Robby Gordon

Robby Gordon
Gordon in November 2004
Nationality	United States
Born	(1969-01-02) January 2, 1969 Cerritos, California
Related to	Huntley Gordon (great-grandfather) Bob Gordon (father) Beccy Gordon (sister) Robyn Gordon (sister) Ryan Hunter-Reay (brother in-law)
Speed Energy Formula Off-Road career
Debut season	2013
Car no.	7
Championships	2
Wins	10
Poles	3
Best finish	1st in 2013, 2014
Finished last season	2nd (2015)
Championship titles
2013–2014	Speed Energy Formula Off-Road
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career
396 races run over 20 years
2012 position	52nd
Best finish	16th (2003)
First race	1991 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race	2013 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma)
First win	2001 New Hampshire 300 (New Hampshire)
Last win	2003 Sirius at the Glen (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles 3 39 1
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
54 races run over 9 years
2011 position	129th
Best finish	21st (2004)
First race	2001 GNC Live Well 250 (Watkins Glen)
Last race	2011 NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Montreal)
First win	2004 Emerson Radio 250 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 18 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
4 races run over 3 years
2008 position	71st
Best finish	68th (1996)
First race	1996 Lowe's 250 (North Wilkesboro)
Last race	2004 O'Reilly 200 (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 2 0
Statistics current as of June 28, 2013.
IndyCar Series career
8 races run over 7 years
Best finish	29th (2000)
First race	1996 Las Vegas 500K (Las Vegas)
Last race	2004 Indianapolis 500 (Indy)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0
Champ Car career
153 races run over 10 years
Years active	1989–1999
Best finish	1st (1994, 1995)
First race	1989 ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit (Belle Isle)
Last race	1999 Marlboro 500 (California)
First win	1991 Slick 50 200 (Phoenix)
Last win	1995 ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit (Belle Isle)
Wins Podiums Poles 2 9 4
Medal record Representing  United States Summer X Games 2015 Austin Stadium Super Trucks 2014 Austin Stadium Super Trucks

Robert W. "Robby" Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American racecar driver. He has raced in NASCAR, CART, IndyCar, Trans-Am, IMSA, IROC and Dakar Rally. He currently competes in the Speed Energy Formula Off-Road series, a series that he had created in 2013.

Off-road racing

Gordon, the son of off-road racer "Baja Bob" Gordon, started out competing in off road racing. He won 5 consecutive SCORE International off-road class championships from 1986–1990, a sixth championship in 1996, and a seventh championship in 2009. Gordon also won two championships in the Mickey Thompson stadium series, three Baja 500 in 1989, 1990, and 2005, and three Baja 1000 in 1987, 1989, and 2006.

Gordon has continued off-road racing throughout his career in Champ Car and NASCAR. In 2005 Gordon took part in the famous 16-day Dakar Rally, driving for the Red Bull sponsored Volkswagen team. He became the first American to win a stage in the car division. He won two stages in total and a 12th place division finish. In 2006, Gordon took part in the Dakar Rally in a Hummer H3. Team Dakar USA did well until stage 9, when a damaged radiator caused late arrival at Atar, Mauritania, and subsequent disqualification. Gordon and co-driver Andy McMillin won the trophy truck class in the 2006 Baja 1000, finishing second overall in the race. After that, Gordon competed in his third Dakar Rally in 2007, driving the Monster Energy Hummer H3 for Team Dakar USA. He finished in the 8th position, his best finish in this race. His current trophy truck sponsor is Speed Energy and drove his Monster Energy truck in the 2007 Baja 500 with a second overall finish. Gordon's sisters Beccy Gordon and Robyn Gordon competed in the 2006 Baja 1000 on the all-woman team All-American Girl Racing.

Gordon raced in selected Traxxas TORC Series events, including the 2010 AMSOIL Cup World Championship race at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway.^[1] He led the first lap of the race before retiring with mechanical difficulties.

Gordon finished 3rd in the 2009 Dakar Rally in South America, where the event was moved after terrorist threats led the cancellation of the 2008 event. He finished 8th in the 2010 Dakar Rally in South America with his Monster Energy truck. He had been excluded from the 2012 edition after stage 10 for illegal modifications of his engine.

Stadium Super Trucks

In June 2012, Gordon announced that he was founding and owning a stadium truck racing series of his own, titled the Stadium Super Trucks, based on the stadium truck racing concept developed by Mickey Thompson. The series ran its first season in 2013.^[2]

A lot of drivers affiliated with Gordon's closed Cup Series NASCAR team such as P. J. Jones for example,^[3][4] followed Gordon to race in the Super Trucks. Gordon himself would be an owner-driver.

Gordon won the inaugural Stadium Super Truck championship in 2013, by seven points following a year-long battle with former Mickey Thompson Off-Road teammate Rob MacCachren.^[5]

Gordon's series was renamed to the Speed Energy Formula Off-Road Series in 2014.

IMSA

In 1990, Gordon began racing sports cars. He won races in both Trans-Am and IMSA Camel GT, where he had four consecutive class wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona from 1990–1994, and three consecutive 12 Hours of Sebring class wins.

Open-wheel racing

Gordon’s first start in the CART IndyCar series came in 1992. His first full season and Indy 500 start would come in 1993. He raced for Derrick Walker from 1994–96. With Walker, he captured his first career pole in 1994 (Toronto), and both his CART career wins in 1995 (Phoenix and Detroit). For 1999, Gordon fielded his own team in the series with little success as the Toyota power the team used was still sub-par in performance.

Gordon raced 10 times in the Indy 500 from 1993 to 2004 fielding his own team in 1999, 2000 and 2004. He, along with John Andretti, Tony Stewart, and Kurt Busch are the only four drivers to race in the Coca-Cola 600 and Indy 500 in the same day. In 1999, Gordon came within one lap of winning the Indianapolis 500. He inherited the lead by virtue of not stopping for a final pit stop and tried to conserve enough fuel to last until the end of the race. His fuel ran out coming out of turn 3 on second last lap and he had to give up the lead to Sweden's Kenny Bräck.

During his time in open-wheel, Gordon earned a reputation as a tough and sometimes overly aggressive racer. According to Gordon, his decision to leave open wheel was based largely on safety concerns.^[6]

Stock cars

Gordon made his debut in stock car racing in November 1990 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, driving for Junie Donlavey in the Automobile Racing Club of America season finale; he finished 21st, but turned heads by winning the pole for the event.^[7]

NASCAR

Sprint Cup Series

Gordon's Winston Cup debut came in 1991, driving two races, including the Daytona 500 for Junie Donlavey in the No. 90 Ford. In 1993, Gordon drove the No. 28 Texaco-sponsored Ford for Robert Yates Racing at Talladega in the team's first race after the death of driver Davey Allison. In 1994 Gordon drove in one race for Michael Kranefuss starting and finishing 38th at Michigan. In 1996, Gordon raced at Charlotte in what was one of the first starts ever for Dale Earnhardt, Inc.. He also raced at Rockingham and Phoenix for Felix Sabates. Gordon's first full-time ride came in 1997 with Felix Sabates' Team SABCO. Gordon raced in 22 starts with SABCO, and captured the pole at Atlanta. He also finished fourth at Watkins Glen, his only Top 10 finish of the year. He returned to NASCAR full-time in 2000, attempting to run his own team. Again, the results were disappointing; he failed to qualify for several races and finished with only two Top 10's in 17 starts.

Gordon started the 2001 season driving for Morgan-McClure Motorsports in the No. 4 Kodak-sponsored Chevrolet, but was replaced by Kevin Lepage after only five races. Gordon returned to racing in a one-off agreement with Ultra Motorsports, where he replaced the team's regular driver Mike Wallace in the No. 7 NationsRent-sponsored Ford for the June race at Sears Point. Gordon was leading that race near the end, but was passed by Tony Stewart, when Gordon repeatedly fought to hold off a lapped Kevin Harvick, which gave Stewart the chance to overtake Gordon and win the race.

Later in the same season, he joined Richard Childress Racing as a replacement for an injured Mike Skinner. In the rescheduled season finale at New Hampshire, Gordon was engaged in a closing-laps battle with eventual champion Jeff Gordon (no relation). With 16 laps to go, leader Jeff Gordon (who ended up leading 257 of the 300 laps) was stuck behind the 12th place No. 77 car of Robert Pressley trying to stay on the lead lap, with Robby right on his tail. In the middle of turns three and four, Robby gave a bump to Jeff while he had slowed down to try and pass the lapped car of Mike Wallace, sending him into Wallace's No. 12 car and inflicting damage on the 24 car. Jeff was black flagged while attempting to retaliate under caution, and Robby went on to earn a controversial first career victory.^[8] The race, which had originally been scheduled for September, was postponed after the September 11 attacks, and after the event Gordon announced he would donate all his winnings to the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

Gordon continued to race for Richard Childress Racing in 2002. He crashed in the Daytona 500 and had a string of poor finishes in the spring. He performed well at Sonoma and led the most laps at Watkins Glen with 21 and finished third. He had a Top 10 running at the Bank of America 500 but crashed in a 10-car-pileup which also collected his teammates, Jeff Green, and Kevin Harvick. 2002 was a bad year for him in performance and he finished in 20th in the championship standings.

In 2003, he had his best NASCAR performing year. He finished 6th place in the Daytona 500 and finished 10th in the Aaron's 499. Then he earned his first road course win at Infineon Raceway, after a controversial but legal pass under caution of his then-teammate, Kevin Harvick. Gordon took his third career win later in the year at Watkins Glen. He, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Kyle Busch are the only drivers to win both road course events (at Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen) in one season since the two became part of the current Sprint Cup schedule.

In summer 2004, Gordon hinted desire to leave the No. 31 team for his poor season. Despite Richard Childress asking Gordon to stay on RCR, Gordon announced in late 2004 that he would be operating his own Nextel Cup team Robby Gordon Motorsports. Childress initially refused to let Gordon go but when Roush Fenway Racing fired Jeff Burton, Childress released Gordon and hired Burton to replace Gordon.

For 2005, Gordon moved his Busch Series team up to the Nextel Cup, and was the only owner/driver left. Gordon's primary sponsor was Jim Beam Bourbon; his crew chief was Greg Erwin. Fruit of the Loom was the primary sponsor for nine races in the 2005 season. His friend John Menard had his hardware corporation, Menards also become sponsors, as well as Harrah's. Gordon again struggled as an owner/driver, finishing with only two-top tens in 29 starts and failing to qualify for several races.

In 2006, Gordon's team used engines from Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and showed slight improvement over the previous year's performance over the first few races. He performed well at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, qualifying and finishing in the top 10 in both races. For the 2007 season, Gordon switched to the Ford Fusion, with engines supplied from Roush-Yates. He had two Top 10's and finished 26th in points.

On February 1, 2008, Gordon said he would go to Dodge in 2008, marking his 4th change in as many years. He also announced a technical, manufacturing and marketing services agreement with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. After dropping to 33rd in points, Gordon announced he would be running Toyotas in 2009, which would be his 5th change in as many years.^[9]

Gordon competed in fewer races in 2010, as Jim Beam did not renew its contract and due to Gordon's poor performance. The team finished 34th in 2009 owner's standings. In January 2010, Gordon formed an alliance with BAM Racing, his sixth change in six years. In 2010, with Ted Musgrave driving, his team failed to qualify at Pocono, the first time since the 2005 race at Texas. He performed well at Sonoma in the Toyota Save Mart 350 and ended up second to Jimmie Johnson, which secured some part-time sponsorship for RGM. A penalty involving another team moved the No. 7 back into the Top 35. Due to a commitment in Argentina, Bobby Labonte drove the No. 7 at Loudon. P. J. Jones and Kevin Conway have also shared the No. 7; Gordon entered a No. 07 car for a number of races.

He secured a sponsorship to compete in the 2012 Daytona 500,^[10] but poor performance resulted in Gordon racing only at Phoenix and the road-course race at Sonoma. He failed to qualify for early-season races at Las Vegas and Fontana.^[11]

In 2012, Gordon announced a money-sponsorship crisis. Robby Gordon Motorsports was facing bankruptcy in regards to the NASCAR operations because of bad finishes. As a result, he only raced on the road course events in NASCAR for 2012 but when he had poor finishes in those races Gordon's NASCAR career ended in 2013 as he was unable to attract sponsorship for any more NASCAR seasons.^[11] The No. 7 was taken by Dave Blaney of Tommy Baldwin Racing.

In 2013, Gordon officially closed RGM's NASCAR headquarters in Charlotte to form the Stadium Super Truck series.

Nationwide Series

Gordon's first Busch Series experience came in 2001 when he ran 3 races for Richard Childress Racing in the No. 21 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet. His best finish was 5th at Watkins Glen International.

In 2004 Gordon started his own then Busch Series team, Robby Gordon Motorsports, driving in 25 NBS races and earning one win which came at Richmond in his new self-owned No. 55 Chevy. From 2004-2010 drivers that have driven for Robby Gordon Motorsports included PJ Jones, Bobby Labonte, David Gilliland, Kevin Conway, Scott Wimmer, Reed Sorenson and Johnny Sauter.

He participated in several Busch races in 2006, including a few for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Nationwide team (JR Motorsports). The most notable highlight of his season was a second-place finish at Watkins Glen on August 12. Driving his own No. 7 Chevy, Gordon went door-to-door with Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 39 car for Penske South Racing, for the final few laps. Gordon gained ground in the chicane, almost catching Busch. The two cars went wildly into the grass and dirt, almost wrecking each other. Gordon was able to save his car, as Busch went down the final straightaway to win the race. While being interviewed in victory lane Busch gave Gordon praise for a great race and said it reminded him of his race with Ricky Craven at Darlington in 2003.

In 2007 Gordon only had a few top tens in the NBS and came near to a win at Montreal before being disqualified by NASCAR for ignoring a penalty. He was further in trouble when he reacted to the penalty by intentionally crashing Marcos Ambrose to retaliate for a previous crash – an action that denied Ambrose (who dominated the race) the win and got Gordon suspended from the Sprint Cup Race at Pocono the next day. A backup driver and one of Gordon's friends, P. J. Jones took over for Gordon upon his suspension. Gordon, to make up for the incident, gave Ambrose a free race for RGM at Watkins Glen International the next weekend to make his first Sprint Cup start but because of rain, Ambrose did not qualify. Gordon, his sponsors and fans have said to this day that he won the 2007 NAPA 200 but nonetheless have accepted the penalty. In 2010, Gordon announced that he made himself a banner and makeshift trophy similar to the NAPA 200 trophy saying he won the 2007 NAPA 200 and when asked by reporters about how he was going to recover in 2010's Montreal race Gordon chuckled and said "You mean since I won? We’ve still got the banner hanging on our wall. We came back for redemption, and we’ll do the best job we can.”^[12]

On March 28, 2008, Gordon and the No. 22 Supercuts Dodge Team of Fitz Motorsports joined forces for a part-time schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series after driver Mike Bliss left the team to drive the No. 1 Chevrolet owned by James Finch. As of the press release Gordon is slated to drive both the Phoenix and Texas Nationwide Series events in the No. 22 car.

Gordon drove his No. 55 Mapei/Menards Dodge in the Chicagoland Race in July. He also started the Watkins Glen race in his No. 55 Jim Beam Dodge in 2nd place and finished in 19th position.

In 2009 he drove his No. 55 Hard-Rock Hotel car at the Watkins Glen Nationwide race. Starting 3rd he was briefly in contention for the win until he tangled with Joey Logano with 7 laps to go. He finished 14th.

In 2010 he drove the No. 07 Menards car in the Nationwide series at Montreal as part of his alliance with John Menard for RGM. It was the first time since 2007 that he drove at Montreal due to his altercation with Marcos Ambrose (see below) due to having made amends by skipping the next races at the track. He dominated the last 20 laps of the race but ran out of fuel with two laps to go handing the win to colleague veteran Boris Said and resulted in the top 20 in the finish.

In 2011 he drove his No. 77 Mapei car at Montreal. He led 5 laps but broke down from engine failure, finishing 31st.

Craftsman Truck Series

Gordon has run 4 career Craftsman Truck Series races with one top-5 and 2 top-10 finishes. He has run for Team SABCO, Bobby Hamilton Racing, and Morgan-Dollar Motorsports.

Other racing

Gordon competed twice in the Race of Champions, first in 2001 in Gran Canaria, where he broke the lap time record. In 2014, Gordon competed in the Nations Cup for Team Americas alongside 2014 World Touring Car champion José María López.^[13]

Controversies

In the 2001 New Hampshire 300 the race was postponed due to the 9/11 attacks and Jeff Gordon clinched the 2001 Cup championship the previous week at Atlanta. The race was held around Thanksgiving in 2001 and Gordon driving the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing car, after Mike Skinner chose to retire from RCR after he was nearly killed in a crash at a previous race, won his first race in the Cup series after an incident with Jeff Gordon: with 16 laps to go Jeff was leading hoping to make his points bigger in his inevitable margin against Tony Stewart by winning the race but Robby in the No. 31 drove up to second place and made slight contact, getting Jeff Gordon loose, and giving Robby the lead. Jeff was angered and rushed under caution to retaliated by trying to cutting down Robby's tire but was black-flagged before he could make a second attempt to get to the No. 31's tire. Jeff served a one lap penalty, still won the championship and managed to race in the middle of the pack back up to 15th place and pocket a large purse of money. Robby on the final restart pulled away from Sterling Marlin and won his first cup race and victory on an oval. This win gave Robby the No. 31 RCR car for a multi-year deal after 2001. Jeff when interviewed maintained that he should have not been penalized and publicly retorted to Robby that he should have been embarrassed to have won in the way that the finish was; Robby said in reply that he Jeff "should be embarrassed for retaliating like he did."^[14] Robby then promised to donate all his winning money by division to the 9/11 victims' relatives. (35)

In the 2003 Dodge/Save Mart 350, Gordon was so eager to try for his second cup win in the No. 31 RCR car. Prior to the race, Gordon was vomiting from food poisoning yet still ended Jeff Gordon's streak of domination at Sonoma for 6 years by dominating the race. Coming to the caution with 38 laps to go, Robby Gordon took advantage of his teammate and friend, Kevin Harvick by passing Harvick in turn 11 under caution and in the final laps was able to hold off Jeff Gordon for his second cup win in the No. 31 RCR team and his first cup win on a road course. Harvick ultimately finished 3rd. His pass under caution was ridiculed by Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and several other drivers because while the pass was legal it was considered "ungentlemanly." However, NASCAR declared Robby Gordon as the winner and in reply to the ridicules he received from Jeff Gordon, NASCAR fans and Robby said "He's won enough of these things, and I guess he doesn't like it when someone else rains on his parade." This comment led NASCAR to give Robby Gordon and Jeff Gordon warnings to resolve their differences.^[15]

During the 2005 Daytona 500, NASCAR penalized 10 race teams. Gordon's new No. 7 team was among them. His crew chief Bob Temple was fined $50,000 and Robby was deducted of 25 driver & owner points for an illegal unapproved installation on his racecar. With no owner points to fall back on, as his team was brand-new, Gordon didn't qualify for the 2005 Daytona 500 due to the penalty.

During the 2005 running of the Sylvania 300, Gordon was involved in a wreck with Michael Waltrip, the driver of the No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet. The angered Gordon got out of his totaled car and threw his helmet at the No. 15 car as it was passing by. Tony Stewart's No. 20 missed the helmet just seconds after it hit Waltrip's car. When TNT interviewed him about the crash, he stated "You know Michael, everybody thinks Michael's a good guy. He's not the good guy like he actually is. The caution was out and he wrecked me and he's a piece of shit." TNT apologized for his language, and Gordon apologized after the race, but Gordon was fined $50,000 and docked 50 drivers points. When asked by some people for the helmet, Gordon decided to auction it for the benefit of the Harrah's Employee Relief Fund, a fund that provides aid to Harrah's employees displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The helmet fetched $51,100, and was purchased by GoldenPalace.com.

During the 2006 Bass Pro Shops 500, he brought controversy by allegedly throwing roll bar padding onto the track at Atlanta Motor Speedway, drawing a caution flag that had a significant impact for the end of the race, especially drivers in pit road, most notably NEXTEL Cup contender Jeff Burton who wound up finishing 13th. Video from the race was not conclusive as to if he did in fact put debris on the track but NASCAR reacted by docking Gordon 50 points (each in the Driver and Car Owner categories) and a $15,000 fine. Gordon has denied he intentionally threw the debris.^[16]

During the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2007, Gordon was involved in an on-circuit altercation with fellow driver Marcos Ambrose. Gordon passed Ambrose to take the lead at the same time as a multi-car wreck was unfolding behind them; Ambrose spun him, under a yellow flag, to reclaim it seconds later.^[17] After an unusually long delay in sorting out the field for the restart, NASCAR eventually determined that Gordon would restart in 13th position. Gordon, who had a strong race all day, refused to go to that position, and was black flagged after the restart, and after spinning out Ambrose. Gordon did not come in for his penalty and was then given the black flag with diagonal white cross, meaning that his subsequent laps were no longer being scored. As a result, he finished 18th. Following the race, Gordon proceeded to do burnouts on the front straightaway as if celebrating his victory, alongside race winner Kevin Harvick. He announced in a post-race interview that he would appeal the result of the race.^[18] However, NASCAR suspended Gordon for the following race at Pocono. In a statement released soon after the NASCAR announcement, Gordon apologized for his actions but maintained that NASCAR made a mistake in telling him to line up in the 13th position.^[19]

Gordon was docked 100 driver and owner points as a result of rule infractions during Speedweeks of 2008 at Daytona. Gordon's car was found with an unapproved front bumper cover. His crew chief Frank Kerr was suspended for 6 weeks until April 9, 2008, was fined $100,000, and placed on probation until December 31, 2008. Gordon was not fined. Gordon appealed the penalty issued by NASCAR in of February, 2008. Gordon issued a press statement. "This was an innocent mistake made by someone not even on our race team. They accidentally sent us the new Dodge noses that haven't yet been approved by NASCAR." According to NASCAR Gordon's Dodge nose says Charger, but it is actually an Avenger and it had the approved nose's part number. On March 5, 2008, the penalty against him was rescinded by NASCAR following the appeal, and he gained back his 100 driver points and the suspension was lifted. Despite this, the fine was increased to $150,000.

Gordon's off-road finishes have also been the source of controversy. His second-place finish in the San Felipe 250, March 2009, was overshadowed by allegations that in a very remote area he verred off course and drove down a cliff. The maneuver let him bypass a difficult section of the course, get ahead of another competitor without having to pass, and was a four-mile shortcut. Trophy Truck competitor Ed Herbst filed a protest,^[20] which was supported by evidence from a pit crew known as the Baja Fools who had set up a pit stop in that section of the course. On investigation, two sets of Toyo tire tracks (identical to those on Gordon's truck) were found which established the four-mile shortcut.^[20] The protest was denied^[21] based on the fact that given Gordon's average speed, the four-mile shortcut would not have changed the results. After initially filing an appeal of the decision, Herbst, who shares a sponsor with Gordon, elected to withdraw the appeal and the results were deemed final.^[22]

Likewise, Gordon was initially declared the winner of the 2009 Baja 500 on June 6, 2009. However, he was stripped of the title and moved to seventh place after it was determined that he violated two rules: one a fueling violation, the other a highway speed violation. A total of 100 minutes in penalties were assessed: 90 minutes for the more serious fueling violation where an amateur video proved that he illegally received fuel on the highway, and 10 minutes for the speed violation.^[23]

Gordon's troubles with NASCAR rules continued in 2009. He was caught with excessive rear toe (angle of the wheels to the car) after the May 27, 2009 Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. This illegal adjustment permits the car to carry more speed into the corner. Gordon was docked 50 points and his crew chief was fined $50,000. Gordon elected not to appeal the infraction.^[24]

In 2010, the car Gordon owns and drives was found to have illegal parts during inspection on May 7, 2010 before a race at Darlington Raceway. Gordon was docked 25 owner points and 25 driver points. His crew chief, Samuel Stanley was fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation for the rest of the year.^[25] This fine brought Gordon's five year total to $290,000 paid to NASCAR.

On March 4, 2011, Gordon was placed on indefinite probation in NASCAR due to an altercation he had with driver Kevin Conway in the garage area the night before.^[26] According to published reports, the two were involved in a scuffle over lawsuits each has filed against the other. Las Vegas police confirmed that Conway filed a criminal complaint charging Gordon with misdemeanor battery.^[27]

On August 25, 2011, Danica Patrick officially announced her plans to leave the IndyCar Series to race in NASCAR and expressed her hope that she'd keep the number 7 that she has had throughout her motorsports career. Gordon, who has raced under many numbers but had the number 7 for the last six years, refused to give up the number, stating: "Why would I?"^[28]

After the August 2011 Bristol race, Gordon admitted that he is now a "start and park" driver and will do so for most of the remainder of the season.^[29] "Start and park" is a controversial practice whereby a driver starts the race but then immediately parks his car, collecting last place prize money and protecting his car from any on-track incidents. At Bristol, Gordon completed only 10 laps but pocketed $85,960.^[30]

Ironically, in 2012, Gordon blasted past-champion Terry Labonte for "starting and parking" after 12 laps at the Daytona 500 qualifying race. As a past champion whose team was not in the Top 35 in 2011 owner's points, Labonte was guaranteed a start regardless of how he finished. Gordon stated: "It's just not right. Why take a free ride when the rest of us have to bust our butts to get into the 500?"^[31] Labonte responded that his team had only one car and they needed it for the race.^[32] Labonte ran the full race, leading three laps and finishing 18th, while Gordon retired after 25 laps and finished 41st.

Controversy continued to plague Gordon in 2012. While participating in the Dakar Rally, Gordon was running a strong second after nine stages before being disqualified after stewards ruled that the tire inflation system on his Hummer was illegal^[33] after another competitor made an anonymous suggestion to the tech inspectors along the rally route, where it was called into question. Gordon stated that if there was a problem with the system, he would plug it and still win stages. He did so the following day, winning the stage by more than 15 minutes in front of the second-place finisher.^[34]

Gordon was permitted to continue while the ruling was appealed to the French Automobile Sport Federation (FFSA).^[35] The appeal was denied two months later.^[36] After Gordon disqualification was upheld, he was stricken from the race results.^[37]

Gordon's Hummer crashed and rolled over in the sand dunes of Peru in the penultimate stage of the rally (01/14/2012), but was set back on its wheels by spectators and Gordon continued on to a 10th-place finish of that stage.^[38] He then won the final stage the following day, finishing the rally in 5th place overall.^[39]

Personal life

On September 14, 2016, around 5 pm, Gordon's father, Robert, and his wife Sharon, were found dead in their Orange County home in an apparent murder-suicide.^[40] It was confirmed later that week after a careful investigation, that it was indeed a murder-suicide. It was verified that Robert strangled Sharon and then committed suicide. Upon hearing the news, Gordon broke down in tears in an interview.

Significant victories

• 7 SCORE International championships (1986–90, 1996, 2009)
• 3 time Baja 1000 winner (1987, 1989, 2006)
• 4 time Baja 500 winner (1989, 1990, 2005, 2013)
• 9 Dakar Rally stage victories
• 3 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins (New Hampshire 2001, Infineon and Watkins Glen 2003)
• 1 NASCAR Sprint Cup Gatorade 125 Win (2003)
• 1 NASCAR Nationwide Series win (Richmond 2004)
• 2 CART wins (Phoenix and Detroit 1995)
• 1 Central Europe Rally Special wins (2008 CER Stage 5 Scratch 1 winner (1/2 stage) Hummer)

Racing record

American open-wheel racing results

(key)

CART

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Rank	Points
1992	Chip Ganassi Racing	SRF	PHX	LBH	INDY	DET Ret	POR 13	MIL Ret	NHA	TOR 8	MIS	CLE 8	ROA Ret	VAN Ret	MDO	NZR	LS					20th	10
1993	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	SRF 3	PHX Ret	LBH DSQ	INDY Ret	MIL Ret	DET 8	POR 8	CLE 6	TOR 6	MIS Ret	NHA 5	ROA Ret	VAN Ret	MDO 2	NZR 4	LS 10					10th	84
1994	Walker Racing	SRF Ret	PHX 7	LBH 3	INDY 5	MIL 6	DET 3	POR 4	CLE 11	TOR 6	MIS Ret	MDO 4	NHA 13	VAN 2	ROA Ret	NZR Ret	LS 13					5th	104
1995	Walker Racing	MIA Ret	SRF Ret	PHX 1	LBH Ret	NZR 4	INDY 5	MIL 5	DET 1	POR 8	ROA Ret	TOR 5	CLE 6	MIS DNS	MDO 8	NHA 9	VAN 3	LS 15				5th	121
1996	Walker Racing	MIA 3	RIO Ret	SRF Ret	LBH 13	NZR Ret	500 Ret	MIL 17	DET Ret	POR 10	CLE 18	TOR 9	MIS 8	MDO Ret	ROA Ret	VAN 10	LS 15					18th	29
1997	Hogan Racing	MIA	SRF	LBH	NZR	RIO	STL	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MIS	MDO	ROA	VAN	LS	FON 8				26th	5
1998	Arciero-Wells Racing	MIA	MOT	LBH	NZR 7	RIO	STL 13	MIL Ret	DET 14	POR Ret	CLE Ret	TOR 13	MIS Ret	MDO 11	ROA 12	VAN Ret	LS 13	HOU Ret	SRF 16	FON 9		23rd	13
1999	Team Gordon	MIA Ret	MOT 8	LBH 16	NZR 19	RIO 14	STL Ret	MIL Ret	POR 17	CLE 9	ROA 8	TOR 13	MIS Ret	DET Ret	MDO 10	CHI 10	VAN Ret	LS Ret	HOU Ret	SRF 8	FON 11	20th	27

Indianapolis 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1993	Lola	Ford-Cosworth	25	27	Foyt
1994	Lola	Ford-Cosworth	19	5	Walker
1995	Lola	Ford-Cosworth	7	5	Walker
1997	G-Force	Oldsmobile	12	29	SABCO
1999	Dallara	Oldsmobile	4	4	Menard
2000	Dallara	Oldsmobile	4	6	Menard
2001	Dallara	Oldsmobile	3	21	Foyt/Childress
2002	Dallara	Chevrolet	11	8	Menard/Childress
2003	Dallara	Honda	3	22	Andretti Green
2004	Dallara	Chevrolet	18	29	Gordon

Dakar Rally

Year	Class	Vehicle	Position	Stages won
2005	Cars	Volkswagen	12th	2
2006		Hummer	DNF	0
2007			8	1
2008	Event cancelled – replaced by Central Europe Rally
2009	Car	Hummer	3rd	0
2010			8	1
2011			DNF	0
2012			DSQ	1
2013			14	2
2014			DNF	0
2015			19	1
2016		Gordini	25	0

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	NSCC	Pts
1991	Donlavey Racing	90	Ford	DAY 18	RCH 26	CAR	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL								55th	194
1993	Robert Yates Racing	28	Ford	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL 42	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL							93rd	37
1994	Kranefuss-Haas Racing	07	Ford	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH 38	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL						76th	49
1996	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	14	Chevy	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT 38									57th	123
	Team SABCO	40	Chevy																													CAR 42	PHO 42	ATL
1997				DAY 16	CAR 33	RCH 28	ATL 14	DAR 34	TEX 34	BRI 43	MAR 41	SON 41	TAL QL†	CLT 41	DOV	POC	MCH	CAL	DAY 22	NHA 34	POC 42	IND 28	GLN 4	MCH 17	BRI DNQ	DAR 22	RCH 42	NHA 24	DOV 33	MAR	CLT	TAL	CAR	PHO	ATL					40th	1495
1998	American Equipment Racing	96	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	CLT	DOV	RCH	MCH	POC	SON 36	NHA	POC																			67th	57
	Roehrig Motorsports	19	Ford																			IND DNQ	GLN	MCH	BRI	NHA	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	TAL	DAY	PHO	CAR	ATL
2000	Team Menard	13	Ford	DAY 18	CAR 38	LVS 13	ATL DNQ	DAR 28	BRI 32	TEX DNQ	MAR 40	TAL 37	CAL 31	RCH 37	CLT	DOV	MCH 28	POC	SON 9	DAY DNQ	NHA	POC	IND DNQ	GLN 4	MCH 34	BRI 31	DAR	RCH DNQ	NHA	DOV	MAR	CLT 38	TAL	CAR 41	PHO DNQ	HOM	ATL 27			43rd	1309
2001	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Chevy	DAY 37	CAR 26	LVS 34	ATL 20	DAR 29	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	MCH	POC																						44th	1552
	Ultra Motorsports	7	Ford																SON 2	DAY	CHI 35
	Richard Childress Racing	31	Chevy																			NHA 25	POC 28	IND 30	GLN 40	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN 14	CLT DNQ	MAR 38	TAL 19	PHO 7	CAR 37	HOM	ATL DNQ	NHA 1
2002				DAY 13	CAR 24	LVS 37	ATL 18	DAR 24	BRI 20	TEX 41	MAR 34	TAL 33	CAL 12	RCH 37	CLT 16	DOV 8	POC 19	MCH 33	SON 11	DAY 29	CHI 8	NHA 7	POC 25	IND 8	GLN 3	MCH 21	BRI 20	DAR 17	RCH 28	NHA 17	DOV 17	KAN 13	TAL 12	CLT 38	MAR 23	ATL 20	CAR 11	PHO 27	HOM 26	20th	3632
2003				DAY 6	CAR 29	LVS 23	ATL 17	DAR 28	BRI 17	TEX 18	TAL 10	MAR 21	CAL 27	RCH 4	CLT 17	DOV 9	POC 28	MCH 22	SON 1*	DAY 40	CHI 7	NHA 5	POC 18	IND 6	GLN 1*	MCH 6	BRI 35	DAR 28	RCH 29	NHA 21	DOV 23	TAL 12	KAN 25	CLT 38	MAR 36	ATL 21	PHO 32	CAR 20	HOM 30	16th	3856
2004				DAY 35	CAR 36	LVS 30	ATL 17	DAR 4	BRI 19	TEX 23	MAR 30	TAL 5	CAL 12	RCH 24	CLT 20	DOV 14	POC 8	MCH 33	SON 24	DAY 19	CHI 17	NHA 25	POC 7	IND 25	GLN 16	MCH 25	BRI 12	CAL 9	RCH 32	NHA 32	DOV 23	TAL 9	KAN 28	CLT 18	MAR 23	ATL 16	PHO 35	DAR 15	HOM 29	23rd	3646
2005	Robby Gordon Motorsports	7	Chevy	DAY DNQ	CAL 35	LVS 39	ATL 34	BRI DNQ	MAR 20	TEX 37	PHO 37	TAL DNQ	DAR DNQ	RCH 31	CLT 27	DOV 29	POC 39	MCH 39	SON 16	DAY 26	CHI 35	NHA 30	POC 40	IND 24	GLN 2	MCH 30	BRI 38	CAL 34	RCH 35	NHA 37	DOV 29	TAL 23	KAN DNQ	CLT 32	MAR 41	ATL DNQ	TEX DNQ	PHO 8	HOM 14	37th	2142
2006				DAY 13	CAL 26	LVS 12	ATL 28	BRI 26	MAR 43	TEX 20	PHO 41	TAL 10	RCH 39	DAR 13	CLT 16	DOV 36	POC 35	MCH 18	SON 40	DAY 14	CHI 19	NHA 19	POC 13	IND 35	GLN 4	MCH 12	BRI 27	CAL 43	RCH 19	NHA 15	DOV 41	KAN 36	TAL 16	CLT 25	MAR 37	ATL 10	TEX 39	PHO 32	HOM 40	30th	3113
2007			Ford	DAY 15	CAL 21	LVS 17	ATL 20	BRI 33	MAR 34	TEX 24	PHO 24	TAL 41	RCH 34	DAR 38	CLT 22	DOV 10	POC 41	MCH 13	SON 16*	NHA 17	DAY 15	CHI 36	IND 27	POC QL‡	GLN 5	MCH 24	BRI 20	CAL 41	RCH 36	NHA 31	DOV 19	KAN 19	TAL 29	CLT 38	MAR 39	ATL 21	TEX 32	PHO 24	HOM 27	26th	2770
2008			Dodge	DAY 8	CAL 18	LVS 42	ATL 24	BRI 24	MAR 40	TEX 30	PHO 29	TAL 11	RCH 26	DAR 33	CLT 43	DOV 19	POC 36	MCH 40	SON 36	NHA 26	DAY 6	CHI 25	IND 33	POC 37	GLN 27	MCH 37	BRI 39	CAL 40	RCH 42	NHA 26	DOV 22	KAN 37	TAL 8	CLT 30	MAR 40	ATL 19	TEX 36	PHO 28	HOM 26	33rd	2770
2009			Toyota	DAY 34	CAL 30	LVS 15	ATL 26	BRI 21	MAR 40	TEX 39	PHO 39	TAL 29	RCH 16	DAR 28	CLT 3	DOV 33	POC 31	MCH 17	SON 36	NHA 25	DAY 22	CHI 34	IND 28	POC 33	GLN 18	MCH 37	BRI 32	ATL 16	RCH	NHA 24	DOV 34	KAN 34	CAL 38	CLT 30	MAR 37	TAL 32	TEX 27	PHO 22	HOM 39	34th	2699
2010				DAY 28	CAL 33	LVS 32	ATL 43	BRI 22	MAR 34	PHO 14	TEX 31	TAL 20	RCH 28	DAR 38	DOV 31	CLT 33	POC	MCH 33	SON 2	NHA	DAY 12	CHI 38	IND 36	POC	GLN 36					NHA 26	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT 33	MAR 22	TAL 18	TEX 35	PHO 33	HOM	34th	2028
		07																								MCH 39	BRI 40	ATL	RCH						MAR DNQ
2011		7	Dodge	DAY 16	PHO 32	LVS 32	BRI 39	CAL 34	MAR 23	TEX 31	TAL 20	RCH 35	DAR 37	DOV	CLT 38	KAN	POC	MCH 37	SON 18	DAY 34			IND 43	POC 35	GLN 24	MCH	BRI 43	ATL 39	RCH 37	CHI 39	NHA 40	DOV	KAN	CLT 38	TAL 37			PHO 32	HOM	34th	268
		77																			KEN DNQ	NHA														MAR DNQ	TEX DNQ
2012		7		DAY 41	PHO 41	LVS DNQ	BRI	CAL DNQ	MAR	TEX	KAN	RCH	TAL	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON 39	KEN	DAY	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	TAL	CLT	KAN	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	52nd	11
† - Qualified but replaced by Joe Nemechek · ‡ - Qualified but replaced by P.J. Jones

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1991	Donlavey Racing	Ford	35	18
1997	Team SABCO	Chevrolet	20	16
2000	Team Menard	Ford	17	18
2001	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	Chevrolet	41	37
2002	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	12	13
2003			3	6
2004			30	35
2005	Robby Gordon Motorsports	Chevrolet	DNQ
2006			20	13
2007		Ford	39	15
2008		Dodge	26	8
2009		Toyota	31	34
2010			34	28
2011		Dodge	30	16
2012			17	41

Nationwide Series

NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	NNSC	Pts
2001	Richard Childress Racing	21	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSH	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	KEN	MLW	GLN 5	CHI	GTY	PPR	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN 11	CLT 23	MEM	PHO	CAR	HOM			60th	389
2004	Robby Gordon Motorsports	55	Chevy	DAY 3	CAR 14	LVS 19	DAR 7	BRI 23	TEX 3	NSH 5	TAL 7	CAL 12	GTY 10	RCH 19	NZH	CLT	DOV 32	NSH 14	KEN 12	MLW	DAY 26	CHI 6	NHA	PPR	IRP 15	MCH 12	BRI 39	CAL	RCH 1	DOV	KAN 14	CLT 29	MEM	ATL 4	PHO 4	DAR	HOM 37		21st	3105
2005				DAY 6	CAL																						GLN 2	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT 31	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	78th	395
		83				MXC 40	LVS	ATL	NSH	BRI	TEX	PHO	TAL	DAR	RCH	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	NHA	PPR	GTY	IRP
2006		7		DAY	CAL	MXC	LVS	ATL	BRI	TEX	NSH	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT 40	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	NHA	MAR	GTY	IRP	GLN 2												64th	526
	JR Motorsports	88	Chevy																									MCH 3	BRI	CAL 9	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM
2007	Robby Gordon Motorsports	55	Ford	DAY 11	CAL	MXC	LVS	ATL 12	BRI	NSH	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT 32	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI 34	GTY	IRP	CGV 18	GLN 36	MCH	BRI					CLT 7	MEM	TEX 13			47th	1130
	Fitz Motorsports	22	Dodge																											CAL 9	RCH
	Brewco Motorsports	27	Ford																													DOV 31	KAN				PHO 20	HOM
2008	Fitz Motorsports	22	Dodge	DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	NSH	TEX 20	PHO 27	MXC	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY																	73rd	367
	Robby Gordon Motorsports	55	Dodge																				CHI 29	GTY	IRP	CGV	GLN 19	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM
2009			Toyota	DAY	CAL	LVS	BRI	TEX	NSH	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	IOW	GLN 14	MCH	BRI	CGV	ATL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	122nd	121
2010		07		DAY	CAL	LVS	BRI	NSH	PHO	TEX	TAL	RCH	DAR	DOV	CLT	NSH	KEN	ROA	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	IOW	GLN	MCH	BRI	CGV 14	ATL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	GTY	TEX	PHO	HOM	105th	126
2011		77	Dodge	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	TAL	NSH	RCH	DAR	DOV	IOW	CLT	CHI	MCH	ROA	DAY	KEN	NHA	NSH	IRP	IOW	GLN	CGV 31	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM		NA	01

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	NCTC	Pts
1996	Team SABCO	42	Chevy	HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	TUS	CNS	HPT	BRI	NZH	MLW	LVL	I70	IRP	FLM	GLN	NSV	RCH	NHA	MAR	NWS 13	SON	MMR	PHO				68th	274
	Roehrig Racing	18	Chevy																								LVS 6
1997			Dodge	WDW	TUS	HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	I70	NHA	TEX	BRI	NZH	MLW	LVL	CNS	HPT	IRP	FLM	NSV	GLN	RCH	MAR	SON	MMR	CAL 30	PHO	LVS	123rd	73
2004	Morgan-Dollar Motorsports	47	Chevy	DAY	ATL	MAR	MFD	CLT	DOV	TEX	MEM	MLW	KAN	KEN	GTW	MCH	IRP	NSH	BRI 4	RCH	NHA	LVS	CAL	TEX	MAR	PHO	DAR	HOM		71st	160

* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	ARSC	Pts
1990	Donlavey Racing	90	Ford	DAY	ATL	KIL	TAL	FRS	POC	KIL	TOL	HAG	POC	TAL	MCH	ISF	TOL	DSF	WIN	DEL	ATL 21	97th	-

International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

International Race of Champions results
Year	Make	1	2	3	4	Pos.	Points
1996	Pontiac	DAY 2	TAL 2*	CLT 12	MCH 4	2nd	54
1997		DAY 8	CLT 2	CAL	MCH 2	2nd	63

References

• http://www.nhms.com/media/headlines/new-hampshire-motor-speedway-magic-mile-moment-robby-gordon-does-spin-win-thanksgiving-race.html

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robby Gordon.

• Official website
• Robby Gordon driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Robby Gordon owner statistics at Racing-Reference