First, let me state that I am a Robby Gordon fan. The man can drive just about anything, he says what's on his mind right or wrong and he is an owner and driver for a one car team (which happens to be sponsored by my favorite hard beverage to boot). In a land of huge teams, huge dollars and huge risk he is fighting the good fight this week finishing 8th in the Daytona 500.
Granted the guy's attitude rubs a lot of the big wigs the wrong way. Just two weeks before the Daytona 500 he switched from Ford to Dodge his third manufacturer change in as many years. In the hustle to get the car ready the team put on a nose which the manufacturer, Dodge, sent and said was legal. It was not. Gordon and the #7 team got caught before qualifying and then changed it out to the right nose. The car he was legal for qualifying and was legal when it crossed the line in 8th place.
Nascar just hit Gordon's team with 100 point penalty, suspended the crew chief for six races and levied a hard fine. Most of the Nascar garage seems to agree with Gordon Click Here (sports.espn.go.com) that the penalty does not fit the crime and is too harsh. This could finish one of the last independent teams in the game. Robby Gordon has appealed the penalty.
I've lost a lot of interest in Nascar the last couple of years, but this could actually do it for me. The 'sport' has become so sanitized and clean that losing a loose cannon like Robby Gordon would be a shame. It could also deter others from trying their hand with their own team if the little guy is going to get burned over and over like this.
According to Gordon's crew chief, it was because some of the headlight decals were out of place. Dodge sent the part to Everenham, said it was approved, and Everneham sent it on to Gordon. On par, the penalty for a nose with improper headlight stickers was almost equal to what Michael Waltrip got last year for spiking his gas with ROCKET FUEL. No way this stands up.
NASCAR is treading a thin line here as it regards the "minor" teams. Qualifying has become an issue, and with the rainout in California, teams that were out of the top 35 in points last season are seriously behind the 8-ball in terms of being able to even make races come race #6. The word has come down that the Natonwide (Busch) series is going to switch to the COT format in a season or 2, meaning that the idea that different car styles would lead to fewer big name Cup guys running Busch races is shot, and it's getting tougher and tougher to see how anyone can compete if they're not part of the Hendricks, Rousch, Gibbs or Childress camps.
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"If your not cheating, you're not trying." What seems to be the motto for Hendrick racing. You think they(Hendrick) will actually go a season without a fine? Only a matter of time before Chad Knaus (Jimmie Johnson's Crew Cheif) is hit with a suspension. But they still win!
As for Robbie Gordon, He also has some issues on driving,attitude, and not finishing or even quailfying for races. Otherwise he would still be racing for R.C.R. racing.
Originally posted by CajunMan As for Robbie Gordon, He also has some issues on driving,attitude, and not finishing or even quailfying for races. Otherwise he would still be racing for R.C.R. racing.
Oh, certainly, and if Robby ever stepped out of line, on track, I'd fully expect NASCAR to drop the hammer on him, if for no other reason than his little set-to with Marcus Ambrose at the Busch race in Montreal last season.
But, losing 100 points because a sticker on the nose was out of place? That's just absurd, and if they tried to pull this on the OTHER Gordon, or Stewart, or Earnhardt (after a similar lapse in communication as happened between Dodge, Everenham, and Gordon), folks would be going nuts.
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Originally posted by CajunMan "If your not cheating, you're not trying." What seems to be the motto for Hendrick racing. You think they(Hendrick) will actually go a season without a fine? Only a matter of time before Chad Knaus (Jimmie Johnson's Crew Cheif) is hit with a suspension. But they still win!
As for Robbie Gordon, He also has some issues on driving,attitude, and not finishing or even quailfying for races. Otherwise he would still be racing for R.C.R. racing.
Well, for starters, he still could race for RCR if he wanted to. He decided to strike it out on his own, so if his team falls apart because of this, it's on him. Now, I'll admit I am not the biggest Robby Gordon around. He does come off as an arrogrant dick a lot of the time, even though he's a really good driver. That said, this penalty this way too excessive. Yeah, Dodge and his crew should have checked the part more carefully, but they did take if off before qualifying and never benefited off of it in the 500. The problem is that NASCAR is run by a family and not a actual govenering body, which leads them to make punishments by their own whims instead of by the proper protocol. I would make the argument that Kurt Busch should had been punished more harshly at Daytona because his actions of driving right near Tony Stewart's car could had ended up hurting members of his crew and I would like to think that threating the safety of others would be a worse crime than having a faulty part. I like NASCAR, but this really bothers me. A driver can repeatly and intentionally wreck others (putting their and other's health at risk)and have nothing but a pathetic slap on the wrist as a result. But if there's even a lugnut that's not perfectly alinged with someone's car, then the book gets tossed at them. Makes no sense whatsoever.
Originally posted by kwikThe reason that the nose was illegal?
According to Gordon's crew chief, it was because some of the headlight decals were out of place.
Where did you hear/read that? According to jayski, the nose had been approved as a prototype but not as a competition-ready piece, but Evernham sent it by mistake.
Originally posted by supersalvadoranI would make the argument that Kurt Busch should had been punished more harshly at Daytona because his actions of driving right near Tony Stewart's car could had ended up hurting members of his crew and I would like to think that threating the safety of others would be a worse crime than having a faulty part. I like NASCAR, but this really bothers me. A driver can repeatly and intentionally wreck others (putting their and other's health at risk)and have nothing but a pathetic slap on the wrist as a result. But if there's even a lugnut that's not perfectly alinged with someone's car, then the book gets tossed at them. Makes no sense whatsoever.
That's because one is cheating, and the other is just someone being an idiot.
(edited by JayJayDean on 24.2.08 0912) Holy fuck shit motherfucker shit. Read comics. Fuck shit shit fuck shit I sold out when I did my job. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. Sorry had to do it....
*snip*
Revenge of the Sith = one thumb up from me. Fuck shit. I want to tittie fuck your ass. -- The Guinness. to Cerebus
Originally posted by kwikThe reason that the nose was illegal?
According to Gordon's crew chief, it was because some of the headlight decals were out of place.
Where did you hear/read that? According to jayski, the nose had been approved as a prototype but not as a competition-ready piece, but Evernham sent it by mistake
It may be a mistaken conclusion on my part, but I'm taking it from the ESPN article in the first post:
Kerr said the nose fit NASCAR's template and that it simply was a "little character line on the grill work" where the nose and headlight stickers go that were out of place.
He said the part numbers matched the legal nose with the exception of a dash A at the end.
Jayski's probably right too, and the headlight stickers were out of place because it was a prototype.
In any event, Dodge told Everenham that they were OK, and Everenham sent them along to Gordon, and told him they were OK. The ESPN article notes that Petty Enterprises got a couple of the noses as well, but they didn't get onto any cars.
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