NASCAR tells Gordon "No!" on Motorola sponsorship

HAMPTON, Ga. -- For Robby Gordon, it's back in black -- for the second straight race.

Gordon's No. 7 Ford started out Friday with Motorola decals on the hood and fenders. By the time the cars hit the track for practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the decals were gone.

"Nextel has said that Motorola is a competitor and has asked NASCAR to remove Motorola decals off the No. 7 Ford," Gordon said. "I don't understand why it can be an associate sponsor but they can't be a primary. As you can see, there are still Motorola decals on the C post."

As an entitlement sponsor, Nextel's contract takes precedence, according to NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp.

"As the sanctioning body, it is NASCAR's responsibility to police the sport," Tharp said. "There are certain contractual agreements that must be abided by as they pertain to paint schemes and sponsorships and how they are utilized. This was one of those cases."

Gordon said he understands that Nextel wants to protect its exclusivity, but doesn't understand why enforcement doesn't appear to be consistent.

"Last week, Samsung was on the hood of the No. 66 car at Vegas, which is no different than Motorola," Gordon said. "[We argued that they make] televisions, MP3 players, we tried to work every opportunity we could with NASCAR and the answer was no.

"I've written them and asked them to rethink it. Obviously, we haven't heard anything back and honestly, I doubt we will."