Robby Gordon vs Kevin Conway: Gordon gives his side.....
Robby Gordon isn't happy with Kevin Conway, saying Conway owes him over $600,000 for race cars (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
(Updated/With Conway Statement)
By Mike Mulhern
mikemulhern.net
LAS VEGAS
NASCAR's 'Boys, have at it,' apparently has some limits.
But Robby Gordon, now on NASCAR probation, is taking the latest twist in his dispute with Kevin Conway in stride, despite Conway having filed a complaint with the local police department over Friday afternoon's between-the-trucks run-in.
The basic debate is over money – Conway made a deal to run Gordon's Sprint Cup cars in seven races last summer, and Conway says Gordon owes him some $29,000 in race earnings. Gordon, in turn, says Conway still owes him close to $700,000 for the use of his cars in those events.
"It's simple," Gordon says of the financial dispute. "I'll pay him his money when he pays me my money….because he couldn't have earned that money if I hadn't put that car out on the track."
The two men are making court depositions in that dispute.
The Friday incident itself here was apparently not witnessed by anyone. Saturday NASCAR officials said they would put Gordon on indefinite probation over the issue, but they said any further comment on the matter would have to come from the drivers themselves. NASCAR 'probation' has been a rather nebulous penalty over the years; Gordon will still be allowed to race.
Conway declined to discuss the situation.
Gordon described the confrontation as verbal: "He got in my face….and I told him….well, if he wants to go to the police, that's, well…."
Gordon actually used slightly more colorful language in describing the encounter.
Conway issued the following statement:
"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.
"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."
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Sounds like Kevin Conway came
Sounds like Kevin Conway came looking for a fight. If Kevin raced in the Nationwide race which has their own set of garages, why he was in the Cup area where the Cup haulers were parked? What explanation did he give NASCAR for them to not put him probation like they did to Gordon? Also why would NASCAR punish a driver? After all they made the "Boy's have at it" Jeff Gordon took a swing at Jeff Burton on the track on TV and that was ok. Maybe because NASCAR got ratings from it?
I also have to wonder what the other teams and drivers feel about one of their own going to the police after an argument at the track? Can you imagine if Cale Yarborough or Donnie Allison went to the police after their fight at the Daytona 500!
Nobody saw the incident? Is
Nobody saw the incident? Is NASCAR admitting that 'indefinite probation' is a joke by putting Robby on it with no proof that he did anything wrong?
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Conway is an idiot. He bought
Conway is an idiot. He bought his way in NASCAR and of course they allowed it. NASCAR penalized Gordon for his actions because Conway cried wolf. NASCAR will protect him until they feel it will work against them. If Conway would pay up like he promised there would not be a problem, but he is desperate and Gordon calls a spade a spade...
Conway should have received
Conway should have received probation as well. He was the instigator by going into Robby's cup garage. Conway should have never been in the cup area to begin with. I hope NASCAR will equalize the injustice of this whole thing. It is a shame they would take any word of a punk kid looking for trouble when Robby has been a stand up guy over the years and still is today.
conway is a second rate
conway is a second rate driver who had no business in the cup garage with the big boys. nascar has always treated robby with an unfair hand and it looks like this incident is no different. GO ROBBY GO!!!
Conway is a joke. And a not
Conway is a joke. And a not very funny one at that.
Nascar's probation rules are
Nascar's probation rules are a lot like their phantom cautions, they don't actually have to see a problem they just have an obsessive need o throw a flag.
Nascar always comes down hard on Robby, it's obvious he doesn't fit their corporate mentality, gotta wonder (other than the money and exposure) why he sticks it out when he could be competitive elsewhere.
The diffenence is Robby is
The diffenence is Robby is now driving a Dodge.You can see where NASCAR is getting the money.
Simply outrageous!! A single
Simply outrageous!! A single car driver struggling to keep it all together and make the field - AND be competitive - and NASCAR whimps out again with "double secret" (because none of the fans have a clue as to the rationale behind it) probation! Love the Cale/Donnie comment - so it is clear then - if the fight is witnessed and helps ratings - ok but if it is in private and heresay - watch out!? WOW.
Jeff Gordon gets nothing for
Jeff Gordon gets nothing for taking a swing at Jeff Burton. NASCAR puts Robby Gordon on probation for something no one saw.
Anybody see something wrong with this picture?
If the 'altercation' was on
If the 'altercation' was on tape he wouldn't be on probation he'd be on a NASCAR commercial, just like when he threw his helmet at M. Waltrip a few years ago. That commercial runs 3 dozen times a week on their promo's.
conway shouldnt be in nascar
conway shouldnt be in nascar anyweys. hes so terrible. i realize that he has sponsorship, but no one should put him anywhere near their car for countless reasons
probation, what the, jeff
probation, what the, jeff gordon and jeff burton have a knock down drag out on national tv and nothing happened to them NASCAR stinks.
Ask me it's a waste of a good
Ask me it's a waste of a good sponsor on a guy who is usually lapped before the pace car gets parked. He was a good driver in his early non Nascar career, but will never be what I consider a Cup driver. There are a few others who should follow him and just go run ARCA or ASA and actually compete instead of ride around each week.
Having worked with Conway I
Having worked with Conway I know why this happened. Race fans don't see the real picture that we have to live. Look at the facts. Everyone has the same complaint with him. Not to mention he is the worst person to ever get behind the wheel of a race car. Notice i didn't call him a driver, it wouldn't be fair to the others out there. He won rookie of the year in cup because he didn't have a single competitor for the title. It would be the same as if i was to build a track in my backyard and call myself a champion because i won all the races and had nobody racing me.
Wasn't Conway released from
Wasn't Conway released from his other ride last year because of sponsorship issues.I was suprised when Robby let him drive the 7 car. Now Conway is running for Nemechek?
On second thought--after
On second thought--after reading Conway's comments--Robbie should have.......
Kevin Conway released a
Kevin Conway released a statement Monday evening: "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. 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.
Notice the words that I capitalized. Kind of an odd choice of words for a man sponsored by EXTENZE don't you think?
Already thought Kevin Conway
Already thought Kevin Conway was a joke, but this probably seals up that opinion of him with EVERYONE.
Hey Kevin.You have a
Hey Kevin.You have a history.To bad Robbie did not do to you what Harry Gant did to Alan Kulwicki..
ummmm, trying to remember the
ummmm, trying to remember the harry-alan deal. give me a hint....
Conway should leave Nascar.
Conway should leave Nascar. He is not a racer like the rest of them, he hides behind his money, and has no true talent(or at least hasn't shown it yet). Leave Robby, Nascar and Racing Fans alone. GO AWAY.
Kevin needs more Extenze. He
Kevin needs more Extenze. He sounds less like a racer and more like a wounded little girl.
Robby gave kevin the
Robby gave kevin the opportunity to drive his cars. Its time to pay up, one way or the outher. Maybe they should handle it down in Mexico.
Thanks, Noah Malibu Ca
And how Does NASCAR suspend
And how Does NASCAR suspend someone wherein no one saw the alleged incident?
good point. and how does
good point.
and how does nascar not suspend someone (like Jeff gordon in that Jeff burton flap at Texas) when everyone in the world saw the incident?
sometimes it seems like when robby gordon is in dock there's always a hanging judge right in front of him.
Jimmy Spencer & all the media
Jimmy Spencer & all the media guys OWNED Kevin Conway last night.
now jimmy spencer is my kind
now jimmy spencer is my kind of journalist. tells it like it is. and he's man enough to back it up. i'd like to get paired with him on TV on The Pit Bulls again. We'd have a ball going at each other. and i think the fans might like some of that. But TV big wigs prefer the prim and proper, rather than us roll-in-the-mud types.
(I was standing behind Jimmy one at bristol, waiting for an interview, and he didnt realize i was there, while he was talking to his father, legendary Ed Spencer. And Ed was berating Jimmie for not being more forceful with another journalist who had said a few uncomplementary things about Jimmie. To which Jimmie replied 'Dad, you just cant beat up sportwriters like you used to.')
Jimmie's the man!
I don't understand why Nascar
I don't understand why Nascar allows a company to sponsor yet another team no matter what the division when the company owes other teams money. That just is not right. I also do not think it is appropriate for Kevin Conway to be shown in Extenze commercials with his Nascar logo'd firesuit on while Extenze still owes teams money.
i dont have the financial
i dont have the financial details but they should come out in the court case. nascar does not like lawyers (except their own, of course) getting involved in this sport, and certainly doesnt like anyone suing. bad PR (re: jeremy mayfield). curious to see how this plays out. the robby gordon-kevin conway run-in, by the way, is the hottest topic in nascar right now among fans....which may say something. let the boys have at it.
I can't help but wonder what
I can't help but wonder what the reason Nascar allows Conway to get behind a Nascar car and be part of a Nascar race is.
well, fields are short and
well, fields are short and getting shorter, and sponsors are hard to come by (pardon my puns)....i think kevin was in joe nemechek's backup nationwide car at las vegas....
Conway didn't get a thing out
Conway didn't get a thing out of it I thought it took two make a fight!!!! What is NASCAR playing favorites??
now you arent suggesting
now you arent suggesting nascar might be hitting on robby gordon just because he's robby gordon bad boy, are you? lol.
to be fair, nascar didnt want to do anything, but when conway filed some police report, it had to scramble to do something. and no one seems to know just happened. my people told me robby was poking his finger in conway's chest and conway may have tripped backing up.
but, aside from all this, on a personal side i am getting pretty darned tired with nascar hitting up on robby gordon every time we turn around. yes, he's exciteable, but heck this isn't skiing or tennis, this is a hard-contact sport. and i thought the rule now was 'boys, have at it.'
Perfect sponsor!
Perfect sponsor!