Robert W. "Robby" Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American racecar driver who currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as an owner-driver, driving the No. 7 Mapei Dodge Charger for Robby Gordon Motorsports, and also competes part-time in the Nationwide Series. He has also raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Champ Car, Indycar, Trans-Am, IMSA, IROC and Dakar Rally. Gordon is regarded as one of the best road course drivers in NASCAR. Along with Tony Stewart, Joe Nemechek and Michael Waltrip, Gordon participates in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as an owner/driver. He is not related to fellow Sprint Cup driver, Jeff Gordon. Robby and his Robby Gordon Motorsports team are currently[when?] the stars of a reality TV series following the daily operations of his organization called SpeedFactory.tv, while he is also the founder of Speed Energy Drink.
Robby Gordon driving the Hummer H3 in the 2006
Dakar Rally
Robby, the son of off-road legend "Baja Bob" Gordon, started out competing in off road racing. He won 5 consecutive SCORE International off-road class championships from 1986–1990, a sixth championship in 1996, and a seventh championship in 2009. Gordon also won two championships in the Mickey Thompson stadium series, three Baja 500's in 1989, 1990, and 2005, and three Baja 1000’s in 1987, 1989, and 2006. Gordon has continued off-road racing throughout his career in Champ Car and NASCAR. As of 2006, he currently fields a team in SCORE, where he is a part time driver. In 2005 Gordon took part in the famous 16 day Dakar Rally, driving for the Red Bull sponsored Volkswagen team. He became the first American in the history of the rally to win a stage in the car division. He won two stages in total and a 12th place division finish. In 2006, Gordon took part in the Dakar Rally in a Hummer H3. Team Dakar USA did well until stage 9, when a damaged radiator caused late arrival at Atar, Mauritania, and subsequent disqualification. Gordon and co-driver Andy McMillin won the trophy truck class in the 2006 Baja 1000, finishing second overall in the race. After that, Gordon competed in his third Dakar Rally in 2007, driving the Monster Energy Hummer H3 for Team Dakar USA. He finished in the 8th position, his best finish in this race. His current trophy truck sponsor is Monster Energy and drove his Monster Energy truck in the 2007 Baja 500 with a second overall finish. Gordon's sisters Beccy Gordon and Robyn Gordon competed in the 2006 Baja 1000 on the all woman team All-American Girl Racing.
Gordon races in selected Traxxas TORC Series events as his schedule permits, including the 2010 AMSOIL Cup World Championship race at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway.[1] He led the first lap of the race before retiring with mechanical difficulties.
Robby Gordon finished 3rd in the 2009 Dakar Rally in South America (where the event was moved after terrorist threats led the cancellation of the 2008 event). He finished 8th in the 2010 Dakar Rally in South America with his Monster Energy truck. He has been excluded from the 2012 edition after stage 10 for illegal modifications of his engine. He is appealing the charge.
In 1990, Gordon began racing sports cars. He won races in both Trans-Am and IMSA Camel GT, where he had four consecutive class wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona from 1990–1994, and three consecutive 12 Hours of Sebring class wins.
Gordon’s first start in the CART IndyCar series came in 1992. His first full season and Indy 500 start would come in 1993. He raced for Derrick Walker from 1994–96. With Walker, he captured his first career pole in 1994 (Toronto), and both his CART career wins in 1995 (Phoenix and Detroit). For 1998 and 1999, Gordon fielded his own team in the series with little success. Gordon raced 10 times in the Indy 500 from 1993 to 2004 fielding his own team in 1999, 2000 and 2004. He, along with John Andretti and Tony Stewart, are the only three drivers to race in the Coca-Cola 600 and Indy 500 in the same day. In 1999, Gordon came within one lap of winning. He inherited the lead by virtue of not stopping for a final pit stop and tried to conserve enough fuel to last until the end of the race. He ran out on lap 199 (of 200) and had to give up the lead to Sweden's Kenny Bräck.
During his time in open-wheel, Gordon earned a reputation as a tough and sometimes overly aggressive racer. According to Gordon, his decision to leave open wheel was based largely on safety concerns.[2]
Robby Gordon signing autographs at his souvenir trailer, a very common sight during most NASCAR weekends
Gordon's Winston Cup debut came in 1991, driving two races, including the Daytona 500 for Junie Donlavey in the No. 90 Ford. In 1993, Gordon drove the No. 28 Texaco Ford for Robert Yates Racing at Talladega in the team's first race after the death of driver Davey Allison. In 1994 Gordon drove in one race for Michael Kranefuss starting and finishing 38th at Michigan. In 1996 Gordon raced at Charlotte in what was one of the first starts ever for Dale Earnhardt Inc.. He also raced at Rockingham and Phoenix for Felix Sabates. Gordon's first full time ride came in 1997 with Felix Sabates' Team SABCO. Gordon raced in 22 starts with SABCO, and captured the pole at Atlanta. He also finished 4th at Watkins Glen, his only top-ten finish of the year. He returned to NASCAR full time in 2000, attempting to run his own team. Again, the results were disappointing; he failed to qualify for several races and finished with only 2 top-tens in 17 starts.
Gordon started the 2001 season for driving for Morgan-McClure Motorsports in the No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet, but was replaced by Kevin Lepage after only five races. Gordon returned to racing in a one-off agreement with Ultra Motorsports, where he replaced the team's regular driver Mike Wallace in the No. 7 NationsRent Ford for the June race at Sears Point. He was leading near the end of the race, but was passed by Tony Stewart for the win after allowing Stewart to catch up due to a battle to keep Kevin Harvick from gaining a lap back.
Later in the same season, he joined Richard Childress Racing as a replacement for the injured Mike Skinner. Gordon won the final race of the season at New Hampshire after a controversial incident resulting in the race leader, Jeff Gordon spinning after contact in the closing stages of the race. (Jeff, who thought Robby had spun him and had been running second at the time, rammed him during the caution flag and got a black flag, clinching the win for the other Gordon. The race, which had originally been scheduled for September, was postponed after 9/11, and after the event Robby announced he would donate all his winnings to the victims of the 9/11 attacks.) Gordon continued to race for Richard Childress through the 2004 season, staying in the headlines through many controversial incidents. In 2003, he earned his first road course win at Sears Point, after a controversial but legal pass under caution of his then teammate, Kevin Harvick. Gordon took his third career win later in the year at Watkins Glen. He, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch are the only drivers to win both road course events (at Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen) in one season since the two became part of the current Sprint Cup schedule.
In 2004, at the first stop for the Chase at New Hampshire, Robby Gordon and Greg Biffle made contact early in the race. Later, Robby intentionally wrecked Biffle, whose spinning car also took out Chase contenders Tony Stewart and Jeremy Mayfield. As a result of their DNF's, neither Stewart nor Mayfield were serious contenders in the 2004 Chase after that point. Though team owner Richard Childress asked Robby to stay, Robby announced in late 2004 that he would be operating his own NEXTEL Cup team.
For 2005, Gordon moved his Busch Series team up to the Nextel Cup, and was the only owner/driver left. Robby’s primary sponsor was Jim Beam Bourbon; his crew chief was Greg Erwin. Fruit of the Loom had the temporary privilege of playing primary sponsor for 9 races in the 2005 season. Menards was also the primary sponsor in some select races, as well as Harrah's. Gordon again struggled as an owner/driver, finishing with only two-top tens in 29 starts and failing to qualify for several races.
Gordon racing at Martinsville in October 2007.
In 2006, Gordon's team used engines from Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and showed considerable improvement over the previous year's performance over the first few races. He dominated the first quarter of the first Atlanta race in the season, and performed well at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, qualifying and finishing in the top 10 in both races. For the 2007 season, Gordon switched to the Ford Fusion, with engines supplied from Roush-Yates. He had two top-tens and finished 26th in points.
On February 1, 2008, Robby Gordon said he would go to Dodge in 2008. He also announced a technical, manufacturing and marketing services agreement with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. After dropping to 33rd in points, Gordon announced he would be running Toyotas in 2009.[3] Today, he, Michael Waltrip, and now Tony Stewart are the only owner/drivers on the circuit. However, unlike Waltrip (co-owns team with Robert Kauffman) and Stewart (partnered with Gene Haas), Gordon has no ownership partner.[4]
Gordon will compete in fewer races for 2010, as Jim Beam did not renew its contract and due to scheduling conflicts. The team finished 34th in 2009 owner's standings. In January 2010, Gordon formed an alliance with BAM Racing. In 2010, with Ted Musgrave driving, his team failed to qualify at Pocono, the first time since the 2005 race at Texas. A penalty involving another team moved the No. 7 back into the Top 35. Due to a commitment in Argentina, Bobby Labonte drove the No. 7 at Loudon. P. J. Jones and Kevin Conway have also shared the #7; Gordon entered a No. 07 car for a number of races.
He has secured sponsorship to compete in the 2012 Daytona 500, but the remainder of Gordon's NASCAR plans for 2012 are uncertain.[5]
Gordon's first Nationwide Series experience came in 2001 when he ran 3 races for Richard Childress Racing in the No. 21 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet. His best finish was 5th at Watkins Glen International
In 2004 Gordon started his own then Busch Series team (Now known as the Nationwide Series), driving in 25 races and earning one win which came at Richmond.
He participated in several Nationwide races in 2006, including a few for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Nationwide team (JR Motorsports). The most notable highlight of his season was a second place finish at Watkins Glen on August 12. Driving his own No. 7 Chevy, Gordon went door-to-door with Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 39 car for Penske South Racing, for the final few laps. Gordon gained ground in the chicane, almost catching Busch. The two cars went wildly into the grass and dirt, almost wrecking each other. Gordon was able to save his car, as Busch went down the final straightaway to win the race. While being interviewed in victory lane Busch gave Gordon praise for a great race and said it reminded him of his race with Ricky Craven at Darlington in 2003.
On March 28, 2008 Robby Gordon and the No. 22 Supercuts Dodge Team of Fitz Motorsports joined forces for a part time schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series after driver Mike Bliss left the team to drive the No. 1 Chevrolet owned by James Finch. As of the press release Robby is slated to drive both the Phoenix and Texas Nationwide Series events in the No. 22 car.
Robby drove his No. 55 Mapei/Menards Dodge in the Chicagoland Race in July. He also started the Watkins Glen race in his No. 55 Jim Beam Dodge in 2nd place and finished in 19th position.
Gordon has run 4 career Truck Series races with one top-5 and 2 top-10 finishes. He has run for Team SABCO, Bobby Hamilton Racing, and Morgan-Dollar Motorsports.
During the 2005 running of the Sylvania 300, Gordon was involved in a wreck with Michael Waltrip, the driver of the No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet. The angered Gordon got out of his totaled car and threw his helmet at the No. 15 car as it was passing by. Tony Stewart's No. 20 missed the helmet just seconds after it hit Waltrip's car. When TNT interviewed him about the crash, he stated "People think Michael is a good guy, but he's not the good guy. The caution was out and he wrecked me; and he's a piece of shit." TNT apologized for his language, and Gordon apologized after the race, but Gordon was fined $50,000 and docked 50 drivers points. When asked by some people for the helmet, Gordon decided to auction it for the benefit of the Harrah's Employee Relief Fund, a fund that provides aid to Harrah's employees displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The helmet fetched $51,100, and was purchased by GoldenPalace.com.
During the 2006 Bass Pro Shops 500, he brought controversy by throwing roll bar padding onto the track at Atlanta Motor Speedway, drawing a caution flag that had a significant impact for the end of the race, especially drivers in pit road, most notably NEXTEL Cup contender Jeff Burton who wound up finishing 13th. Video from the race was not conclusive as to if he did in fact put debris on the track but NASCAR reacted by docking Gordon 50 points (each in the Driver and Car Owner categories) and a $15,000 fine. Gordon has denied he intentionally threw the debris.[6]
During the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2007, Gordon was involved in an on-circuit altercation with fellow driver Marcos Ambrose. Gordon passed Ambrose to take the lead at the same time as a multi-car wreck was unfolding behind them; Ambrose spun him, under a yellow flag, to reclaim it seconds later.[7] After an unusually long delay in sorting out the field for the restart, NASCAR eventually determined that Gordon would restart in 13th position. Gordon, who had a strong race all day, refused to go to that position, and was black flagged after the restart, and after spinning out Ambrose. Gordon did not come in for his penalty and was then given the black flag with diagonal white cross, meaning that his subsequent laps were no longer being scored. As a result, he finished 18th. Following the race, Gordon proceeded to do burnouts on the front straightaway as if celebrating his victory, alongside race winner Kevin Harvick. He announced in a post-race interview that he would appeal the result of the race.[8] However, NASCAR suspended Gordon for the following day's race at Pocono. In a statement released soon after the NASCAR announcement, Gordon apologized for his actions but maintained that NASCAR made a mistake in telling him to line up in the 13th position.[9]
Gordon was docked 100 driver and owner points as a result of rule infractions during Speedweeks of 2008 at Daytona. Gordon's car was found with an unapproved front bumper cover. His crew chief Frank Kerr was suspended for 6 weeks until April 9, 2008, was fined $100,000, and placed on probation until December 31, 2008. Gordon was not fined. Gordon appealed the penalty issued by NASCAR in of February, 2008. Gordon issued a press statement. "This was an innocent mistake made by someone not even on our race team. They accidentally sent us the new Dodge noses that haven't yet been approved by NASCAR." According to NASCAR Robby Gordon's Dodge nose says Charger, but it is actually an Avenger and it had the approved nose's part number. On March 5, 2008, the penalty against him was rescinded by NASCAR following the appeal, and he gained back his 100 driver points and the suspension was lifted. Despite this, the fine was increased to $150,000.
Gordon's off-road finishes have also been the source of controversy. His second place finish in the San Felipe 250, March 2009, was overshadowed by allegations that in a very remote area he verred off course and drove down a cliff. The maneuver let him bypass a difficult section of the course, get ahead of another competitor without having to pass, and was a four mile shortcut. Trophy Truck competitor Ed Herbst filed a protest,[10] which was supported by evidence from a pit crew known as the Baja Fools who had set up a pit stop in that section of the course. On investigation, two sets of Toyo tire tracks (identical to those on Gordon's truck) were found which established the four-mile shortcut.[11] The protest was denied[12] based on the fact that given Gordon's average speed, the four-mile shortcut would not have changed the results. After initially filing an appeal of the decision, Herbst, who shares a sponsor with Gordon, elected to withdraw the appeal and the results were deemed final.[13]
Likewise, Robby was initially declared the winner of the 2009 Baja 500 on June 6, 2009. However, he was stripped of the title and moved to seventh place after it was determined that he violated two rules: one a fueling violation, the other a highway speed violation. A total of 100 minutes in penalties were assessed: 90 minutes for the more serious fueling violation where an amateur video proved that he illegally received fuel on the highway, and 10 minutes for the speed violation.[14]
Gordon's troubles with NASCAR rules continued in 2009. He was caught with excessive rear toe (angle of the wheels to the car) after the May 27, 2009 Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. This illegal adjustment permits the car to carry more speed into the corner. Gordon was docked 50 points and his crew chief was fined $50,000. Gordon elected not to appeal the infraction.[15]
In 2010, the car Gordon owns and drives was found to have illegal parts during inspection on May 7, 2010 before a race at Darlington Raceway. Gordon was docked 25 owner points and 25 driver points. His crew chief, Samuel Stanley was fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation for the rest of the year.[16] This fine brought Gordon's five year total to $290,000 paid to NASCAR.
On March 4, 2011, Gordon was placed on indefinite probation in NASCAR due to an altercation he had with driver Kevin Conway in the garage area the night before.[17] According to published reports, the two were involved in a scuffle over lawsuits each has filed against the other. Las Vegas police confirmed that Conway filed a criminal complaint charging Gordon with misdemeanor battery.[18]
On August 25, 2011, Danica Patrick officially announced her plans to leave the IndyCar Series to race in NASCAR and expressed her hope that she'd keep the number 7 that she's had throughout her motorsports career. Gordon, who has raced under many numbers but had the number 7 for the last six years, refused to give up the number, stating: "Why would I?"[19]
After the August 2011 Bristol race, Gordon admitted that he is now a "start and park" driver and will do so for most of the remainder of the season.[20] "Start and park" is a controversial practice whereby a driver starts the race but then immediately parks his car, collecting last place prize money and protecting his car from any on-track incidents. At Bristol, Gordon completed only 10 laps but pocketed $85,960.[21] Detractors of this practice complain that it is a "free ride" that takes a spot away from a driver who want to actually race and also deprives the fans of seeing action on the track.
Ironically, in 2012, Gordon blasted past-champion Terry Labonte for "starting and parking" after 12 laps at the Daytona 500 qualifying race. Gordon stated: "It's just not right. Why take a free ride when the rest of us have to bust our butts to get into the 500?"[22]
Controversy continued to plague Gordon in 2012. While participating in the Dakar Rally, Gordon was running a strong second after nine stages before being disqualified after stewards ruled that the tire inflation system on his Hummer was illegal[23] after another competitor made an anonymous suggestion to the tech inspectors along the rally route, where it was called into question. Gordon stated that if there was a problem with the system, he would plug it and still win stages. He did so the following day, winning the stage by more than 15 minutes in front of the second-place finisher.[24]
He was permitted to continue while the ruling is being appealed to the French Automobile Sport Federation (FFSA) and possibly a further appeal to motorsport's global governing body, the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA), a process that will take several months.[25]
Gordon's Hummer crashed and rolled over in the sand dunes of Peru in the penultimate stage of the rally (01/14/2012), but was set back on its wheels by spectators and Gordon continued on to a 10th-place finish of that stage.[26] He then won the final stage the following day, finishing the rally in 5th place overall.[27]
After Gordon qualified for the 2012 Daytona 500, he was critical of the past champion's provisional rule, which allowed 1996 Cup series champion Terry Labonte to park his car early during his qualifying race as he was guaranteed a start regardless of how he finished.[28] Labonte responded that his team had only one car and they needed it for the race.[29] Labonte did run the full race, leading three laps and finishing 18th.
- 7 SCORE International championships (1986–90, 1996, 2009)
- 3 time Baja 1000 winner (1987, 1989, 2006)
- 3 time Baja 500 winner (1989, 1990, 2005)
- 7 Dakar Rally stage victories
- 3 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins (New Hampshire '01, Infineon 03', Watkins Glen 03')
- 1 NASCAR Sprint Cup Gatorade 125 Win (2003)
- 1 NASCAR Nationwide Series win (Richmond '04)
- 2 CART wins (Phoenix and Detroit '95)
- 1 Central Europe Rally Special wins (2008 CER Stage 5 Scratch 1 winner (1/2 stage) Hummer)
(key)
- ^ "World Championship Off-Road Races program". Crandon International Off-Road Raceway. September 3–5, 2010.
- ^ Ryan, Nate; Graves, Gary (March 26, 2006). "Dana's death hits home". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2006-03-26-nascar-reax-dana_x.htm.
- ^ Robby Gordon to Switch to Toyota in 2009 - Team PR
- ^ Robby Gordon has no plans to merge
- ^ Adamczyk, Jay (February 16, 2012). "Robby Gordon to attempt to make Daytona 500". Jayski's NASCAR Sprint Cup News Page. ESPN. http://www.jayski.com/cupnews.htm. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
- ^ Yahoo! Sports - Sports News, Scores, Rumors, Fantasy Games, and more
- ^ Harvick wins, but Robby Gordon claims crown - Motor Sports - MSNBC.com
- ^ ESPN - Harvick wins wild Busch race, but disqualified Gordon claims he won - Nascar
- ^ ESPN - NASCAR parks Gordon after his actions in Busch race. In RG's Shop there is a banner that states he won the race. Nascar was wrong. - Nascar
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.dirtnewz.com/events-09/sanfelipe/robbygordon-3-16-09.shtml
- ^ http://www.score-international.com/206/newss/Finisher_Results_from_San_Felipe_250.aspx
- ^ [2]
- ^ http://www.dirtnewz.com/events-09/baja500/score-6-11-09.shtml
- ^ Robby Gordon opts not to appeal Charlotte Penalty
- ^ http://www.jayski.com/pages/penalties2010.htm
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=6184491&campaign=rss&source=RPMHeadlines
- ^ http://www.lvrj.com/sports/nascar-places-robby-gordon-on-probation-for-conway-tussle-117482348.html
- ^ http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/6899717/robby-gordon-give-danica-patrick-no-7-sprint-cup
- ^ http://hamptonroads.com/2011/08/robby-gordon-says-he-plans-start-and-park-many-remaining-cup-races
- ^ http://www.jayski.com/stats/2011/results/24bms2011results.htm
- ^ http://www.news-journalonline.com/racing/sprint-cup/2012/02/24/motorsports-notes-for-feb-24-2012.html
- ^ http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/cup-robby-gordon-has-problems-at-dakar/
- ^ http://www.planetrobby.com/forum/topics/team-speed-stage-12-recap
- ^ "Gordon could face disqualification at Dakar Rally". CNN. January 12, 2012. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/racing/01/12/robby.gordon.dakar.rally.disqaulification.ap/index.html.
- ^ http://gaps.dakar.com/2012/dakar/stage-13/aso/ukie.php
- ^ http://www.dakar.com/dakar/2012/us/summary/rankings/overall-cars.html#ancre
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
| Persondata |
| Name |
Gordon, Robby |
| Alternative names |
Gordon, Robert W. (full name) |
| Short description |
American racing driver |
| Date of birth |
January 2, 1969 |
| Place of birth |
Cerritos, California, USA |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
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