Robbie Gordon's woes, Talladega problems, and Elliott Sadler scores first win at Bristol.
Robbie Gordon........ On the outs again........
Mr. personality is out of a ride again. It is really no big surprise, the scuttlebutt in the garage area this season has been focused on how long he would last with Larry McClure. There may have even been some pools on it. Rumor has it that he is trying to find a sponsor for his own team again. Kevin Lepage, who got the dirty end of the stick with Roush Racing, will be driving the No. 4 racecar on a race-to-race basis for the time being.
I was amused by A.J. Foyt's comments about Gordon's dismissal from the No. 4 team. In a Sports Ticker article by Brice Martin, A. J. is quoted as saying, "I like Robbie even though we didn't get along very well that year we raced together. I think Robbie Gordon would be a hell of a race driver if he had an operation and had his vocal cords removed." Sounds to me like the pot calling the kettle black, A.J. is certainly not lacking in the mouth department! But, over the years, A.J. has somehow managed to back his mouth up, where Gordon still seems to be working on that, without much luck.
Also among the rumors around Gordon's dismissal, is the talk about Larry McClure buying out Gordon's remaining four years left on his contract with four million dollars. I hope this is just a rumor, I can not fathom anyone spending that much money on a failed situation due to ego and personality problems. If Gordon had done a great job with the No. 4 car, then that would have been a different deal, but as we all know, he did a mediocre job, at best.
Talladega Changes.........
Some more scuttlebutt that is maybe worth considering ... There is some talk about some teams sitting out the Talladega race. It seems that the rumor going around has some of the sponsors telling their teams that it will be fine with them if the team passes on Talladega.
This could happen, with some of the minor teams, but I doubt very seriously if any of the championship contenders will risk losing their precious points to prove a point to NASCAR. Missing the race would be just like scoring a DNF. It could mean the difference between a little money, and a lot of money, when the checks are handed out in December for the points standings.
