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Robby Gordon
Born January 2, 1969 (1969-01-02) (age 55)
Hometown Bellflower, California
Awards
Sprint Cup Statistics
Car # - Team 7 - Robby Gordon Motorsports
2010 pts finish 32nd
Best pts finish 16th (2003)
First race 1991 Daytona 500 By STP
First win 2001 New Hampshire 300

Robert W. Gordon (born in Bellflower, California, on January 2, 1969) is an American racecar driver who currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, owning his #7 Toyota Camry, and also competes part-time in the Nationwide Series driving the #55 Toyota Camry. He has also raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Champ Car, the IRL, 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 no relation to Jeff Gordon.

Off-road racing[]

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 and in 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. Gordon also won the 2005 Baja 500 covering the Template:Convert course in 9 hours, 10 minutes, 32 seconds. 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.

Robby will also driving in the TORC series as his schedule permits

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).

IMSA[]

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.

The Stadium Super Truck Series[]

After Robby Gordon won two Mickey Thompson Stadium Series championships, in 1988, Mickey Thompson was tragically murdered in a shooting that never reached a conclusion until 2007. When the news broke out, Robby Gordon mournfully said to reporters "This series is going to die with him." The Stadium Series lasted until 1996, for nearly 8 years before it closed down.

Robby Gordon left the Stadium Series after Thompson's murder, to pursue a NASCAR career. Before leaving, Robby Gordon promised that when he was done with his NASCAR career, he would return and resurrect the Stadium Series, Thompson made.

After almost 15 years of being in NASCAR, in late 2011, Robby Gordon announced that his NASCAR Cup series team, Robby Gordon Motorsports was failing due to financial issues. In 2012, Gordon announced that he would stay in NASCAR until it was clear that his career was over, and then return to set up his Stadium Super Truck Series. In late 2012, RGM was closed. After shutting down his Cup series operations, Robby Gordon established his own Off-Road Racing series, the Stadium Super Trucks with the primary sponsor being his Speed Energy Drink corporation he invented in 2010.

In January 2013, Robby Gordon began hiring some off-road drivers. The lineups would include legendary off-road driver Rob MacCachren, Gordon himself, one of RGM's former drivers (Who replaced Gordon in a Cup series event at Pocono following Gordon's parking for his actions in Montreal in late 2007) PJ Jones, former IRL driver Paul Tracy, 15 year old Sheldon Creed, Justin Loften, and a few other rookies. According to the rules, only 13 trucks are allowed in the lineup.

The Stadium Super Trucks held it's first event at University of Phoenix Stadium. After a 20 lap sprint, the first winner of the series was Rob MacCachren who in victory circle praised third place, Robby Gordon for resurrecting Mickey Thompson's Stadium Series well. At San Diego, Robby Gordon starting up front in the pole spot, led the most laps unchallenged, to his first win in the SST round #2. The next event, was held in the same place for round #3 of San Diego. Again Robby Gordon found himself winning, holding off 15 year old Sheldon Creed in a terrific battle.

For most of the year MacCachren led the championship but Robby Gordon was close behind in points. At Caesars Palace in Las Vegas MacCachren had truck rear issues and lost the championship to Gordon by a slim close 7 points. While Gordon wrapped up his championship PJ Jones won his first SST win.

The winningest driver in 2013, was Rob MacCachren with 4.

Current Competitors[]

  • Rob MacCachren (Rob MacCachren Motorsports)
  • Robby Gordon (Robby Gordon Motorsports)
  • Paul Tracy
  • PJ Jones (Robby Gordon Motorsports)
  • Justin Loften
  • Sheldon Creed

Open wheel[]

Template:Infobox racing driver 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.[1]

Indy 500 results[]

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
1993 Lola Ford-Cosworth 25th 27th Foyt
1994 Lola Ford-Cosworth 19th 5th Walker
1995 Lola Ford-Cosworth 7th 5th Walker
1997 G-Force Oldsmobile 12th 29th SABCO
1999 Dallara Oldsmobile 4th 4th Menard
2000 Dallara Oldsmobile 4th 6th Menard
2001 Dallara Oldsmobile 3rd 21st Foyt/Childress
2002 Dallara Chevrolet 11th 8th Menard/Childress
2003 Dallara Honda 3rd 22nd Andretti Green
2004 Dallara Chevrolet 18th 29th Gordon

NASCAR[]

Cup series[]

Gordon's Winston Cup debut came in 1991, driving two races, including the Daytona 500 for Junie Donlavey in the #90 Ford. In 1993, Gordon drove the #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 #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 #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 who suffered a concussion and torn ACL in a Chicago crash. Robby Gordon came near to a win at Watkins Glen, but car troubles ended his win hopes with a few laps left. Then in September after Skinner got in an accident early in the Chase, Skinner decided to miss the remainder of the season. Robby Gordon was given the #31 team again. Then the news broke out that Gordon would replace Skinner in the car for a multi-year deal, puzzling many fans and medias.

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 2002 season. At Bristol, Robby Gordon got his first head-line when he got into some contact with Earnhardt Jr. Gordon was fined $25,000 for his actions and was put on probation for the rest of the year. Gordon almost won the All-Star Race but Kurt Busch crashed him with a few laps left. Gordon went winless in 2002.

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, Robby Gordon did awful performances. In summer 2004 Robby announced that he did not expect to return to RCR after 2004. He had enough money to start a Busch series team of his own, but was performing badly in the Cup series. 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. For his actions Robby was fined $15,000 and had to beg boss Richard Childress to not fire him.

Though team owner Richard Childress asked Robby to stay on RCR, Robby announced in late 2004 that he would be operating his own NEXTEL Cup team, Robby Gordon Motorsports.

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.

The only headline Robby Gordon got in 2005 was at Loudon in autumn, when he was wrecked by Michael Waltrip in the middle of the event. A furious Gordon tried to back into Waltrip under yellow, but failed. Gordon then performed a helmet toss, and swore in an interview. Gordon was fined $50,000 for his actions.

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.

In Atlanta in autumn, Robby Gordon recovered from a penalty to finish in 12th spot, taking the lucky dog free pass in the final caution. However rumors arose of Robby Gordon intentionally throwing debris onto the track to cause a caution. An investigation led NASCAR to fine Robby $50,000 and take away 50 owner and driver points.

In 2007, Robby improved. At Sonoma, Robby Gordon led the most laps with 44 hoping to win the event. However pit road issues, led Robby to lose the lead and with it the race. Robby finished in 16th place. After the event Robby critisized race winner Juan Montoya stating "I am happy for Juan but he did not really win. He stretched a handful of gas and got lucky."

At Pocono, Robby Gordon was disqualified from the event by NASCAR for his actions in the Busch race at Montreal in late summer 2007. The previous day before the Pocono Cup race, Robby had intentionally wrecked Australian rookie, Marcos Ambrose in retaliation for previous contact and was black-flagged by NASCAR for both wrecking Ambrose and ignoring a penalty. Despite being disqualified, Robby kept driving DQed and vowed after the Montreal event to appeal his penalties. His appeal was unsuccessful and Robby was disqualified from the Pocono event and his first-place spot in Montreal. To make up for this incident, Robby provided Marcos a car for the Watkins Glen event, but because of rain, Marcos did not qualify.

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. [2]. 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. [3]

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.

Nationwide Series[]

Gordon's first Nationwide Series experience came in 2001 when he ran 3 races for Richard Childress Racing in the #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) after Earnhardt fired Mark McFarland, his original driver. The most notable highlight of his season was a second place finish at Watkins Glen on August 12. Driving his own #7 Chevy, Gordon went door-to-door with Kurt Busch, driver of the #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.

In 2007 in the inaugural Busch race at Montreal, Robby Gordon passed leader Marcos Ambrose for the lead with 2 laps left as a caution came out. Ambrose spun Gordon out to reclaim the lead. NASCAR said Gordon's pass was illegal and ordered him to restart in 17th place. Robby felt like he should have restarted 1st or 2nd and refused earning himself a black-flag. In reply, Robby Gordon tapped Ambrose on the restart, spinning out the Australian rookie and losing Ambrose the win. Kevin Harvick won a controversial win that found him being booed by fans for wrecking another driver, but Robby Gordon did donuts alongside Harvick, causing NASCAR to suspend him for the Cup race the next morning, fine him $50,000 and putting him on probation until December 31st 2007.

On March 28th, 2008 Robby Gordon and the #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 #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 #22 car.

Robby drove his #55 Mapei/Menards Dodge in the Chicagoland Race in July. He also started the Watkins Glen race in his #55 Jim Beam Dodge in 2nd place and finished in 19th position.

Controversies[]

During the 2005 running of the Sylvania 300, Gordon was involved in a wreck with Michael Waltrip, the driver of the #15 NAPA Chevrolet. The angered Gordon got out of his totaled car and threw his helmet at the #15 car as it was passing by. Tony Stewart's #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 came 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.[4]

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.[5]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.[6] 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.[7]

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 has been 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 2nd place finish in the San Felipe 250, March 2009, was overshadowed by allegations, supported by [8] , 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, 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 [9]. The protest was [10] 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.

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.[11]

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.[12]

Craftsman Truck Series[]

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.

Significant victories[]

  • 7 SCORE International championships (1986-90, 1996, 2009)
  • 3 time Baja 1000 winner
  • 4 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)
  • 2 Central Europe Rally Special wins

References[]

External links[]

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