It’s good to see that not everyone in stock car racing is brain dead. Even though Robby Gordon is not one of my favorite drivers, it’s good to see something good finally happen to him.

The National Stock Car Racing Commission on Wednesday heard and considered the appeal of Robby Gordon Motorsports regarding the No. 7 car. The appeal concerned three penalties issued by NASCAR following opening day inspection on Feb. 8 for the Sprint Cup Series event at Daytona.

…

The Appellants argued that the bumper cover was installed as delivered from the manufacturer, that it did not provide a competition advantage since it was discovered prior to being allowed on the racetrack, and that the bumper met the templates. The Appellants also argued against the severity of the penalties.

In deliberating, the Commission considered several factors. The bumper cover constituted an obvious rules infraction and the Appellants did not contest the legality of the part.

The Commission notes and reaffirms the following fundamental principal which is vital to maintaining the integrity of the sport: Regardless of the source of an unapproved part on a racecar, the race team that officially enters the car in a NASCAR race is ultimately accountable for that racecar’s conformance, or non-conformance, to the rules.

…

However, the Commission believes that the facts presented during the hearing represented an extraordinary and unusual set of circumstances. While this does not excuse the infraction, the National Stock Car Racing Commission has decided to reinstate the car owner and driver championship points, lift the suspension, and increase the fine.

I think this was an outstanding decision. By restoring the car owner and driver points, they acknowledge that the whole front end issue was out of their control, but while increasing the fine for the crew chief they point out that he should be aware of everything that happens to that car. This was an excellent decision if you ask me.

I bet it feels good to be Robby Gordon right now, like for the first time in a long time he wasn’t pushed off the trampoline. Woot!

[Crossposted at RoCaBaP]

– Powered By Stuffr! –

I know there are many ways to push the limit in NASCAR. But whatever happened to just competing fairly? I’m not saying the #99 team cheated, but, when five Nationwide teams were penalized after Daytona for the same thing, why on Earth would you try to get away with it?

Carl Edwards’ Sprint Cup victory in the UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will stand, but he’s likely to lose some of the driver and owner points he earned after NASCAR officials found “an issue” with his No. 99 Ford in post-race inspection late Sunday.

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Edwards’ car did not fail post-race inspection. But inspectors did find something amiss.

“We had an issue in post-race inspection with the 99. The lid on the oil reservoir encasement, or the oil tank box, was off,” Poston said. “So we’re going to take the 99 back to the [NASCAR] Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., and if there are any actions that need to be taken, those will be taken and announced next week.”

Earlier this season at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR officials discovered five Nationwide Series cars to have a similar problem during post-race inspection following their season-opening race. Each of the teams eventually were docked 25 driver and 25 owner points.

Poston said the situation with Edwards’ car was not quite the same.

“It was similar. In those cases, the lids were loose,” Poston said. “The lid on the 99 was off.”

Is this a defect with the beloved “Car of Tomorrow” or is it just another case of someone breaking the rules to get ahead in the race? I guess we’ll find out soon. Will Carl Edwards’ crew chief be happy with the outcome, or will be be spending a lot of time playing with his xbox 360 for the next few weeks?

[CrossPosted At RoCaBaP]

– Powered By Stuffr! –

So, tonight, Jimmie Johnson won his second Nextel Cup title.

One week ago after the NASCAR Nextel Cup race had ended, Jeff Gordon said “It’s over” regarding the battle for the Cup title.

He was right.

Jimmie Johnson did all he needed to do to wrap up his second-straight Nextel Cup by playing it safe. He finished seventh as Matt Kenseth won Sunday night’s Ford 400.

After starting on the pole and leading the first lap, all Johnson had to do was finish 19th or better. Gordon’s fourth-place finished sealed the championship for Johnson who won the title by 77 points.

Pardon me for not being too excited. Oh sure, he did a great job, winning many races and remaining consistent, but I just didn’t think this season was overly exciting.

This is the first season in 10 years that I haven’t been “glued” to the television during every race. In fact, I haven’t been glued since the first race of the Chase ended.

I think I would feel the same way no matter who won the championship. In my opinion, this season just sucked. I can hardly wait for February. I just wish the Car of Tomorrow would disappear before then.

After Kurt Busch’s victory at Michigan, Dale Earnhardt Jr. knew he would have to answer with a strong finish at Bristol to stay in contention for the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

He did just that — finishing fifth on the challenging 0.533-mile track.

Unfortunately for Earnhardt, Busch finished right behind him, in sixth, to maintain a lead of 158 points with two races remaining in the Race to the Chase.

So what do you think? Will Jr. make the Chase? Ninth to 14th places are super close, who will make it and who won’t? I’d love to see Kurt, Ryan Newman and Jr. all make it.

– Powered By Stuffr! –

I think we all knew the outcome of this request long before they announced the result.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had seen this movie before, and he knew how it was going to end. He wanted the 8. He went after the 8. But deep down, he knew he would never get it.

“Personally, I sort of planned for this,” he said. “I’ve been in these negotiations with the same person before, and they’ve never worked out in our favor. I knew this was the way it was going to be. I just didn’t have the guts to tell my fans. They were holding out and hoping it would work out. I didn’t have the guts to tell them it was just a waste of time hoping that would happen.”

…

“I’m not going to sit here and get personal about this. The personal stuff is way far away from the racetrack. It’s upsetting as hell, and unfortunate. But you know, that’s just what happens sometimes. Like I say, I kind of had an idea that we were going to come down this road and have to take another turn. I knew this was the way it was going to happen. I’m not really all that surprised,” he said.

Did any of you actually think he would get the number? Seriously? If so, why were you so jaded to think that? Maybe he could go with #83 so he’d represent his grandfather and his father both at the same time. Now that would be cool.

This is absolutely ridiculous. As I have asked before, why is Sprint/Nextel so worried about competition?

A ruling by a federal appeals court cleared the way for NASCAR to prevent AT&T Inc. from featuring its logo on Jeff Burton’s No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday in its order that San Antonio-based AT&T lacks standing to challenge NASCAR’s decision.

The court, therefore, threw out a lower court’s ruling that prevented NASCAR from stopping AT&T’s plans. The appeals court remanded the case to the U.S. District Court in Atlanta for dismissal.

At issue is AT&T’s desire to change the Cingular logo on Burton’s car to the AT&T logo. AT&T bought Atlanta-based BellSouth Corp. last year, gaining full control of Cingular and has since rebranded the cell phone provider under the AT&T name.

…

But the federal appeals court lifted the injunction Monday, saying in part that under Georgia law AT&T was not a third-party beneficiary of an agreement between NASCAR and Richard Childress Racing and, as a result, it lacks standing to challenge NASCAR’s interpretation of that agreement.

The case, which includes a $100 million countersuit by NASCAR against AT&T, is still scheduled to go to trial.

It seems to me that Nextel would not be harmed in any way by allowing AT&T to sponsor the #31 car, but then again, if I had a company that sold products which totally sucked and had to pour millions of dollars into having my name branded on one of the most popular sports in America just so people wouldn’t notice how bad my company sucked, I might be a little gun shy too. Who knows.

Kurt Busch not only won at Pocono, but he now sits 12th in the points standings. This means, if he can stay there, he will qualify for the Chase, and there are only five more races to go before the Chase begins.

Kurt Busch’s winless drought is over. His absence from the Chase may not last much longer, either, not with the way crew chief Pat Tryson is calling all the right shots.

Busch dominated Pocono Raceway from the opening lap on Sunday and raced his way back into championship contention, giving himself a perfect belated birthday gift: a trip to Victory Lane.

A day after he turned 29, Busch snapped a 51-race losing skid that lifted him into the 12th and final spot of the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings with five races left until the championship races start.

”It’s been 50-something races and that was a tough burden,” Busch said.

Busch, who missed the Chase last season after qualifying in 2004 and 2005, hadn’t been in the top 12 in points since a 100-point penalty for reckless driving in June knocked him six spots down to 17th.

Now he’s back and on his biggest roll of the season. He turned a 13-point deficit behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. into a 29-point edge.

Congratulations, Kurt!

Let me start by saying I am not a fan of Robby Gordon. I don’t like him. I never have.

Although I didn’t see the race yesterday I think he has a point and, as usual, it appears NASCAR has once again failed to consistently follow their own rulebook. This is the same rulebook that they shoved into Robby Gordon’s face after the race.

Kevin Harvick held off hometown star Patrick Carpentier to win the inaugural Busch Series race in Canada on Saturday, but Robby Gordon defiantly tried to claim the victory in a controversial finish that thrilled the crowd and infuriated NASCAR.

Marcos Ambrose was headed toward what would have been his first NASCAR victory when Gordon passed him after a restart with four laps to go as several cars crashed behind them. Gordon was out front for mere seconds before Ambrose nudged him from behind to send him into a spin as Ambrose reclaimed the lead.

Gordon was stuck idling on the historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as the field roared by him under caution. When he recovered, he raced back to the front and gave Ambrose a retaliatory bump, then tried to move into the first position behind the pace car.

Gordon believed he was in first — and at worst, second — when the caution waved. But NASCAR said the spin left him unable to maintain his position and ordered him back to 13th.

Several cars crashed behind them as Gordon was passing Ambrose and the caution flag flew. At that point the field is locked, and Gordon was in first, or at worst, second. Several years ago NASCAR changed the rules pertaining to the caution flag. In an effort to make things a bit safer, and eliminate racing back to the flag, NASCAR’s own rulebook now says the field is locked in position, based on the scoring loops, when the caution flag waves.

According to every report I have read about the race, Robby Gordon was in first or second place when that caution flag came out. When he was spun out, he says NASCAR even told him to go back to second place for the restart, before changing their minds and attempting to send him back to 13th place.

“You always go back to your position if you get spun out, and [Ambrose] spun me under the caution,” Gordon said. “They told me originally to go back to second place, and I went back to second place. Then halfway around the last [caution] lap, they said to go back to 13th place or 14th place, something like that.

“I was never running 13th or 14th, so I don’t know what to say.”

Like I said, I didn’t see the race, but, if all of the reports I have read are true, then he’s right, and NASCAR once again failed to remain consistent while referencing the rule book.

To be honest, it sounds to me like they wanted a hometown guy, Carpentier, to win the inaugural race in Montreal, and they were willing to “bend” the rules once again to accomplish it. Too bad it didn’t work, huh?

Now, today, we find out that NASCAR has suspended Gordon from the Nextel Cup race at Pocono because he “flaunted several NASCAR rules and directives from officials” during the Busch race. Here is Gordon’s response:

“I want to start by expressing my regrets to the sponsors, fans, and all competitors for any part I played in the miscommunication, confusion and uncertainty surrounding the finish in this weekend’s Busch race in Montreal,” Gordon said in a statement posted on his Web site.

“It was not my purpose to disrespect the authority of NASCAR or the officials. I do respect their authority to run the race and make the calls, and I understand the significance of the black flag. I strongly disagree with the calls that affected me at the end of the race. Being spun under the yellow and not being allowed to resume my position prior to the spin put me in a position to react as I did. Nonetheless, I accept NASCAR’s decision and I intend to move forward under the rules.”

It sounds to me like he truly believed he won that race, and based on all accounts thus far, I think he may have indeed done so. Of course, there are two sides to every story, and here is NASCAR’s version of the events:

On Saturday, Ramsey Poston, NASCAR managing director, corporate communications, outlined the chain of events that led to Gordon’s penalty.

“Once the caution came out on Lap 72 the field was frozen. Once the field is frozen, all cars must maintain cautious pace in order to be scored.

“At the time that the field was frozen, the 59 [Marcos Ambrose] was in the lead. [Robby Gordon] did not maintain cautious pace and by NASCAR rule, cars not maintaining cautious pace are scored only when they blend back into the continuous line. [Gordon], based on our scoring, was ordered to blend back in behind [Ron Fellows] in front of [Mike Wallace].

“The tower ordered [Gordon] multiple times to get into position. The directive was acknowledged by [Gordon's] crew chief and the crew chief also communicated the order to [Gordon]. The driver ignored NASCAR’s directive.

“He was warned that he would be black-flagged if he did not comply. Once [Gordon] crossed the start/finish line he was posted per the NASCAR rule book and at that time the directive to display the black flag was given.

“After contact with [Ambrose] on Lap 73, NASCAR took emergency action per the rule book Section12-2, thus parking [Gordon], which was also ignored. The black flag with the white cross was displayed to [Gordon] when [he] crossed the start/finish line on Lap 74. [Gordon] finished the race in the 18th position.”

Normally, I cannot stand Robby Gordon, and I hardly ever agree with anything he does, or says. But with this one, I think NASCAR really screwed up.

With all the big-named drivers driving for the big-named teams, who just happen to field multiple cars each week, it’s getting harder and harder for the little guys to compete.

Six years ago, Andy Petree’s organization was the little team that could. From a shop in out-of-the-way Flat Rock, N.C., he employed more than 100 people who built cars that contended for race wins on NASCAR’s premier series. In the 2001 season, both of his entries reached Victory Lane.

One year later, the sponsorship was gone and soon after, Petree, a former championship crew chief, was out of the team ownership business altogether.

“The last year we had two teams, we won races with both of them, and we still were not able to find sponsors that we could put on those cars to keep them going,” he said. “I guess one of the issues is how much money it takes to make it work. That number today, I guess, is no less than $10 million, and maybe $15 million or more to make these things work. It’s so hard to find companies that are willing.”

…

That lack of sponsorship has helped drive the wave of mergers and partnerships sweeping across NASCAR, as teams with less financial means look to align with teams with more. Robert Yates Racing, which last week partnered with the Newman/Haas/Lanigan open-wheel team, essentially has one company — MasterFoods, which makes both M&Ms and Snickers candies — backing both its Nextel Cup cars. And Ginn Racing was absorbed by Dale Earnhardt Inc. after being unable to find sponsors for two of its three racecars.

Before too long all the small one-car teams will be gone and we’ll have nothing but corporate powerhouses fielding cars in the Winston Nextel Sprint Cup, which means the small-town drivers who have a natural talent are going to have to really market themselves in order to get picked up by the mega-teams of tomorrow.

Something tells me the NASCAR we all know and love has one tire off the track already. It really is a shame.

I find it ironic that NASCAR, which is suing AT&T (formerly Cingular) for wanting to use their new name, would use a photo of the AT&T #31 Chevrolet in a story on their main page. Don’t you?

Doesn’t the fact that they are using photos of the AT&T car to help promote NASCAR negate any claim Sprint/Nextel may have? It should be.