With qualifying and all on-track activities canceled at Auto Club Speedway on Friday, Robby Gordon got plenty of face time with the NASCAR media concerning his penalty stemming from Daytona.

In review, Gordon switched from Ford to Dodge a week before practice began, built the cars, went to Daytona, failed inspection because of parts that were sent to him from Dodge in error, and was fined $100,000, docked 100 owner and driver points, and his crew chief was suspended for six weeks.

Gordon, naturally is appealing.

One of his sponsors, Jim Beam, is taking a swing at the situation by trying to start a petition for Robby in his effort.

Representatives from Jim Beam, which sponsors Gordon's No. 7 car, will canvas the Auto Club Speedway grandstands on Saturday gathering signatures for a petition demanding NASCAR reverse its "unfair" decision to dock Gordon 100 points. Crew chief Frank Kerr also was fined $100,000, suspended for the next six Sprint Cup Series events until April 9 and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

Along with the petition, "Rally for Robby" T-shirts are being made for Gordon fans to wear during this weekend's Cup events, said Sofia Lombardo, spokesperson for Jim Beam.

Also, Thomas Flocco, president and CEO of Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc., has sent a letter addressed to NASCAR president Mike Helton, as well as other top officials, voicing the company's frustrations.

It's good to see that Robby has some support in this issue, because you do feel bad for the guy. It wouldn't be right for Gordon to lose sponsorship or race opportunities because of a part sent to him in error.

That though, is my opinion, and not NASCAR's. His car was out of spec for a NASCAR race car, and he was penalized, says the sanctioning body.

I see both sides, but come on, it truly was an honest mistake. What say you?

NASCAR dropped the hammer Wednesday on Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Craftsman Truck Series teams who came down on the wrong side of the rule book during Daytona Speedweeks.

In all, crew chief suspensions totaled 40 weeks and over $220,000 was earmarked for the NASCAR Foundation by way of monetary penalties.

Hit the hardest of those was Robby Gordon, who's team made the mistake of installing the wrong noses on its Dodges prior to coming to Daytona.

Gordon's self-owned team switched to Dodge just one week before, and when his team was the sent the Dodge noses from the manufacturer, they were incorrect. Instead of having the current nose pieces, Gordon's team was sent a prototype that has yet to be approved for competition in NASCAR.

NASCAR officials caught it during inspection, and Gordon's team changed out the nose prior to qualifying practice, and also had to change out the noses on the rest of its fleet at the shop.

Robby was penalized 100 owner and driver points, $100,000, and his crew chief was suspended for six weeks.

A little bit harsh?

Robby certainly thought so, and plans to appeal:

Check out all of the NASCAR Fanhouse Daytona Speedweeks Coverage.

Casey Mears can now add his name to the list as a candidate for penalties either this week or next from NASCAR due to rules infractions.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver competing in his first race Saturday night as driver of the No. 5 Kelloggs Chevrolet formerly piloted by Kyle Busch finished a strong sixth in the Budweiser Shootout. After his car went through inspection though, the mood changed a little bit for the team.

NASCAR found the No. 5 Chevy to be one-eighth of an inch too low in the rear, adding him to the tentative penalty box now filled by Mears, Kurt Busch & Tony Stewart (bumping and punching during Friday night's Shootout practice), and Robby Gordon (came to Daytona with the wrong Dodge nose on the car).

Mears' new teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the event.

Crew chief Alan Gustafson seemed quite perplexed by the finding.

"I don't think our adjustments were unreasonable, so I'm real surprised," Gustafson said. "It's the first time we ran the car here. We're trying to learn it and figure out what's going to happen. ... We'll collect all the pieces together and figure out what went on."

I don't know that you can really fault Mears' team here, nor would it be appropriate to lump this lapse in with last year's Hendrick penalties and the laundry list of bad deeds committed by Jimmie Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus.

Could one-eighth of an inch make a difference? Possibly. Should it really matter to a driver who finished sixth in a non-points race? I don't think so.

One of the world's most grueling race events faced a challenge too steep to beat.

The Dakar Rally, held annually in Africa, was canceled just a day before it was set to begin due to fears stemming from recent terrorist attacks and threats in the west African country of Mauritania. Details of recent events include:

France, where the race organizers are based, had urged the rally to avoid Mauritania after the four family members were killed in an attack blamed on a terror cell that uses the Mauritanian desert as a hideout.

Officials say the cell is linked to the Algeria-based al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa, which has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks, including the Dec. 11 twin suicide bombings at U.N. offices and a government building in Algiers, which killed at least 37 people.

Normally, terrorism and politics don't find their way to the pages of the Fanhouse, but without a doubt, the cancellation of Dakar is a big, big deal for international racing and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Robby Gordon.

Apparently, the foreign minister of Mauritania is none too pleased with the decision -- the event brings a ton of coverage and money to the country -- and thinks organizers got cold feet too easily.

NASCAR announced today that if If Robby Gordon messes up again, he's outta here.

On top of a $35,000 fine and probation, Gordon was threatened with indefinite suspension from NASCAR if, for the remainder of 2007, "there is another action by Gordon that is deemed by NASCAR officials as detrimental to stock car racing or to NASCAR, or is disruptive to the orderly conduct of an event, he will be suspended indefinitely from NASCAR."

I think they forgot "tampering with the outcome of a race," but I suppose that falls under detrimental actions like just about everything else under the sun.

All things considered, Gordon seems to have matured. In 2005, when Michael Waltrip wrecked him under caution, Gordon went after him with his helmet. This week, after Marcos Ambrose got him under caution, Gordon offered him his first Nextel Cup ride this weekend at The Glen.

The infamous "helmet incident"

It's a little too late for do-overs at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, but what if ...?

What if Marcos Ambrose hadn't spun Robby Gordon out under caution? What if NASCAR wouldn't have told Gordon to lineup at the head of the field, then said 2nd, then said, nah, go back further.

What if ESPN had actually captured the entire incident on camera so there was no disputing his position when the caution was thrown?

What if NASCAR had red-flagged the race and watched that footage to determine the right course of action? What if they did?

What if ESPN hadn't shown the viewers just enough to see that the caution flag was displayed when Ambrose plowed into Gordon, spinning him out, presumably to the 13th position. What if Gordon had maintained pace? What if NASCAR had disciplined Ambrose for agressive driving under caution? What if NASCAR had penalized both drivers for not observing the caution?

What if NASCAR was consistent when applying rules to all drivers who are spun out during a caution? or any rule for that matter?

Robby Gordon has released an official statement on the Busch Series incident that got him parked for a Nextel Cup event:

I want to start by expressing my regrets to the sponsors, fans, and all competitors for any part I played in the miscommunication, confusion and uncertainty surrounding the finish in this weekend's Busch race in Montreal. Immediately following the last caution when I was spun out by the 59 car, at first I was told that I was scored in first place and I should be in that position. Later, I was told that I was in second place and I assumed that position, which was fine. Moments before the green flag dropped, I was told that I was scored in 13th position.

Obviously I objected, and I stated that I would complete the race under protest. I believed that my protest would be a foregone conclusion if I moved to position 13. I was confident that most people who watched the race or see the replay would agree that I should have been scored in first or second. I also wanted to make sure that the race played out the way it should if the officials ultimately agreed with me after seeing the tape and granted my protest. Therefore, I decided to preserve the status quo by holding the second position and racing from that position to the end of the race. My belief was that it would be no harm no foul if my protest was denied because I would then be disqualified in the race regardless. On the other hand, if I moved to position 13 and my protest was granted, then the race results would be affected. In order to preserve the integrity of my protest, I decided to stay in second position.

It was not my purpose to disrespect the authority of NASCAR or the officials. I do respect their authority to run the race and make the calls, and I understand the significance of the black flag. I strongly disagree with the calls that affected me at the end of the race. Being spun under the yellow and not being allowed to resume my position prior to the spin put me in a position to react as I did. Nonetheless, I accept NASCAR's decision and I intend to move forward under the rules.

Heh. He intends to move forward under the rules. I'll bet he does. Either that or he'll be moving forward somewhere besides NASCAR.

Robby Gordon might have plans to appeal his 18th place finish in the Busch race yesterday, but he won't be allowed to appeal the punishment that followed him to the Nextel Cup Series today.

For his detrimental actions, NASCAR has has taken "emergency action" against Gordon:

As a result of his actions on the race track at Saturday's NASCAR Busch Series race at Montreal, NASCAR has parked driver Robby Gordon for today's Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. Referencing Section 12-2 of the 2007 NASCAR rule book ... "if the act or omission of a member is determined by a NASCAR official to constitute a threat to the orderly conduct of the event, NASCAR may take emergency action against that member ..."

That action includes parking a driver for an event. Parking is final, non-appealable and non-reviewable. Towards the end of Saturday's race at Montreal, Robby Gordon demonstrated blatant disrespect and disregard for NASCAR directives – on multiple occasions. His actions were certainly disruptive to the orderly conduct of the event. NASCAR will continue to review this situation and address any further actions at the beginning of this week.

In other words, Gordon, who was not allowed in the Cup garage this morning, can expect additional penalties.

P.J. Jones will be the #7 car for Robby Gordon Motorsports today but since Gordon qualified the car, he will start the race at the end of the line.

Previously on Fanhouse
Tuesday Could Come Early for Gordon, Penalty Could Set New Precedent
Robby Gordon Might Have Suspended Himself; Harvick Wins

On paper, Robby Gordon finished 18th at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. In his mind, he won the Napa Auto Parts 200.

Even if he had won, NASCAR would have stripped him of it ala Sears Point in 1991, when Ricky Rudd spun Davey Allison out and went on to win.

But Gordon didn't win, despite his giant lead on the track, because he didn't line up in the correct position for the last restart and was black flagged as soon as green flag racing resumed. Then, after he ignored all of NASCAR's orders, he went completely bonkers and pretended to win the race anyway.

68,000 folks showed up for the Busch Series race Saturday north of the border in Canada, and boy, did they get a show.

Hometown favorite Patrick Carpentier started on the pole and Daytona 500 champ Kevin Harvick won the event.

That, however, doesn't even begin to tell half the story that ended with three cars doing donuts after the race and two drivers feeling that they had won.

That other driver? Robby Gordon.

He decided to act a fool and could be suspended for Sunday's Cup race at Pocono for his actions, according to several rumors.