Veteran race car driver Robby Gordon has been placed on NASCAR probation until December 31st.
According to a NASCAR press release, Gordon was penalized for violating Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing; involved in an altercation in the garage area with another competitor) of the 2011 NASCAR rulebook.
Driver Kevin Conway, who was the other person involved issued a statement where he claims Robby Gordon’s actions towards him were “completely unprovoked”.
Last year Conway brought sponsor ExtenZe to Gordon with an agreement to drive Gordon’s car.
When Conway’s driving didn’t earn enough points to keep the Gordon car in the top-35 in owner points Gordon jumped back into the car.
ExtenZe then refused to pay the sponsorship because its’ driver, Conway, wasn’t driving and Gordon sued for $690,000. Later, after Conway was named NASCAR’s rookie of the year and Gordon refused to pay Conway his share, Conway sued Gordon for $30,000.
It’s likely that those disagreements escalated to the events of last Friday, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Conway’s statement slyly alludes to his sponsor’s product.
“I don’t mind stiff competition, but I want to make sure the hard facts are told. First and foremost, I love being a part of NASCAR and have worked very hard to earn the privilege of competing in the Sprint Cup Series,” Conway said.
“On Friday night, Robby Gordon, who has a long history of issues in NASCAR decided to ambush me in the garage area at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, completely unprovoked. Robby even confronted Joe Nemechek, my car owner, on pit road during Cup Series qualifying shoving him and telling him that he was looking for me and going to assault me.”
“We have many witnesses, including a crew chief that signed a police report documenting the truth of his physical attack on me. Situations like this are not good for our sport. It’s one thing if we were racing each other and I wrecked him or he wrecked me, that’s an entirely different situation. It’s very unfortunate that he chose to physically attack me to address his rage.”
“Our fans, sponsors and NASCAR expect and deserve more from our competitors than this bullish, illegal behavior that was displayed by Robby against me,” Conway explained.
Wednesday, Robby Gordon Motorsports issued a written response.
"The brief exchange that occurred between Conway and Robby Gordon is the kind of thing that is normally handled between the involved parties," the RGM statement said.
"It is unfortunate that Conway has chosen to use this insignificant event as a means of attracting publicity to himself, and it is particularly unfortunate that he has done so by making a series of false reports to others. Contrary to Conway's account, no punches were thrown. The simple truth is that Conway voluntarily and aggressively engaged in the exchange with Robby Gordon, and neither man was injured."
According to a NASCAR press release, Gordon was penalized for violating Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing; involved in an altercation in the garage area with another competitor) of the 2011 NASCAR rulebook.
Driver Kevin Conway, who was the other person involved issued a statement where he claims Robby Gordon’s actions towards him were “completely unprovoked”.
Last year Conway brought sponsor ExtenZe to Gordon with an agreement to drive Gordon’s car.
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| Robby Gordon (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR) |
When Conway’s driving didn’t earn enough points to keep the Gordon car in the top-35 in owner points Gordon jumped back into the car.
ExtenZe then refused to pay the sponsorship because its’ driver, Conway, wasn’t driving and Gordon sued for $690,000. Later, after Conway was named NASCAR’s rookie of the year and Gordon refused to pay Conway his share, Conway sued Gordon for $30,000.
It’s likely that those disagreements escalated to the events of last Friday, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Conway’s statement slyly alludes to his sponsor’s product.
“I don’t mind stiff competition, but I want to make sure the hard facts are told. First and foremost, I love being a part of NASCAR and have worked very hard to earn the privilege of competing in the Sprint Cup Series,” Conway said.
“On Friday night, Robby Gordon, who has a long history of issues in NASCAR decided to ambush me in the garage area at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, completely unprovoked. Robby even confronted Joe Nemechek, my car owner, on pit road during Cup Series qualifying shoving him and telling him that he was looking for me and going to assault me.”
“We have many witnesses, including a crew chief that signed a police report documenting the truth of his physical attack on me. Situations like this are not good for our sport. It’s one thing if we were racing each other and I wrecked him or he wrecked me, that’s an entirely different situation. It’s very unfortunate that he chose to physically attack me to address his rage.”
“Our fans, sponsors and NASCAR expect and deserve more from our competitors than this bullish, illegal behavior that was displayed by Robby against me,” Conway explained.
Wednesday, Robby Gordon Motorsports issued a written response.
"The brief exchange that occurred between Conway and Robby Gordon is the kind of thing that is normally handled between the involved parties," the RGM statement said.
"It is unfortunate that Conway has chosen to use this insignificant event as a means of attracting publicity to himself, and it is particularly unfortunate that he has done so by making a series of false reports to others. Contrary to Conway's account, no punches were thrown. The simple truth is that Conway voluntarily and aggressively engaged in the exchange with Robby Gordon, and neither man was injured."