Puzzle Me This Robby Gordon
Robby Gordon’s sudden shift from Ford to GEM and Dodge has elicited a bit of speculation as to why the move was done on such short notice.
Added to the mix is his short courtship with Ford that only lasted one year after moving from the Bow-Tie Brigade for the 2007 Cup season. As a single car operation Gordon has been, like all the “singletons” before him, at a decided disadvantage.
The move to GEM will allow him the chance to share information like never before.
“We’ve got a decent group of engineers at our place, but having teammates is going to be important, It’s going to be nice to have people that we can walk over and say, ‘What are you running for shocks? What are you running for springs?’ I haven’t had this kind of information the last three years.
You’ll find no argument from me on that count. That’s the current nature of the beast, either get on the beasts back or get run over by it. To Robby’s credit he’s trying to ride it the best he can.
But… now the backstory behind the move is starting to see the light of day. Robby Gordon Motors, according to Robby, lost $4.5 million when the Dakar Rally was canceled on Jan. 4th and that “cleaned some of our slush fund out.”
Robby Gordon Motorsports consists of the NASCAR operation (both Cup and Nationwide), Team Dakar USA and an off-road team in the Championship Off Road Racing (CORR) Series.
So puzzle me this Robby Gordon, the Dakar effort should have been funded before the event start date. While he had no idea the event would be canceled why is the slush fund being drained?
Granted a “slush fund” is normally used in such manner, and cash stashed in them are held for undesignated and unforeseen purposes, this seems to be a tacit admission his Dakar team started $4.5 million in the hole.
Maybe I’m digging too deeply. It’s possible his Dakar sponsors cash was contingent on his competing in the event. With no event it’s an easy stretch to believe there’s no cash to be had.
On the other hand, be it GEM or any other organization affiliated with Gordon, it does raise an interesting question for potential investors: “Will our money be spent on what we think it is, or will it be used to pad a slush fund and used on some unrelated project?”
I know I’d ask, but I’ve always been the cantankerous old fool that asks the hard questions.
Sprint Cup, Sports, Auto Racing, Motorsports, Full Throttle, Robby Gordon, ISC
If only Robbie could just keep his silly mouth shut. I’ve lost count of how many times he has shot himself in both feet. Talk about a wasted career.
I’ve always noted his ability to run his yap at will also.
I’ve also defended him while he’s played on his “off-road house,” but… when it comes to his NASCAR career he ain’t much and probably never will be.
His ball to the wall approach just seems more suited to off-road.
I understand why Gordon has affiliated his team with a larger better financed program. What I don’t understand is whole racing program. His off the road is affiliated with Hummer? A General Motors Company. Correct? In NASCAR he just switched from Ford to Dodge. And didn’t he used to race with Toyota in his off the road program?
From a marketing perspective wouldn’t it be to Gordon’s advantage to align with one manufacturer?
I know we don’t live in a perfect world but, you’d think??????
Hummer was bought out by GM phastphil.
His contract with Chevy (off-road Silverado side of GM) runs thru 2010 so I and a lot of others wonder why he didn’t move back to Chevy. (bridges burned?)
I also find it odd he chose to move such a short time before the season AND just when FoMoCo has extended a lot more help to all the Ford teams in NASCAR.
It’s all a very strange scenario, but that’s Robby. His entire NASCAR adventure has been a strange scenario.
Monster funds were guaranteed only if he started the race. No race = no start = no funds. The make-up race is, I think, supposed to be announced today and that should make up some of the losses.
He’d been talking to a few teams about partnerships even before Dakar. No coincidence that he and Ray Evernham flew back from Baja together and Robby said they seriously dicussed the partnership then. I think the whole Dakar fiasco just pushed the issue over the edge, thus, the switch so close to the beginning of the season.
The switch back to Chevy would have been dependant on aligning himself with one of essentially two teams, HMS and DEI/RCR. An HMS/RGM partnership would happen only over J. Gordon’s dead body. A partnership with DEI/RCR would only be kiboshed on the DEI side.
As far as GEM questioning whether their money is just going to be used to pad the slush fund, I honestly don’t see what RGM has to offer them except another car to test with and work with. Maybe that is enough for them or maybe there is just something there in the deal we won’t see until some time down the road.
Time will tell but I certainly don’t blame Robby for the switch. He’s getting the partnership and open book sharing out of the deal with GEM that FoMoCo promised but never delivered on when he switched to them last year.
Carrie
Indeed it has and is commented in the succeeding post to this one.
You point out RGM’ benefit to GEM, I agree he will end up as a test platform for the rest unfortunately.