updated 9:46 p.m. ET March 30, 2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Jeff Gordon has always been a model of good behavior off the track, the rare driver able to keep his emotions in check.

That changed when he angrily shoved Matt Kenseth following the race at Bristol Motorspeedway, an action that drew a $10,000 fine from NASCAR on Tuesday. It’s the first time in Gordon’s 14-year career that he’s been penalized for his conduct.

Don’t expect Gordon, who was placed on probation until Aug. 30, to turn into another Tony Stewart or Kurt Busch. But the image-conscious driver is committed to letting loose the emotion he’s kept bottled up over the years.

“For many, many years I’ve been so reserved from controversy,” he said. “I was just so concerned with ‘What was this person going to think?’ and ‘What was that person going to think?’ and I was more caught up in that than I was in being true to myself.

“What you see today is a more truer Jeff Gordon and who I really am. I’m not a robot. I have a personality and I have emotions and I have a humorous side to me and an angry side to me.”

Kenseth learned that firsthand when contact with Gordon on the final lap of Sunday’s race sent Gordon spiraling backward from a third-place finish to 21st. Kenseth claimed the contact was accidental and approached Gordon on pit road in what looked to be an apologetic gesture.

But Gordon, who was still wearing his helmet and safety devices, angrily shoved Kenseth back several feet. The two were quickly separated by NASCAR officials.

It’s the first time anyone can remember Gordon losing his cool at NASCAR’s highest level. He’s had run-ins with drivers before, but nothing has ever escalated beyond a shouting match.

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And Gordon has certainly been angry before, but he typically retreated to his hauler to collect himself before facing the public.

That behavior led to a squeaky-clean image and kept him afoul of NASCAR’s police — the last time Gordon was even penalized as a driver was in 2000 when he was docked 100 points for having an unapproved part on his Chevrolet.

But Gordon is ready to shed his image as he attempts to return to championship form. He failed to make the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship last season and wound up 11th in the points — his lowest finish since his rookie season.

“I think that I kind of heard a lot last year that maybe I wasn’t being aggressive enough on the race track and different things,” he said. “My team has done an awful lot this year to make our race cars better, to put me in better positions ... and I’m giving them everything I possibly can out there on the race track because they deserve it.

“If that means I’ve got to be more aggressive, then I’m going to be more aggressive. When you’re more aggressive, sometimes it carries over off the race track, as well.”

There are some who argue that Gordon has never lacked on-track aggression, particularly Jeff Burton, who was angry about getting caught up in an incident Sunday between Gordon and Martin Truex Jr.

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“We have drivers who think it’s OK for them to do something, but it’s not OK for somebody to do it to them,” Burton said Monday at Bristol. “Jeff Gordon’s a perfect example.”

But Gordon said he didn’t intentionally wreck Truex.

“Martin completely checked up in front of me,” he said. “The problem is I was an inch off his rear bumper when it happened. He did not have any time for error. Jeff Burton is mad because he got caught up in the wreck.”

Gordon heads to Martinsville Speedway, where he swept both races last year. It’s a short track like Bristol and tempers have been known to erupt. Don’t be surprised if Gordon is one of them now that he isn’t shying away from controversy.

“Now that I’ve established myself, I’m older and I understand life a little more, really the way to enjoy life and enjoy racing more is to be me,” he said. “I guess that’s maybe the Jeff Gordon that has evolved over the years. In the past I’ve reserved a lot of my emotions. I’m not afraid to show them these days. I’m just being me.”

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