Robby Gordon to appeal penalty
DOVER, Del. – Sprint Cup Series owner/driver Robby Gordon says he will appeal NASCAR penalties levied against his Robby Gordon Motorsports team May 27.
Gordon was penalized 50 owner and 50 driver points while crew chief Kirk Almquist was fined $50,000 and placed on probation until Dec. 31.
Officials said the rear axle housing of the No. 7 Toyota, which was taken following a third-place finish by Gordon in the May 25 Coca-Cola 600, exceeded the maximum specified toe of plus or minus one degree.
“The bottom line is we were no more ‘body yawed’ than anybody else,” Gordon said May 30, “even though our rear end had more toe.
“We ... pulled our right-side trailing arm forward and our left-side trailing arm backwards. We fit the template on the right side before the
race. So we aren’t doing anything funny there; there was no advantage.”
NASCAR began limiting the amount of rear toe in 2008 when teams began exceeding two degrees with the rear axle housing. The adjustment creates a situation where the rear tires are turned out, or to the right, which allows the car to carry more speed into the turns.
As a result of the penalty, Gordon fell from 33rd to 34th in owner points. He enters the May 31 Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway 131 points ahead of the 36th-place team of Red Bull Racing’s Scott Speed in the owner standings.
Gordon, 40, said the rear axle measurement was one degree outside the NASCAR limit, and said he felt the penalty was “excessive” for the infraction.
“We missed the one-degree rule by one degree, but we missed ... off the frame rails, which gives us the amount of yaw that we get in our cars,” he said.
“In this economy and these times, I think they need to re-evaluate it. Just like the Carl Long deal. That’s ridiculous. Carl doesn’t build his engines.”
Long, an owner/driver who competes on a limited schedule in the Cup series, was suspended for 12 races, fined a NASCAR record $200,000 and docked 200 points earlier this month when his engine measured 0.17 cubic inch above the 357.000 c.i. maximum allowed.
