[Racer Duck]

Ya just knew NASCAR ain't ever gonna cut Robby any slack and is gonna hit him with the stiffest penalties they can whenever thay can. This was clearly a case of his supplier (Ray Everham) giving him the wrong part. When Robby showed up at Daytona with his cars sporting the unapproved nose, NASCAR quickly spotted it and told him about it. He took his cars back to NC, put on the correct noses and returned to Daytona (took 3 days for the round trip.) Still, they hit him with the maximum penalty. I know many will applaud this action, but I think it stinks.

Here's the story from NASCAR.com reprinted below.



DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR on Wednesday issued penalties and fines to the No. 7 team that competes in the Sprint Cup Series, as a result of rule infractions found during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway.


Gordon

The No. 7 car, driven and owned by Robby Gordon, was found to be in violation of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-3.10A (unapproved front bumper cover) of the 2008 NASCAR rule book. The violations were found during opening day inspection for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 8.

As a result, Gordon has been penalized 100 championship driver and owner points.

Crew chief Frank Kerr has been fined $100,000, suspended for the next six Sprint Cup Series events until April 9 and placed on probation until Dec. 31, 2008.

Gordon finished eighth in the season-opening Daytona 500. With the penalty, he drops to 40th in points with 42 -- 16 behind 35th-place Casey Mears.

Gordon had announced his switch from Ford to Dodge, along with a new partnership with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, five days earlier and inadvertently had used a Dodge Charger nose that had been submitted to NASCAR but had not yet been approved. Before qualifying for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 10, Gordon replaced the part with an approved Dodge Avenger nose.

[jks812]

I don't applaud it I think it's BS. Especially since it came from the dodge people. Maybe he should have been penalized for not noticing it, but no where near what they hit him with.

[NascarRacer56]

I don't agree with that at all.

I say no penalty.

[Labontefan15]

This is a BS Penalty

[loco4pablo]

Agree.... It's complete BS. NASCAR Stabs Robbie every chance they can. This is the same penalty they gave Waltrip Racing for adding a fuel additive which was blatant and 100 % intetional.
Maybe with IRL and cart getting back together Robbie will go back to open wheel.
It sucks!! I hope the fans let NASCAR know how they feel...not that it matters

[jks812]

• When RGM received the noses from Gillett Evernham Motorsports, the company inadvertently took delivery of unproved prototype Charger noses instead of the NASCAR-sanctioned Avenger noses.
• Though Dodge racecars are running the Charger nameplate this season, they will continue using the Avenger nose until NASCAR approves the Charger nose submitted by the manufacturer. (Avenger, Charger ... whatever; no wonder comparisons to IROC remain prevalent...)
Said Cup Series director John Darby: "There's no difference, really, in the nose other than the decal outlines that complement the Charger more than the Avenger. But the nose has not finished due process yet, so they had to put one of the old noses back on the car."

OMG the way they reacted I thought it must have really gave Robby an advantage. But the only difference is the decals?

[NascarRacer56]

Originally Posted by jks812

OMG the way they reacted I thought it must have really gave Robby an advantage. But the only difference is the decals?

Yeah, but they were very aerodynamic decals.

[wardfan]

Robbie needs to go kick Everham's ass

[Bassdogs]

After the race on Sunday, RG should come catch up with the winner [I'm willing to stick my neck out that it won't be Robbie], and perform another of his syncronized burn-outs up and down the front stretch. That worked so well for him the last time in getting __SC__ to treat him fairly.

I didn't like him when he raced in the Indy Series and that feeling didn't get any better when he came over to __SC__. If any other driver except maybe Tony tried the "Canadian shuffle", they would have gotten the same or worse. IMO I have always marked the point in each race where RG wrecks or drops out since from then on he isn't on the tract where he can mess up anyone else's day. Again just my opinion.

[jks812]

Originally Posted by wardfan

Robbie needs to go kick Everham's ass

I also hadn't realized the part came from Ray, I assumed (yes I know what they say about when you assume) that it came straight from Dodge. Ray should have known it wasn't the right one.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by jks812

I also hadn't realized the part came from Ray, I assumed (yes I know what they say about when you assume) that it came straight from Dodge. Ray should have known it wasn't the right one.

I don't think Ray personally delivered the noses to Robby. What probably happened was Ray made a phone call to his parts guy who grabbed the body pieces (they're shipped in boxes) and put them on a truck and sent them over to RGR. The "old" noses were probably sitting out in the shop or on the haulers in anticipation of being used up (how many do you think they carried to Daytona on each hauler: I'd bet they had more than 1 spare on board) .. the "new" ones in the parts room.

Without someone at GEM publicly pointing the finger, it's impossible to accurately assign the blame. And the "mixup" statement came from "Dodge" but who's that? So, yeah, someone at GEM probably screwed up. We'll probably never know who, but I'd bet it won't happen again!

Ultimately, Robby was responsible. Ignorance isn't an excuse. Last May, Jr got the $100K/100pts & 6 mos CC suspension for using the wrong wing brackets. I didn't agree with the severity of that penalty nor this one. The punishments just don't fit the crimes.

[loco4pablo]

what I don't understand is if a team gets caught with something that isn't right in pre- inspection what is the big deal? Isn't that the purpose of pre- inspection? If someone fails you send him back and he fixes it. These kind of penalties should only be given out if they find something in post race inspection... Then you take points and dollars. Why pentalize someone before he has raced the car.... it's BS!

[Bob Tanner]

Robby is appealing. Unless the public outcry about this gets really massive, I don't look for NA__AR to pull the fine and suspension.

Why do I think this?

1st. The number of appeals NA__AR has rescinded over the years can be counted on one hand (four or five, I believe).

2. Robby embarrassed NA__AR last year at Montreal. He first showed them up by having his own personal victory burnout. Then he further stuck it to them by taking the rule book to Darby and showing him, in B&W where NA__AR screwed up.

3. RGR is a one-car team and NA__AR no longer needs, or wants, small teams. They just don't project the profit or image NA__AR feels it needs and it has studiously been weeding them out for the past decade. They historically don't bring in the big sponsorship dough the mega teams get and besides, they're a throwback to the "Old NA__AR." Plus, historically, most single-car teams don't have the mega-stars who sell gazillions of dollars worth of "trinkets and thrash."

Think I'm way off base? Look at the Morgan-McClure team and work backwards, over the past decade or so. My feeling is that HOF Racing, Front Row Racing and Furniture Row should start worrying. They could be next... Wood Bros might have a pass due to legacy, but I wouldn't be too sure. The Southern 500 was a tradition, too.

Then, after they've disposed of the bothersome single car teams you always have Petty, Haas and Yates. Could the two-car teams be next?

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

Robby is appealing. Unless the public outcry about this gets really massive, I don't look for NA__AR to pull the fine and suspension.

Why do I think this?

1st. The number of appeals NA__AR has rescinded over the years can be counted on one hand (four or five, I believe).

2. Robby embarrassed NA__AR last year at Montreal. He first showed them up by having his own personal victory burnout. Then he further stuck it to them by taking the rule book to Darby and showing him, in B&W where NA__AR screwed up.

3. RGR is a one-car team and NA__AR no longer needs, or wants, small teams. They just don't project the profit or image NA__AR feels it needs and it has studiously been weeding them out for the past decade. They historically don't bring in the big sponsorship dough the mega teams get and besides, they're a throwback to the "Old NA__AR." Plus, historically, most single-car teams don't have the mega-stars who sell gazillions of dollars worth of "trinkets and thrash."

Think I'm way off base? Look at the Morgan-McClure team and work backwards, over the past decade or so. My feeling is that HOF Racing, Front Row Racing and Furniture Row should start worrying. They could be next... Wood Bros might have a pass due to legacy, but I wouldn't be too sure. The Southern 500 was a tradition, too.

Then, after they've disposed of the bothersome single car teams you always have Petty, Haas and Yates. Could the two-car teams be next?

Bob, it's scary that I was actually thinkin this, and then you go and type it. What's more scary is this scenerio is workin towards bein true.

[Bassdogs]

Bob - Don't know if they are really trying that hard to get rid of the single car teams, but I for sure wouldn't recommend that one of them follow RG's lead on how to get __SC__ to listen to you. His "Canadian Shuffle" and the dualing burnout will haunt him until he sees the light and pays proper homage to Mr France. Actually I think they want a few single car teams to survive since it adds another story line to the media mix. Anytime one of them does well with a top 10, that's all you hear about. RG needs to get a bigger __SC__ trophy case before he can get away with acting like Tony.