RobbyGordonMotorsports Posts -- FanHouse

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Sponsor Goes to Bat for Robby Gordon

Posted: Feb 23rd 2008 11:33AM by Geoffrey Miller (author feed)
Filed under: Robby Gordon, Dodge, Sprint Cup

With qualifying and all on-track activities canceled at Auto Club Speedway on Friday, Robby Gordon got plenty of face time with the NASCAR media concerning his penalty stemming from Daytona.

In review, Gordon switched from Ford to Dodge a week before practice began, built the cars, went to Daytona, failed inspection because of parts that were sent to him from Dodge in error, and was fined $100,000, docked 100 owner and driver points, and his crew chief was suspended for six weeks.

Gordon, naturally is appealing.

One of his sponsors, Jim Beam, is taking a swing at the situation by trying to start a petition for Robby in his effort.

Representatives from Jim Beam, which sponsors Gordon's No. 7 car, will canvas the Auto Club Speedway grandstands on Saturday gathering signatures for a petition demanding NASCAR reverse its "unfair" decision to dock Gordon 100 points. Crew chief Frank Kerr also was fined $100,000, suspended for the next six Sprint Cup Series events until April 9 and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

Along with the petition, "Rally for Robby" T-shirts are being made for Gordon fans to wear during this weekend's Cup events, said Sofia Lombardo, spokesperson for Jim Beam.

Also, Thomas Flocco, president and CEO of Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc., has sent a letter addressed to NASCAR president Mike Helton, as well as other top officials, voicing the company's frustrations.

It's good to see that Robby has some support in this issue, because you do feel bad for the guy. It wouldn't be right for Gordon to lose sponsorship or race opportunities because of a part sent to him in error.

That though, is my opinion, and not NASCAR's. His car was out of spec for a NASCAR race car, and he was penalized, says the sanctioning body.

I see both sides, but come on, it truly was an honest mistake. What say you?

Is The Honeymoon Over for Menard and DEI?

Posted: Jun 1st 2007 11:50PM by tallglassofmilk (author feed)
Filed under: Robby Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Nextel Cup, NASCAR Sponsors

0 COMMENTS

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)

From An Owner's Standpoint: Middle of the Road

Posted: Mar 29th 2007 3:26AM by tallglassofmilk (author feed)
Filed under: Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Kurt Busch, Juan Montoya, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Chip Ganassi Racing, Nextel Cup

0 COMMENTS

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.

Continue Reading From An Owner's Standpoint: Middle of the Road

Robby Gordon Goes Off Road Racing At Bristol

Posted: Mar 26th 2007 5:20PM by tallglassofmilk (author feed)
Filed under: Robby Gordon, Ford, Bristol Motor Speedway, Nextel Cup, NASCAR Sponsors

0 COMMENTS

We wonder ... Is Robby Gordon Motorsports reading AOL's NASCAR Fanhouse?

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!

Alltel Works Around Their Sponsorship Limitations

Posted: Mar 22nd 2007 3:45PM by tallglassofmilk (author feed)
Filed under: Ryan Newman, NASCAR Fans, NASCAR Videos, Nextel Cup, NASCAR Sponsors

1 COMMENT

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.

Of course it has -- NASCAR fans RULE!

Continue Reading Alltel Works Around Their Sponsorship Limitations

Robby Gordon's Sponsor Blacklisted

Posted: Mar 16th 2007 4:50PM by tallglassofmilk (author feed)
Filed under: Robby Gordon, Nextel Cup, NASCAR Sponsors

2 COMMENTS

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.