NASCAR parks Robby Gordon after Busch race

JIM UTTER

The Charlotte Observer

Sunday, Aug. 05, 2007

• Slideshow | More from Montreal
• Harvick wins in Montreal, but why not me? Robby Gordon wants to know
• Busch Series results | Unofficial scoring from Montreal

LOND POND, Pa. -- Robby Gordon might have sparked NASCAR's first international incident.

NASCAR parked Gordon on Sunday, preventing his participation in the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway as a result of his actions in Saturday's Busch Series race in Montreal.

NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said Gordon was parked for committing an act "determined by a NASCAR official to constitute a threat to the orderly conduct of the event." The decision could not be appealed.

"Towards the end of Saturday's race at Montreal, Robby Gordon demonstrated blatant disrespect and disregard for NASCAR directives -- on multiple occasions," Tharp said.

Gordon was black-flagged late during the Busch race and refused to leave the track. He wrecked leader Marcos Ambrose with a retaliatory bump on the final restart after Ambrose had nudged him from behind to reclaim the lead. After the race, Gordon did a burnout on the track while Kevin Harvick was celebrating his victory.

Gordon could face additional penalties this week. Tharp said the incident was being reviewed by NASCAR officials.

"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," Gordon said in a statement on his Web site.

"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."

The last Nextel Cup driver parked for a race was Jimmy Spencer, who was suspended after punching driver Kurt Busch in a post-race incident at Michigan in 2003.

Gordon is the second driver to be parked in a Cup race as a result of actions in another NASCAR series. In 2002, Harvick was parked for the spring Cup race at Martinsville, Va., after his actions in the Truck Series race at the track the day before.

P.J. Jones, an open-wheel and road-racing driver who occasionally runs in NASCAR, finished 37th in Gordon's No. 7 Ford in Sunday's race. Jones practiced in the car on Saturday while Gordon was in Montreal.

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