Appeal now in final stage as Gordon fights for future

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Most of the attention was on Tony Stewart when he limped away from a hard wreck at Las Vegas.

And as the two-time NASCAR champion explained how the hit left him with a tingling sensation in his legs, few people even noticed that Robby Gordon had just pulled his crippled race car into the garage.

NASCAR issued penalties and fines to the No. 7 team as a result of rule infractions found during Speedweeks at Daytona.

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Their accidents were similar: Both drivers had a tire fail, causing their cars to slam hard into the wall.

Neither driver was hurt, but the long-term effects aren't equal.

For Gordon, the accident could be another blow to his reeling race team.

The accident caused Gordon to finish 42nd on Sunday, just one spot ahead of Stewart. But unlike Stewart, the outcome sent Gordon plummeting in the points standings to 37th.

Now he needs a near-miracle to prevent a season that started with so much promise from imploding. NASCAR's last independent owner-driver goes before an appeals committee on Wednesday desperately needing relief from a recent penalty that could destroy his race team.

His odds aren't good: In the 99 hearings held during the past eight years, The National Stock Car Racing Commission upheld 68 decisions. In two instances, the original penalty was increased.

The original penalty was reduced 21 times and the penalties were overturned just eight times -- including a ruling on Monday that gives Gordon some hope. In a 2-1 decision, the three-member panel overturned penalties levied against Rusty Wallace Inc. that included a six-race suspension and $15,000 fine for crew chief Steve Darne because of an infraction found on the Nationwide Series car of David Stremme.

Still, Gordon has a hard fight ahead over an un-approved front bumper on his brand new Dodge when he reported to the season-opening Daytona 500. The infraction cost him 100 points in the standings, while his crew chief was suspended six races and fined $100,000.

But Gordon insists the penalty hardly fits the crime.

"We're going to jail for a crime we didn't commit," he's steadfastly insisted.

The incident has marked a tough two months for Gordon, the stubbornly lovable lone wolf of NASCAR who insists on doing everything his very own way.

So when terrorist threats led to the January cancellation of the Dakar Rally, costing Robby Gordon Motorsports more than $4 million in personal losses, he had to scramble to get his race team on solid footing. It meant quickly putting an alliance together with Gillett Evernham Motorsports that required him to move from Ford to Dodge the week before teams reported to Daytona.

With just a few days to make the transition, his team scrambled to build him race cars and used whatever parts the manufacturer sent his way.

Gordon said the un-approved bumper came from Dodge, and with zero familiarity in the new equipment, the team had no way of knowing the part had yet to receive NASCAR's approval for competition. (Continued)