Appeal now in final stage as Gordon fights for future (cont'd)

"It was an unfortunate series of human errors compounded by the very short timeframe RGM had to get their car changed to Dodge Chargers in time for the Daytona 500," said Kipp Owen, director of SRT and Dodge Motorsports Engineering.

"Dodge has taken appropriate steps in the warehouse to make sure that prototype parts cannot be mistaken for approved parts in the future and hopes that the circumstances surrounding this error are taken into consideration."

NASCAR had little wiggle room on the issue. Since implementing a zero tolerance policy on modifications to the Car of Tomorrow, the sanctioning body has ruled with an iron fist on teams that run afoul of the inspectors.

Add in an increased effort to sweep the culture of cheating out of the sport, and penalties have been brutal of late. Suspensions are lengthy and fines, which averaged about $200,000 a year over the past decade, totaled almost $1 million in 2007 alone.

So for NASCAR, Gordon's infraction was a black and white issue. It doesn't matter why or how the bumper got on his Dodge. It was illegal and the sanctioning body reacted accordingly.

Gordon doesn't think every issue is always black or white.

"It was something that we didn't build, we didn't fix, we didn't supply," he said. "It was a clerical error from the manufacturer and all we did was install it actually on the race car ... it's almost like you put yourself in a position that if someone steals your car and robs a bank, but because it was your car, you're going to jail."

That's the case Gordon will make Wednesday to a three-member panel that will hear his appeal. It's a tough process and teams very rarely prevail in getting penalties reduced, let alone overturned.

"The real issue is intent -- and it was obvious that there was no intent to get around the rules," GEM owner George Gillett Jr. said Tuesday. "The other was that there is absolutely no belief on anyone's part that the mistake would have led to any performance advantage."

Although there is recent precedent -- the panel last year threw out a $10,000 fine levied against a Hendrick Motorsports crew chief accused of modifying an intake manifold -- Gordon has no way of knowing which way this is going to go.

If the panel gives him back his points, he'd jump all the way to 21st in the standings. If the deduction stands, then he heads into Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend below the all-important top 35 mark with just two events left to race his way back into a guaranteed spot in every race.

Gordon knows if he starts missing races, his days as a car owner could be numbered. He's worked too hard and too long to see it all crumble this way, something even NASCAR privately admits.

Gordon indicated Tuesday during testing at Phoenix that the loss of his appeal might drive him to the reunified IndyCar Series. Gordon said he could field his own car in the open-wheel series.

But personal feelings can't enter these proceedings, and that's sobering when Gordon's NASCAR future is on the line.

"We don't want to fight NASCAR," Gordon said. "We want to participate in NASCAR, and we want to compete at this level. If this sticks, I don't know what our plan will be. I'll be honest with you.

"But there is ... I think open wheel got back together, and I know I can drive one of those cars."

The Sporting News Wire Service contributed to this report.

Related:
• Gordon to run Gillett Evernham engines, Dodges