Jeff Gordon: "They should have parked me (in the 2001 incident.) That was ridiculous what I did because I was so upset." Credit: Autostock

J. Gordon: Park those who purposely wreck

DOVER, Del. -- Jeff Gordon made the case Friday that NASCAR should not tolerate drivers intentionally wrecking one another, but Robby Gordon says retaliation is a practice that frequently happens.

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"It's racing. If you guys don't think these things happen all the time you're crazy, because it does," Robby Gordon said. "Race car drivers that drive these Cup cars can put these things, 99 percent of the time, where they want them and can do what they want with them. It's not hard to turn somebody."

In the week following Robby Gordon's premeditated disposal of Greg Biffle in the Sylvania 300, questions have been raised as to whether or not NASCAR should have parked Gordon.

Meanwhile, some folks feel the situation was blown out of proportion because championship Chasers Jeremy Mayfield and Tony Stewart were caught up in the melee.

Jeff Gordon says the individuals involved shouldn't matter, rather that intent should gauge NASCAR's response.

"When I look at what happened, somebody deliberately paying someone back for something that happened earlier, they should park that guy anyway, regardless whether it has any outcome on the championship or not," Jeff Gordon said.

Team owner Ray Evernham agrees with Jeff, saying there is no place for retaliation on the racetrack.

Ray Evernham

"When it happens on the racetrack it doesn't affect drivers as much as people who own the cars and people who work on them," Evernham said. "When one driver takes out another driver neither one of them have to worry about the car.

"All these guys who are already working 12-16 hours a day have to work on it. The sponsors pay for it. If the drivers have a problem with each other they need to settle it off the racetrack just like Jeremy said.

"NASCAR needs to take a stand like owners do and sponsors do and say, 'we're not going to have this. If you do this and we prove you do this, you're going to sit out.'"

Jeff Gordon was so adamant about this stance that he revisited a run-in with Robby in the 2001 season finale at Loudon.

With 15 laps remaining in the Nov. 2001 affair, Jeff was the leader and Robby second, when Robby dove under Jeff in Turn 1, touching Jeff's left rear and loosening up the No. 24 Chevrolet.

Jeff slid up the track, contacting Mike Wallace. Wallace hit the wall and Jeff was left to corral a car that had been dominant all day.

Furious, Jeff retaliated by ramming Robby's rear bumper on the caution lap. Jeff was black-flagged while Robby sped on to victory.

"They should have parked me," Jeff Gordon said Friday. "That was ridiculous what I did because I was so upset. I understood the (black flag) penalty, too. You always have to look at what started the whole incident.

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"In that situation I felt like somebody deliberately hit me and took me out of winning the race and there was no penalty. That's why I took it upon myself. I did a bad job of it, but then they have to react. Even last weekend, it's hard to say if that was deliberate or not.

"Robby went three-wide into Turn 1 at New Hampshire and then slid up in front of those guys and spun out. Yeah, I'm sure there was contact, but I don't know how deliberate it was. What he did was obviously deliberate."

NASCAR felt the two-lap penalty it levied on Robby Gordon last week was sufficient, and has no plans of altering its formula.

"We'll take every individual incident and weigh it on what's happening on the track and, if there should be a penalty, we'll try impose it at the time based on what we know at the time," NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said.

Evernham feels the sport, per usual, will continue to police itself.

"I don't think there's a major problem with (retaliation)," Evernham said. "I do think NASCAR made the right call addressing it. I think Richard Childress set a good example by putting Robby on probation.

"My guys both know that I won't tolerate anything like that. I think if the other owners and sponsors take a stand, I think it'll take care of itself. Guys like that will work their way out of the sport. If you're going to do things like that, you won't be at this level."