WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) -- Robby Gordon says he's glad Joey Logano is OK after their run-ins at Watkins Glen International.
Both Cup regulars raced in Saturday's Nationwide race and had two run-ins late in the 82-lap event.
Gordon blew his right front tire after slamming Logano in the rear entering the first turn of the 2.45-mile track to bring out a caution. Gordon said Logano had knocked him sideways only moments earlier.
"I ran him down towards the inside wall on the front straight,'' Gordon said in an e-mail. "I tried to do a crossover move in turn 1 to get back by him. However, I misjudged a little, resulting in both of us getting flat tires.''
The NASCAR on FOX television crew tried to play it off as an accident, but Sprint Cup driver Robby Gordon was having none of it.
"I'm really looking forward to having a new driver in the [No.] 55 next year," said Gordon during his post-wreck interview, mad after Michael Waltrip bumped him into the Phoenix International Raceway turn three wall Saturday night in the Subway Fresh Fit 500.
No, Gordon doesn't have insider infomation about Waltrip's 2010 plans, but rather he was just citing comments that the driver/owner made at the beginning of the season.
Paul Menard, David Reutimann and Kenny Wallace all suffered their fifth DNQ of the season in Dover.
Of the three, it might be surprising that Menard is most in danger of losing his ride, but the driver is reportedly in danger of losing his primary sponsor, his dad John Menard Jr., founder and owner of Menards.
Chris McGrath, Getty Images
According to The Winston-Salem Journal, the wealthy businessman is ready to pull funding from Dale Earnhardt Inc., which fields a full-time Cup and part-time Busch team for his son.
Is Menard dumping Teresa Earnhardt to focus on his other longtime business partner, driver/owner Robby Gordon? I suppose only time will tell, but it certainly seems like a better investment to me, not only in terms of talent--but also potential.
Meanwhile ... this weekend, Menards will sponsor Robby Gordon Motorsport's #7 Ford with MAPEI for the fourth time in five races, while the DEI #15 Chevrolet sits in the garage.
Other Losers of the Week (DNQs) Blaney (2), Bliss (9), LePage (11)
They're not the cream of the crop, but they have solid footing in the Top 35 heading to Martinsville. They don't have to worry about qualifying, but they need to make adjustments if they want to secure their spot in the Chase. Here are your teams in the middle of the road:
Chip Ganassi / Felix Sabates: Two teams solidly in the Top 35--the #40 in 11th and the #42 in 19th. Their third team, the #41 isn't faring quite as well in 29th, but they're inside for at least one more week.
The CGRFS cars have gained an average of 3.3 positions from the end of last season.
While the teams cars are on the rise, so is one of the team's stars. Juan Pablo Montoya's entry into NASCAR is one of the most talked about stories in all of auto racing--there's the F1 angle, the international angle, the diversity angle and the he'll push anyone and anything out of his way to win angle ...
Ganassi is also off to a good start in the Indy Racing League, which kicked off Saturday and saw the third one-two finish for Ganassi drivers Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon.
The Fanhouse recently offered them some unsolicited advice suggested that RGM take advantage of Gordon's vacant hood space by promoting one of their own ventures.
A week later ... Voilà!
RobbyGordonOffRoad.com was announced as the primary sponsor the #07 Ford Fusion, which carried a black Robby Gordon Signature Series Wheel on the hood, for the Food City 500.
We don't know if the Fanhouse was the inspiration, but we'd like to think it was more than just a coincidence!
Want a chance to "train like the pros, get in the driver's seat and test your skills in a Go-Kart and Pit-Crew Challenge for the chance to take home $500,000?"
Enter the Alltel My Circle 500 Sweepstakes and you could be one of 10 lucky fans headed to Charlotte this May for the Coca-Cola 600 race weekend.
Because of NASCAR's agreement with Nextel, Alltel can't have a presence at the track and can't sponsor a race, so their marketing team has to be more creative in exploiting their sponsorship of driver Ryan Newman.
According to Samira Zebian, Alltel's director of sponsorship, the online sweepstakes has already generated more response than any of Alltel's football- or basketball-themed promotions.
NASCAR helped Robby Gordon Motorsports come up with a "reasonable paint scheme solution" for tomorrow.
Instead of displaying the Motorola logo, which could potentially attract wireless customers away from Sprint Nextel, he will display a Motorola non-wireless product, specifically a digital audio player.
Sounds reasonable to me.
Now Robby can turn his mind to more important things like how not to piss off any more of his fellow drivers. Last week it was Casey Mears:
"It amazes me. Every time I think Robby can't do anything any more stupid than he's already done, he one-ups himself."
I have a feeling Robby doesn't recall the incident the same way Casey does. He mentions it and talks about his sponsors in his Las Vegas 400 Video Update:
Robby Gordon is having a rough go with sponsorship this season.
First, his longtime sponsor Harrah's dropped their financing because they are in the process of a sale. Robby ran without a primary sponsor last weekend in casino heaven.
For the Kobalt Tools 500 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Gordon was able to secure primary sponsorship from Motorola, who has been an associate sponsor for the first three races.
NASCAR said "no deal" and has forced gordon to remove the logo from his hood--Motorola is one of the companies blacklisted as a primary sponsor in NASCAR's agreement with Nextel.
Gordon, who clearly hasn't been following his fellow drivers' sponsorship woes, is having a hard time understanding the issue:
"[Motorola] has been an associate sponsor on my car for the first three events, and they can remain as an associate sponsor on my car; they just can't be a primary sponsor on my car ... It's a NASCAR decision, yes. This is the first time I have ever been involved in something like this. I've never been told no [on] a sponsor because we never felt we've gone after a sponsor that wouldn't be approved. I didn't even imagine that Motorola wouldn't be approved. They're the official radio of everybody in the garage area. It's just mind-boggling, and I'm having a little bit of a hard time on it."
I wouldn't exactly say mind-boggling. But I do have some other descriptors in mind: greedy, paranoid, short-sighted.
Unsolicited Advice from the Fanhouse
Robby Gordon Motorsports would be wise to take advantage of the hood space and use it to promote www.robbygordon.com and bobbychuck's videos. RGM has one of the most aggressive websites in the way of the multimedia experience for the fans. Since they got rid of the PR department in favor of new media, the site could use the exposure. It already attracts as many fans as--and sometimes more than--www.dalejr.com, www.jeffgordon.com and www.kevinharvick.com, three arguably more popular drivers. Perhaps it could have a hand in attracting new sponsors.
With all three of NASCAR's national series running at AMS this weekend, schedules will be busy for drivers across the board. Despite the track time, appearances and other commitments, several drivers will have one eye turned towards the NCAA Tournament – especially Brendan Gaughan.
Gaughan is a former college basketball player himself, spending four years as a backup to Allen Iversonat Georgetown University. During his time at Georgetown, the Hoyas made two Sweet 16 and one Elite Eight appearance.
"I don't know if there is a way to really get people to understand what its like to be there and be part of the phenomenon," Gaughan said. "You're 18, 19 years old. You're a child, and you walk into an arena and there are 30,000 people. You walk in there, you know the national media is there, all of the main announcers are there, the entire sports world is there. And you take the court – its amazing."
Gaughan's former team will take the court Thursday night, one day before he takes the track for the American Commercial Lines 200.
Several NASCAR competitors weighed in on the NCAA Tournament, here are their picks:
Brendan Gaughan (No. 77 South Point Resort Chevrolet), NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Final Four Picks: Georgetown, Kansas, Ohio State, Wisconsin Champion: Georgetown "I was there – I got to play it, I got to live it – so for me, for the rest of my life it will be a big part of every March. Whether I'm racing or not, I'll be watching the games – yelling for the Hoyas and loving the Cinderella stories. And when I'm at home in Las Vegas, you'll find me sitting in front of 10 TVs at a Sports Book at the South Point watching every game."
Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge), NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Final Four Picks: Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA "I always let my heart weigh in more than logic and rarely is that a smart move. For my final four, I'll have to go with UCLA, Kansas, Arizona...the Wildcats will have to have miraculous tournament play, but I just have to hang with them since they did get a bid (Kurt attended Arizona for a year prior to deciding to go racing fulltime)... and of course I have to throw the North Carolina Tar Heels in there, too."
Robby Gordon (No. 7 Jim Beam Ford), NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Final Four Picks: Florida, Nevada, Texas, UCLA Champion: UCLA "For the national championship I'm going to stick to my California roots and take UCLA. The Bruins, like my sponsor Jim Beam, know that the stuff inside matters most and that will take them to the title."
Kasey Kahne (No. 9 UAW/Dodge Dealers Dodge), NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Final Four: Florida, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Washington State Champion: Ohio State "I can't overlook our teams from the Northwest. Washington State will make the Final Four. Florida is the defending NCAA champion; the Gators know tournament pressure. Virginia Tech has been a giant killer at times this year. There's just one giant they can't handle...Ohio State. The Buckeyes win the championship this time, just not against Florida."
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) -- Robby Gordon says he's glad Joey Logano is OK after their run-ins at Watkins Glen International.
The NASCAR on FOX television crew tried to play it off as an accident, but 
Paul Menard, David Reutimann and Kenny Wallace all suffered their fifth DNQ of the season in Dover.
They're not the 
We wonder ... Is 
Want a chance to "train like the pros, get in the driver's seat and test your skills in a Go-Kart and Pit-Crew Challenge for the chance to take home $500,000?"
NASCAR helped Robby Gordon Motorsports come up with a "reasonable paint scheme solution" for tomorrow.
With all three of NASCAR's national series running at AMS this weekend, schedules will be busy for drivers across the board. Despite the track time, appearances and other commitments, several drivers will have one eye turned towards the NCAA Tournament – especially Brendan Gaughan.
