Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Rick Hendrick: 'Jeff Gordon got robbed'

   In a brief statement provided via text message to the Charlotte Observer on Tuesday morning, Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick said he was just as mad as his driver, Jeff Gordon, over the penalties NASCAR handed down Monday night regarding Michael Waltrip Racing's attempt to manipulate the outcome of Saturday night's race at Richmond, Va.

   Hendrick went on to say, "Jeff Gordon got robbed. On to the Chase and try to win it."

   NASCAR Monday night penalized the MWR organization and effectively removed its driver Martin Truex Jr. from the 12-driver Chase and added Ryan Newman, who was leading Saturday night's race until MWR driver Clint Bowyer's solo spin with seven laps remaining brought out a caution.

   Gordon, and his wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, posted several messages on Twitter following NASCAR's announcement expressing their displeasure with the decision. Gordon was in position to make the Chase in the closing laps by finishing in the Top 10 in points but with MWR's cars pitting and pulling off the track and losing positions Joey Logano ended up with claiming a position in the Top 10, leaving Gordon out.

   "Feel bad for Truex. He got in under controversy now out due to it. But the guy who started all of this not effected at all??? Don't agree!" Gordon tweeted.

   Responding to a fan's outcry of the decision, Vandebosch tweeted, "Yep, Joke it is!!!!" 

   Gordon went on to say, even he was taken out of the equation, he didn't agree with NASCAR effectively allowing Bowyer to contend for the series championship with no further penalty.

22 comments:

  1. We'll anyone knows anything about unlawful, under handed, illegal, and unjust actions, Rick Hendrick should know better than most.

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    2. Unknown you are called that because you don't know anything your just crying because he has many winners and Waltrip Doesn't and the only way they all think on getting a winner is cheating and they found out they can't get away with it!!!

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    3. Actually, Chris Chunn, Rick Hendrick is indeed a convicted felon, and therefore would be an expert on dirty deeds. I don't feel bad for him. Jeff Gordon cost Clint Bowyer a shot at the championship last year at Phoenix, so turnabout is fair play. Stop putting Rick on a pedestal as some sort of perfect person and report his true side- read Arrogance & Accords: The Inside Story of the Honda Scandal....

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    4. What happened to Clint Bowyer last year was his own making. He was just lucky enough to be in position to keep the ping pong game going at Richmond. He certainly won't have the last laugh.

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  2. Hendrick Is a first class organization....Please, Rick Hendrick is a very honorable business leader whom has raised Millions for cancer patients, and I agree Jeff got robbed......

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    1. You mean the convicted (but Presidentially pardoned - aka $$$$ donations) Hendrick?

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  3. They are probably going to be loosing alot of fans if Nascar still plays this game of letting Bowyer race when he is the guilty party of all this!!!!

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  4. No, like him or not, Logano would have gotten robbed. He won two races to Jeff's none. And don't tell me JJ's wall slap wasn't well timed.

    And let's not forget the 24's tantrum that took a real shot at the championship away in Phoenix last year.

    I call it karma.

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  5. Drivers have a way of policing things themselves. I can say pretty confidently that Bowyer won't get anywhere near that title. All this did was throw more fuel on the Bowyer-Gordon feud.

    Gordon was wronged, and is rightfully pissed (and should be) that the guy who set off the chain of events got away with it (essentially since the deduction was applied pre-seeding). There is nothing to stop him from retaliating at least once during this chase. He has nothing to lose, and while I don't like retaliation because of the crews time and effort involved in preparing these cars, this is one time that I actually condone it.

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  6. Good morning,

    Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon and the word "class" should not go together.

    "But in 1997 the car sales mogul pleaded guilty to mail fraud after being investigated for bribing American Honda executives with large sums of cash, BMW's, and houses. That December he was sentenced to one year in prison, which was changed to house arrest after he was diagnosed with leukemia. Three years later he received a full pardon from President Clinton."

    How about in 2006 when Brian Vickers won at Talladega? Yes, he bumped Jr. and Johnson on the final lap for the win. But during the end of the race Hendrick demanded he lay back to let Johnson race for the win (thus, trying to FIX the race). Vickers did not, won the race and Mr. Class Hendrick refused to go to victory lane to congratulate Vickers on his first career win. Then, when he had his self-serving 200th victory party within the past year, every living winning driver for his organization was invited, except Vickers.

    How many times has Gordon bumped someone on the last lap for a victory? Rusty Wallace was the recipient in 1997 and 2002 at Bristol.

    "There's sometimes when pure desire takes over and you do whatever you have to do to cross the finish line first," Gordon said after he bumped Wallace - 1997.

    I'm fine with rubbin' is racin' but he is a hypocrite.

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  7. How is what Waltrip Racing did any different than one of the big teams ie. Hendrick ,Roush etc. putting start and park cars out so their driver would not finish low enough in a race to lose a championship.
    If it works for the goose it should work for the gander.
    This is a good example of Karma. Gordon has wrecked people to win and wrecked Bowyer last year robbing him of a chance to at least be mathmatically eligible to try for the championship.

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  9. Hendrick used Jack Sprague as a pick in Gordon's first championship... Jack pitted to go down a couple laps shortly after the green flag so that if JG was the first car out of the race, (the only way for him to lose the title), Sprague could immediately take himself out for whatever made up reason he pleased to make sure Jeff wasn't dead last. I can understand JG's frustration... and I even agree with him about Bowyer basically escaping penalty free (much like JJ did after the 48 & 24 were caught altering the COT)... but I have to say that there's no escaping Karma so suck it up, Cupcake!

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  10. Hendrick and Gordon are both winey babies along with Johnson.. This is why I stop pulling for JR; because, they have turn in to one also… look at Stewart since he has a lined himself with Hendrick….

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  11. Fall 1995 at Atlanta, Jeff Gordon was battling Dale Earnhardt for the championship. Gordon had to finish 41st or better to secure the title. Hendrick entered a forth car, a #58 finally raced by Jeff Purvis after Jimmy Horton was injured the day before in the Arca race. On the hood and quarters, "Racing For A Reason". Purvis was instructed to immediately pull off the track if Gordon had problems to secure the title for the 24 car. Ken Schrader, another Hendrick driver fell out early finishing 42nd, which secured the title for Gordon. Earnhardt went on to win the race, but not the championship.

    The 58 car being entered was known days before to be a plant to secure Gordon's first title. Did Nascar serve penalties then? Not one, even with the plot being known in advance. It's no different than many start and park cars that affect the points system throughout the year or drivers who failed to qualify, but bought their way into the race in another car. Teams have done everything to manipulate the system for years, so why change the rules now? Members of Waltrip Racing made decisions based off of what history taught them in the series and what they needed to do to make the chase. Every team would do it, just as Hendrick did in 1995.

    If Nascar wants to start making changes to this system now, then do the right thing and put Truex and Gordon in the chase. Neither did anything wrong on their own part to deserve missing the chase. So what if there would be 14 cars in the chase this year. Points money for 13th and 14th will be the same no matter what and it might make the chase more exciting than the 2 or 3 cars left battling at Homestead for the title. Take responsibility for yourself Nascar. You lead by example for years with what I mentioned above, then smack knuckles with a ruler when it affects you or your questioned. If you ask me, that's bullying. Put all 14 cars in the chase and let the best man win.

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  12. He got robbed just like Hendricks got his money illegally by taking kickbacks. Besides I remember a Martinsville where his driver wrecked someone cause he could not get around him to win thats not cheating or robbing someone of a win I believer Sr. called it that's racing.

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    1. Birds of a feather flock together.When Jeff drove for Bill Davis in the grand national division they were all set to go cup racing the next year. JEFF BAILED OUT AND SINGED WITH HENDRICKS leaving Davis high and dry.His chickens have come home to to roost

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  13. To Jeff: If you wanna be the champ, you gotta win a race.

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  14. Whether Jeff got screwed or not is not the issue here. If they determine Bowyer spins on purpose then he should have been penalized. If Bowyer wanted to pull off that would have been different, no penalty. Intentionally bringing out the caution is the issue. I had no problem with Vickers pulling off. I'm a Gordon fan, he as "bumped" to win and been "bumped" to lose that's racing and will police itself. In the end I think they could fix all this mess by just letting everyone in the chase. The cream rises to the top anyways.

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  15. As far as Jimmie's caution that technically helped Gordon, there was no way he could have known it would have helped Jeff, there was no communication prior to the incident. It was also very clear his car struggled all night from the beginning.

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