LONG POND, Pa. -- Robby Gordon was looking cool and relaxed in Pocono Raceway's garage area Sunday afternoon, and vowed he'd have no problem racing within NASCAR's rules next weekend at Watkins Glen in both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series.

But Gordon was equally adamant that he'd race any less competitively, or vigorously.

And he also made it clear he'd rather be kitted up in his driver's uniform than a polo shirt and jeans less than a half-hour before the start of the Pennsylvania 500 (Video: Gordon, Pemberton react).

"I think I was put in a position to react the way that I did because I'm a fierce, fierce, fierce competitor -- and I refuse to lose," Gordon said. "The bottom line was we crossed the finish line first. I understand why I'm sitting out and I accept the penalty but I still feel I was put in a position by NASCAR to react the way I did.

"I'm disappointed in their reactions and I'm disappointed in my reactions -- and I'm disappointed in not being in the car [Sunday]. But the bright side of it is we'll have both cars in the show next weekend at Watkins Glen and I look to show up there and to be as competitive as we were at Sonoma and Montreal -- and just do the best job we can of competing on the racetrack."

Gordon's penalty, which did not preclude him being anywhere at the racetrack, including the garage area and on his car's pit box, was not subject to appeal and, according to a NASCAR release, "NASCAR will continue to review this situation and address any further actions at the beginning of this week" in its Monday competition meeting.

P.J. Jones drove Gordon's car at Pocono and, after dropping to the rear of the field for the start, moved up to about 30th position by the mid-point. He finished 37th, three laps down. By not racing, Gordon dropped two spots to 29th in the driver standings. His team also fell to 29th in owner standings.

Before the race, standing behind his Robby Gordon Motorsports hauler, Gordon said he'd received a lot of support from his fellow competitors, but acknowledged some bad decisions he might have made.

Gordon's demise occurred in the closing laps of Saturday's NAPA Auto Parts 200 in Montreal when, while running second behind Marcos Ambrose on a restart, he banged Ambrose and passed him as several cars crashed behind them, bringing out a caution.

Ambrose hit Gordon as the caution came out and spun Gordon on the course's back section. NASCAR and Gordon did not agree where Gordon should be placed for the final restart as the field circled for several laps under caution, when Gordon said he received several conflicting messages about where to line up while he remained beside Ambrose, indicating he was questioning his position.

"What it does is, in a caution it creates a scenario that's a bit confusing and I think it will need to be solidified or need to be a re-written," Gordon said. "I don't know if it even needs to be a rule [because] they have the timing marks, and the field is supposed to be frozen. At the last timing mark I was either first or I was second, and I would have been cool with that decision.

"I wasn't cool with being put all the way behind the 33 [Ron Fellows]. Riding around under caution they said I was first and then a lap later they said I was second. On the lap coming to the green they said I was behind the 33 and that's the part I just didn't understand. With the black flag, the old rule was you had three laps to obey, so I was going to ride out the last two laps and talk about it after the race."

A NASCAR spokesman said the reason Gordon was told to line up behind Fellows was because he did not maintain his speed under caution.

"At the time that the field was frozen, the 59 [Marcos Ambrose] was in the lead," said Ramsey Poston, NASCAR's managing director of corporate communications. "[Robby Gordon] did not maintain cautious pace and by NASCAR rule, cars not maintaining cautious pace are scored only when they blend back into the continuous line.

Gordon parked

Following the antics from the Montreal Busch race, NASCAR parked Robby Gordon for the Cup race at Pocono.

• Complete story, click here
• Ambrose, Gordon speechless

"The tower ordered [Gordon] multiple times to get into position. The directive was acknowledged by [Gordon's] crew chief and the crew chief also communicated the order to [Gordon]. The driver ignored NASCAR's directive."

When the race was restarted, Gordon again hit Ambrose in Turn 2, this time spinning the Tasmanian's car.

"After contact with [Ambrose] on Lap 73, NASCAR took emergency action per the rule book Section 12-2, thus parking [Gordon], which was also ignored," Poston said.

Gordon remained in front of the field until the end of the race, but was first black-flagged, then given the black flag with the white cross, which means his car was no longer being scored.

"I've had a bunch of drivers come up and say, 'That one was wrong,' or whatever," Gordon said. "I've got to be honest, I probably did some of the wrong things after the race but I got put in a position to do the wrong things. If I feel what was a judgment call was a bad judgment call I felt I had the right to express that. The caution had come out and I had slowed to abide by the caution when I got hit from behind and Marcos spun me.

"I didn't lose control of that car -- not when my rear tires were off the ground. I didn't put a wheel wrong all day long. Everything I did was spot-on to what I intended to do with that racecar, so I had control all the way through the race.

"I felt that a call was made that unless I stayed where I was, I wasn't going to be able to appeal the case unless I stayed in my place. I would have been fine if NASCAR had come back on and said, 'All right, you weren't leading when the caution came out but we'll put you back in second -- but if you touch [Ambrose] on the way by we'll disallow your win.' Instead they told me to go to 13th -- they were trying to separate us as far as they could. And that wasn't right."

On Sunday Gordon said he planned to be at Watkins Glen with his No. 7 Ford Cup car and No. 55 Busch car, "provided that I understand what the black flag means and that when [NASCAR] says go to 13th, that means go to 13th.

"But I think all that could have been prevented."

Gordon left no question about his understanding and the maintenance of a good demeanor when he was asked if he'd request a clarification of the caution flag lineup procedure in next weekend's drivers' meetings at The Glen.

"I don't think I'm going to step up and ask for a clarification, no," Gordon said, laughing. "I'm going to hide in the back corner [of the meeting] and just do the best job that we can on the racetrack."

At that moment, fellow driver Tony Stewart came by on his way to pre-race driver introductions and paused to tell a reporter that was speaking to Gordon, "Excuse me, but I'll be handling all media interview requests for Mr. Gordon from now on."

The laughter among the group provided the perfect backdrop to Gordon's low-key demeanor despite the controversy.

"I did you a favor by taking some of the heat off you," Gordon told Stewart, who laughed as he walked away.

"Thanks, man," Stewart said. "Keep your head up."