track altercations last week, after the two drivers were involved in a crash when Gordon intentionally wrecked Bowyer, leading Bowyer to subsequently chase down Gordon in the garages.

Luckily on Sunday, both drivers put the past in the past -- and left it there. Gordon and Bowyer finished No. 1 and No. 2 in NASCAR's season-ending race, and both drivers are comfortable leaving the fight behind.

"After it was over, I thought, `Wow, I can't believe we just finished first and second after what happened last week,"' Gordon said.

So all that angst - as well as any potential payback - will linger into next season.

"I just really wanted to catch (Gordon)," Bowyer said. "That was the only `what if' that went through my mind at the end. Probably went through your mind, too."

No matter what each driver says, both Bowyer and Gordon still almost certainly have lingering animosity toward each other. Still, it's great for both drivers that they're able to shelve their hard feelings and simply worry about running a race, rather than ruining each other's day.

With nearly three months to go until the Daytona 500, it appears that Gordon and Bowyer's feud has been buried.