Fans were not shy in writing in about Robby Gordon. Credit: Autostock

Last Lap: Robby Reactions

One seeking to gauge a consensus opinion of Robby Gordon following his tumultuous outing in the Sylvania 300 needed look no further than the No. 24 transporter.

Marty Smith

Jeff Gordon -- never one to temper disdain for his rival of the same surname -- was holding court amongst a throng of media, when informed that Robby had voiced irritation with having to answer so many questions about the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Jeff's response was as comical as it was poignant.

"I certainly hope we don't take this moment to listen to what Robby Gordon has to say."

Jeremy Mayfield -- who along with Tony Stewart bore the brunt of Robby Gordon's idiotic decision to exact payback on Greg Biffle -- concurs, albeit slightly more bluntly.

"He don't have (guts)," Mayfield said.

Personally, I don't know Robby Gordon well enough to judge his fortitude.

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What I do know is how undeniably weak it is to raise the single-digit salute to the media before storming off to pout like a fifth-grader whose Momma wouldn't buy him a double-scoop of Rocky Road.

And another thing about Robby Gordon -- you don't have to know him very well to determine he's consummate Jekyll & Hyde. Outside the racecar, he's one helluva good guy whom I like tremendously.

But it's like a Joe Gibbs Racing crewmember said to me Sunday evening, "There must be a sticker on his helmet that says, 'Remove brain before installing headgear.'"

That pretty much sums it up, I reckon.

On to your emails. (Many of which had to do with the aforementioned subject).

Okay Marty,

How much destruction and possible injury will it take before NASCAR parks Robby Gordon for more than two laps? In one idiotic move he possibly took out two of the championship contenders.

The retaliation wasn't directed at Stewart or Mayfield but they suffered tremendously because of it. It seems like NASCAR needs to start parking people for a couple of races for retaliation on the track.

If they aren't going to park cars because of sponsors and television time then maybe they should dock major points and raise the fines. The bottom line is that owners need to be held accountable for the conduct of their driver on the track. If the owner is held accountable then they won't hire idiot hotheads like Robby Gordon.

NASCAR has come too far for someone like him to mess it up and turn fans away.

Thanks!

Brenda L.

I questioned whether the punishment fit the crime, as well, Brenda. So I asked for clarification from some folks, including Jeff Gordon and Doug Richert, Greg Biffle's crew chief.

Doug Richert

"The guys you really need to interview are (Jeremy Mayfield) and (Tony Stewart), see if they think the penalty fits or not," Richert said. "(NASCAR) has never taken anyone out of a race, but I've seen five laps (penalties)."

(For the record, Stewart was asked his thoughts on the penalty, but chose to steer clear of the controversy.)

Gordon's Reggie Roby-job on Biffle's Ford was retaliatory for an earlier incident that brought out the day's first caution. The two got together in Turn 1, spinning Gordon out.

"NASCAR, I'm sure, looked at the replays and noted the severity of it, looked at our deal pretty close," Richert continued. "They might have blamed us for that one, I don't know. Robby went three-wide, drove underneath of us. Greg could only get slowed down so much.

Jeff Gordon

"It was right there where you bend them and then try to pinch them to get into the turn. That's exactly where we hit him at. We didn't gas it from 30 feet back to nail him, like I think I noticed the second time."

No doubt, Robby Gordon's maneuver was premeditated. He announced his intentions on the radio prior to wrecking Biffle.

Still, Jeff Gordon felt like NASCAR handled it the right way, but knows that nothing NASCAR does in such situations offers any solace to innocent bystanders like Mayfield and Stewart.

"It was absolutely ridiculous," Jeff Gordon said of the Robby/Biffle development. "I think NASCAR handled it well, but unfortunately (Mayfield) and (Stewart) suffered because of it, and what are you going to do for them? There's nothing you can do to (Robby Gordon) to help in that situation.

"What happens between (Biffle) and (Robby Gordon) should be between those two guys. None of it should ever be taken out on one another on the racetrack. That's their battle. That's their thing. Accidents are going to happen on the racetrack, it's unfortunate when deliberate things catch guys."

That's just it. It was deliberate. NASCAR should have parked him.

Hello Marty,

I was wondering how points are awarded on a race-to-race basis with the drivers involved in the chase. If a driver finishes a race in 30th overall in a race but 10th among the drivers in the chase, is he awarded 30th place points or 10th place points?

Thanks

Ed Stevens III

Jeremy Mayfield

30th-place points, Ed. Chasers are still battling non-Chasers for points in each individual race, but because they were given the points bonus after qualifying for the Chase, they needn't concern themselves with non-qualified drivers in the big picture. To me, this is in unfair. Take last Sunday:

Mayfield was wrecked and finished 35th while Kurt Busch won the race, meaning Mayfield lost 132 points to Busch in a single race. In order to make that up, Mayfield has to bank on hopes that his Chase competitors suffer similar setbacks along the way.

I like the idea Chad Knaus brought up to me last week: Give three points to the highest-finishing Chaser in each race, two to the second highest and one to third. None of the other seven gets any points. That way one or two DNFs won't eliminate you from a shot at the title, and it also encourages mashing the gas and getting your hiney to the front.

Marty,

Was NASCAR's decision to nearly park Jimmy Spencer during the Richmond race a picture of what is to come during their precious race for the chase? If so, this is why I don't really care to watch any more. Never can I remember seeing someone nearly parked for an incident like that.

Just because it has championship implications doesn't warrant parking a driver. This just seems more like some kind of circus show than racing. It has lost something. So what if it is exciting for 10 drivers, if the other 33 have to drive on eggshells?

brad29

Obviously not, Brad. If Robby Gordon didn't get a NASCAR-issued parking permit after purposely dumping a competitor, and wiping out a pair of Chasers in the process, I'd venture to say most anything goes. I mean, he didn't even try to mask his intentions.

Marty,

I wish to comment on yesterday: I am not a big Tony fan, but Tony has took some heat over his "aggressive driving" over the past couple of seasons. Robby's driving lately in Busch and Nextel (Cup) has surpassed Tony. What's upsetting is Tony is an actual victim and I don't want to leave Mayfield out either. No one has commented on how well Tony conducted himself.

I was jumping up and down because NASCAR continued to allow Robby to race. He was on a mission and the conversation with his crew verified that. If NASCAR wants drivers to understand that paybacks are not condoned then park their car for the remainder of the race. What's a two-lap penalty? He still got to finish the race.

Becky P

Rossville GA

I couldn't agree more, Becky. Mike Helton and John Darby could've sent a clear message, but chose not to. That said, I'd bet the farm that if Robby Gordon had purposely dumped Mayfield, Stewart or any other driver eligible for the championship, the No. 31 Chevy would've been sent to the garage.

As for Stewart's attitude, I was quite impressed, as well. Same goes for Ryan Newman. Makes the conspiracy theorist in me wonder if NASCAR didn't have a closed-door meeting with those boys up in New York to tell remind them how to conduct themselves in such instances.

Marty,

Hey man, just thought I'd share this experience I had in Las Vegas on Sunday: With the onslaught of changes brought on by NASCAR, that have been spiraling through the sport over the past year, I could just picture Brian France and his inner circle raising a toast to a job well done on "The Chase," leading up to and immediately following the Richmond night race, seeing how it increased TV ratings as well as created a buzz in the air and media frenzy that I can't remember since I started closely following Jeff Gordon and the sport in 1994.

However, now that this 10-race shootout has begun, the hype and interest from outsiders seems to have dissipated faster than a case of beer does at the infield of Talladega!! Hear me out: If NASCAR's sole objective in creating this chase was to try win over new fans and compete with the NFL and other major sports in the Fall/Early Winter for the highest rated sporting events, then they have FAILED miserably.

Here's proof: I, along with three of my college roommates, ventured out to Las Vegas for a weekend of fun and to kick off the Inaugural "Chase For The Championship". There was one huge problem. Not one single TV was devoted to the race in the entire ESPN Zone (at least 40 screens) as well as any public TV in the New York New York casino!

Our group ended up being confined to our hotel room watching the race on a mini-screen TV by our lonesome!! Here's to hoping on my next trip to Vegas, I'll at least be able to sit at a public sports bar and trade jabs with Jr. fans!!

Kevin Scott

Atlanta, GA

I love this email, because Kevin brings up two great points. First, that he and his mates were unable to watch the race at a Vegas casino.

The fact is, betting on NASCAR isn't yet the lucrative business that betting on the NFL is. Hence, the NFL still reigns supreme, and will continue to reign supreme. But that's another topic for another time.

On to Kevin's second point, about The Chase. He's dead-on, here. The buzz surrounding the Chase has certainly been quelled for the time being. Compared to the palpable nervous buzz at Richmond, there was a considerable aura of ease in the garage at New Hampshire, as if a rather significant burden had been lifted from the shoulders of all involved.

It seems fans and the national media feel the same way. For now, that buzz is a dull hum. The Chase is great for NASCAR, and I feel confident that resetting the points will create more interest for the final few races of the season. But right now, we're essentially back to the way it used to be.

Now that the Chase field is solidified, winning the inaugural Nextel Cup is about points racing, i.e. consistency and a bit of good luck. The only difference is there's not as much time to repair mistakes or rebound from bad luck.

That's why rash decisions like Robby Gordon's are so detrimental.

The Last Lap appears every Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET, unless Marty is late, which is nearly never.

The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.