Top 35 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers: No. 34, Robby Gordon

By Rea White - Associate Editor
Saturday, November 28, 2009
NASCAR Sprint Cup owner/driver Robby Gordon was the top-ranked independent team this season, finishing 34th in the standings.  (David Griffin / NASCAR Scene)

NASCAR Sprint Cup owner/driver Robby Gordon was the top-ranked independent team this season, finishing 34th in the standings.

David Griffin
NASCAR Scene

Robby Gordon finished the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season as the top independent team in a series increasingly loaded with multicar organizations or competitors with alignments to those.
 
Not Gordon. His Robby Gordon Motorsports team switched to Toyota for this season, but Gordon continued to be a solo effort - and maintained his spot in the top 35 in the standings all season despite a 50-point penalty for a parts issue at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
 
He also continued his stellar off-road career as well, finishing third in the Dakar Rally and winning the Score International Off-Road Series Trophy Truck division and overall series titles.
 
Gordon, 40, earned a top finish of third in his continuing role of owner/driver with the team he has run for five seasons.
 
The Orange County, Calif., native finished 34th in the drivers standings and earned $3,860,582 in purses.
 
During the offseason, SceneDaily is taking a look at the top 35 in 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup driver points. Here’s how Gordon’s season unfolded:
 
By the numbers:
Gordon's top finish of third came at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May. He opted not to drive in the race at Richmond, putting David Gilliland in his car so he could compete in the off-road series, but still managed to finish 34th in the standings. Gordon earned one top-five finish this season and endured nine DNFs.
 
Season highlights:
Gordon had several key moments this season. First came the announcement that he would shift to Toyotas for the season, then came his off-road success. In the five-race Score series, Gordon won two events. On the Cup side, he kept his team locked into the field week after week and enters 2010 locked into races once more.
 
Key setbacks:
Unfinished races hampered Gordon's effort. He suffered a pair of engine failures and retired early because of accidents because of an accident six times. He also had a drive-shaft failure. And then there was the 50-point penalty, which came after the Coca-Cola 600 in May when he was violated a rule concerning the rear axle housing.
 
Newsworthy moment: Gordon's most newsworthy moment came in addressing the 2010 season, in which he is seeking sponsorship. Gordon announced this year that he is losing sponsor Jim Beam, which leaves him with a lack of sponsorship for next season. The driver says that he plans to run the opening eight races of the year and then see what happens based on his sponsorship situation.
 
In his words: “Jim Beam has been a great partner for the past five years,” Gordon said. “I would like to thank them for their support through the years. They have been with me since we started the team in 2005, helping build our Cup team and aiding in its success. Great relationships have been formed, and I expect those to continue well into the future.”
 

Comments

21 responses to "Top 35 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers: No. 34, Robby Gordon". Post a Comment.
  1. 1
    dtk1952 said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 12:13 PM

    Congrats on your SCORE championship. Hope you find a sponsor for next year. We need more independents like you. I liked it better before the Mega teams came along. You remind me of the good old days of NASCAR. Don't give up.

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  2. 2
    Phoenix987 said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 12:19 PM

    Congrats on the championship, Robby. SceneDaily needs to get better editors, this is the 2nd article in this series and they've had glaring mistakes in both.

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  3. 3
    jbbigrod said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 1:21 PM

    So WHAT were the mistakes???

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  4. 4
    nathan56 said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 1:24 PM

    What a great time, Richard, for you to "retire" the # 43. Plenty of other numbers for the cars you have. NASCAR doesn't retire numbers, they say. DUH!! Where is the # 3

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  5. 5
    nathan56 said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 1:26 PM

    What subject was I suppose to be talking about?

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  6. 6
    manzytrophygirl said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 2:18 PM

    I admire Robby for his independence, stamina and off-road racing abilities. Regardless of how some fans feel about the man personally, Robby should have our respect...in agreement with #1--reminds me of the "good old days". Good luck next year, Robby!

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  7. 7
    amalycke said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 3:13 PM

    He is lucky NOT to have lost his 34th spot in Owners Points to John Andretti. One more race and FRM would have easily caught him.

    Robby should give up his #7 RGM ride and move over to his successful #04 RGM car but go full time with Doug Richert ... and keep doing his SCORE offroad races

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  8. 8
    Robbygordonfan1 said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 3:48 PM

    Are you high AMALYCKE? how is the 04 more successful? Robby still owns that car and he only brought it out a few times this year. Doug Richert is his crew chief for the #7. Seriously what the hell?

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  9. 9
    galvan18244 said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 5:22 PM

    yea amalycke is pretty brain dead, hes a waste of life...

    buttt robby gordon, should really run part time, he prob. wont find sponsers for his car full time, i think its a great idea, more time for other racing and run cup.

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  10. 10
    scott-baker said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 5:49 PM

    Sorry folks, but Robby does one thing very well. Causes wrecks, I commend him in his other pursuits, but in Cup, the guy just doesn't know how to go around in circles without being involved in a wreck or being the cause of one.

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  11. 11
    robby_7_fan said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 6:42 PM

    #10, how can I say this nicely? You're an idiot. I'm trying to figure out why in the hell people blame Robby for every single wreck that happens on the track!!!! Hello, there are other drivers that caused more wrecks than Robby, but I forgot, there are those idiots out there, who like Nascar, blame Robby for every little thing that happens on the race track!

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  12. 12
    robby_7_fan said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 6:43 PM

    And most of the time that Robby IS in a wreck, it's by someone else's own doing!

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  13. 13
    jbbigrod said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 6:51 PM

    number 5 and 6, RETIRE the 43??? WHO SAID he is going to retire it? AND what has that got to do with Robby Gordon???

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  14. 14
    rwilliamhayes said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 8:26 PM

    Like it use to be.To bad Robby can't get full season sponsorships then we could see what he can really do.

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  15. 15
    jtoothman said:
    Nov 28, 2009 at 10:17 PM

    Best of luck to Robby in the 2010 season. Given his situation, he does an outstanding job and keeps trying year after year. That's more than can be said for some of the other independent teams who just give up or don't stay in the top 35. Hope Robby gets sponsorship for the full year. I'm proud to be one of his fans.

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  16. 16
    amalycke said:
    Nov 29, 2009 at 8:13 AM

    #8/9, I'm saying he should switch over to his now infamous #04 car in order to generate some headlines BECAUSE HE'S GOT NOTHING ELSE GOING FOR HIM BESIDES CAUSING THREE WRECKS PER RACE!

    "The 7 car drives like he's drunk!!" -quote from Kenny Schrader after Martinsville 05

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  17. 17
    DRLDeBoer said:
    Nov 29, 2009 at 9:18 AM

    My best to Robby, true car owner/driver. Hope you get funding, don't give up!

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  18. 18
    Werner said:
    Nov 29, 2009 at 1:00 PM

    you can always tell the new fans from those who have been with the sport for many years.....AMALYCKE...in the heat of the moment thwy all have some words about their fellow drivers....even Sr once told Jr if he couldn't drive it, park it...and what about Stewart's recent comments about Jr???

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  19. 19
    daviclar38 said:
    Nov 30, 2009 at 3:20 PM

    I believe Robby along with a number of guys could be successful in cup if they had the right situation. Does anyone remember when old DW was given a ride in the DEI #1 Penzoil chevy at Pocono, and finished in the top 3 or 5 I can't recall, but he hadn't driven a descent car in years but once he got back into one he showed us all he could still race hard! Because of being the owner he has to worry about everything else besides driving, he would fair better in the 88.

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  20. 20
    knchevy41 said:
    Dec 10, 2009 at 11:28 AM

    actually #11, I think of Michael Waltrip when I see wrecks more than I do Robby, which aint much. I wonder what manufacturer Robby will switch to in 2010. The very first Nissan Cot with Robby driving!

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  21. 21
    knchevy41 said:
    Dec 10, 2009 at 11:29 AM

    #16 that was funny, I liked Kenny Schrader! I wish I was watching NASCAR in 05 and 06!

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