Robby Gordon is 24th in the driver standings. Credit: Autostock

Gordon, Yates merger was nearly a done deal

Plan would have given both parties half ownership of operation

FONTANA, Calif. -- A Robby Gordon-Robert Yates merger nearly came to fruition last month, Gordon said on Friday at California Speedway.

Gordon nearly reached an agreement for an equal partnership with Yates, which would have given Gordon a 50-percent stake in RYR. Under the agreement, Gordon would have switched from Chevrolet to Ford.

	RYR co-owner Doug Yates said there has been interest in his team. Credit: Autostock
	BUSINESS DECISIONS Doug Yates admitted his family has had thoughts of merging with Robby Gordon and others.  •   Complete story, click here

Robert Yates was traveling to Fontana on Friday and was unavailable for comment.

Gordon, Nextel Cup's only full-time owner/driver of a single-car team, is trying to expand his program in hopes of securing his long-term future in the sport. Gordon, who sits 24th in points, has not missed a race this season, but he knows that staying in the top 35 in owners' points will be very difficult next season when Toyota enters the sport.

Gordon wanted to buy part of Yates' organization to gain access to Ford's extensive manufacturer support, including Roush-Yates engines.

Robert Yates Racing hired David Gilliland to pilot the No. 38 Ford in 2007, but the team has not announced a driver or a sponsor for its No. 88. Gordon was hoping a deal would benefit all three cars.

"I could become the second Ford team pretty easily," Gordon said. "For me to become the second Chevrolet team, we have a lot of work to do. It is really going to come down to who is willing to give us the most amount of resources.

"We have our car funded and I wanted to buy half of his two cars. I wasn't going to do it unless I could own half of his cars. I still own 100 percent of my car."

Gordon emphasized that he wasn't in need of sponsorship -- he said that he is fully funded for 2007 -- but he stated that he would have to have better cars in 2007.

"We need more technical support," Gordon said. "We need more wind tunnel time, we need more engineering support."

Gordon's team has mushroomed into a 68-employee operation, of which four are engineers, and his building does not own a standard seven-post shaker. The team only had 25 employees last season.

A deal for Gordon's team to partner with Yates has twice come within an eyelash of being done, Gordon said.

"From our side, we were done. It was just the legal paperwork. We agreed on price, value, all the stuff, and then, all of a sudden, it was just dead," Gordon said.

Gordon said the deal might have been killed because the two sides couldn't agree on what to do with Gordon's own organization, which has improved dramatically after a disastrous 2005.

"Either then he could buy 50 percent of mine, or I would keep all of mine, either way they wanted to do it," Gordon said. "That is maybe where I went sideways. It would have been better if it had been three cars, straight across the board, 50 percent."

Gordon also said that he has a sponsor that wants him to run in the Indy 500 next season, but he is waiting to see if NASCAR determines Chase for the Nextel Cup competitors by owner points or driver points.

If Gordon ran the Indy 500, it is unlikely that he would make it to Charlotte to run the Coca-Cola 600, and missing the race would be a severe blow to his standing in the driver points.