Lee Spencer-
FONTANA, Calif. - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the house for pole day at the newly renamed Auto Club Speedway of Southern California on Friday and met with the seven Golden State natives currently driving in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
That would have been the perfect time for the Robby Gordon, who hails from nearby Bellflower, Calif., to ask the Governor for a pardon or perhaps clemency from the latest penalty delivered by NASCAR on Wednesday.
Gordon was docked 100 points for an unapproved front bumper cover on the No. 7 Dodge during the initial inspection for the Daytona 500. Gordon's crew chief Frank Kerr received an additional fine of $100,000, was suspended for six races and will remain under probation for the rest of the season. Until the appeal is heard, Kerr will be allowed to remain at the racetrack. However, the deduction on points stays.
"We're going to jail for a crime we didn't commit," Gordon said on Friday. "It's almost like putting yourself in the position where someone steals your car and robs a bank, and because it was your car, you're going to jail. I don't think this is a fair penalty, and obviously, we'll have to appeal it.
"My sponsors, Jim Beam, and everybody else are behind us as a race team. They feel that we have not done anything wrong, and they're confident that NASCAR will make the right decision once they hear the whole appeal process."
If there was ever a whipping boy in NASCAR, it appears to be Robby Gordon. The sanctioning body has clashed with the journeyman racer time and again.
Gordon first came under NASCAR's scrutiny when he and Jeff Gordon tangled at New Hampshire International Speedway in the postponed race following Sept. 11 in 2001. Robby Gordon would go on to win his first Cup race that day, but it came at the expense of a black flag penalty to Jeff Gordon, the driver who would be crowned series champion just a week later — a decision that did not sit well with the governing body.
Things got more heated between NASCAR and Robby Gordon once he left Richard Childress Racing and formed his own organization, Robby Gordon Motorsports, following the 2004 season:
# In 2005, Gordon was fined $50,000 and 50 points for using an expletive while being interviewed on camera following an altercation with Michael Waltrip at NHIS.
# In 2006, NASCAR fined Gordon $15,000 and docked him 50 points for allegedly throwing debris on the track to trigger a caution at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
# In 2007, Gordon was scrutinized for carrying the Motorola brand on his No. 7 machine at Atlanta. NASCAR, which had a suit filed against the sanctioning body one day earlier from AT&T over sponsoring Jeff Burton's No. 31 car, claimed Motorola was a direct conflict with Nextel/Sprint's non-compete clause. Gordon claimed the Motorola deal was for a category outside of handset phones and NASCAR retreated from that battle.
# Just a few weeks after Atlanta, Gordon got suspended for a race after he failed to obey NASCAR officials. The incident which led to his suspension began when Gordon took the lead of the NAPA 200 race in Montreal just a few laps before the finish as cars wrecked behind him. Upon slowing for the caution, Marcos Ambrose spun Gordon out of the lead, but NASCAR did not see it that way, claiming that Gordon did not maintain a cautious pace and instructed him to line up 13th for the restart. He refused, raced to the front and NASCAR black-flagged the No. 55 even though Gordon would continue and acted like he won the race.
That was the last feud between the two until Daytona this season.
The sanctioning body made it clear last spring that any team found tampering with the Car of Tomorrow faced a minimum fine consistent with the penalties levied on Robby Gordon Motorsports.
However, the competition department should have considered the act of intent before issuing such a severe punishment, like they did during 2007 Speedweeks when they discovered that Jeff Gordon's shock mounts were improperly installed after qualifying for the Daytona 500. After deeming the move was not deliberate, the No. 24 had to start his qualifying race from the back of the field instead of face a fine or a loss of points.
A similar penalty should have been issued to RGM.
For Gordon, coming off a $4 million loss from the Dakar Rally's earlier cancellation, a hit of this magnitude will be substantial. Furthermore, the blow of dropping from ninth to 41st in the owner points standings is big, as there are just four races remaining before this season's points help lock the top 35 teams into each race.
The Daytona infraction came just a week from the time Gordon announced he was switching manufacturers from Ford to Dodge. A clerical error resulted in Gordon's team being issued the wrong bumper cover from Gillett Evernham Motorsports, RGMs new technical partner. The bumper has been submitted to NASCAR but had not been approved entering Speedweeks.
This was not a case of circumventing the rules. This was not a case of the No. 7 team attempting to gain an unfair advantage. It was simply a mistake. How in the world does an honest slip-up constitute "actions detrimental to stock car racing"? As Gordon so aptly points out, "this wasn't similar to Michael Waltrip Racing blatantly cheating at Daytona last year". This wasn't an engine or a fuel issue — an offense considered by officials as treading on holy ground.
Gordon is absolutely right to appeal.
"That's part of the process," said NASCAR VP of corporate communications Jim Hunter.
Sprint Cup director John Darby said that NASCAR hasn't tested the new Charger nose to determine whether Gordon would have gained an aerodynamic advantage. Regardless, he believes the penalty was consistent with the new car.
"We don't look at intent," Darby said. "We only look at rulebooks."
It's easy go by the book when the book has a catch-all rule like 12.4. You can read it here, but what it really says is "We can do whatever we want, to whomever we want, whenever we want."
It shouldn't be that way.
NASCAR, it's time to loosen up and not punish Robby Gordon for this infraction. This latest penalty against Gordon looks to be personal as the punishment does not fit the crime.
This isn't about Robby Gordon anymore. The fans deserve a consistent application of the rules for all drivers, not just the top stars.
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So Darby said that they dont look for intent, only at the rulebook. Yet the considered intent for Jeff Gordon at Daytona last year. Lying sack of poop. Favoritism will kill Nascar.
