The National Stock Car Racing Commission heard Gordon’s appeal of the penalties assessed to him by NASCAR. The appeals commission ruled that Gordon would get back the points NASCAR had docked him and that crew chief Frank Kerr would not be suspended but that Gordon’s fine would be increased from $100,000 to $150,000. “We see this as good news, ” Gordon said in a statement. “We are grateful the commissioners rescinded the points penalty and suspension but disappointed by the fine. Still, we see this as a victory for Robby Gordon Motorsports. We feel like justice was done and appreciate NASCAR creating a system that allowed us to take our appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Commission. Now we plan to put this issue behind us and concentrate on making the “Chase” in 2008 as well as getting the Jim Beam Dodge into victory lane. I want to thank the thousands of fans and our sponsors who have supported us through this episode and want everyone of you to know how much we appreciate all that you have done. Our goal is to be a model team in the future and never go through something like this again. ” NASCAR originally penalized Gordon 100 points in both the driver and owner standings, fined his team $100,000 and suspended Kerr for 6 events.
“To me that makes zero sense. To penalize the team for a mistake the buyer made … It’s something that needs to be worked out between Dodge and NASCAR. ” Ray Evernham (the supplier of technical support to Gordon’s team). “And Dodge tells us it’s OK to distribute these parts. From my understanding, the paperwork came from Dodge saying this nose was approved and it was given to Robby. ” Kerr said the nose fit NASCAR’s template and it simply was a “little character line on the grill work” where the nose and headlight stickers go that was out of place. “We got the noses on Wednesday and the truck left for Daytona that following Tuesday, ” Kerr said. “We were just lucky to get them on there and get it painted and get a motor bolted in there. ” He added that the nose created no aerodynamic advantage.
In the appeal, Gordon argued the bumper came from the manufacturer, did not provide a competition advantage because it was discovered prior to being allowed on the racetrack, and that the bumper met the templates. But the short time to prepare got him in a bind with the bumper, which Gordon vehemently insisted was beyond his control. “It was something that we didn’t build, we didn’t fix, we didn’t supply, ” he argued after he was initially penalized. “It was a clerical error from the manufacturer and all we did was install it actually on the race car… it’s almost like you put yourself in a position that if someone steals your car and robs a bank, but because it was your car, you’re going to jail. “
The commission rescinded three crippling penalties levied by NASCAR Saying “the facts presented during the hearing represented an extraordinary and unusual set of circumstances. “
“It just proves that the system does work, and I’m happy with the results. ” Kerr said after the four-and-a-half-hour hearing.
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