NASCAR officials are “extremely disappointed” in Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and other drivers who failed to attend the season-ending awards ceremonies. “It was very disappointing to NASCAR and the entire industry that drivers did not show up for various awards,” spokesman Jim Hunter said Tuesday. “It shows a lack of respect for the history and tradition of the sport.” NASCAR president Mike Helton plans to speak with the drivers who failed to attend last week’s ceremonies in New York, Hunter said. The sanctioning body also is considering ways to ensure future attendance. Gordon, who finished 11th in the standings, skipped the banquet because he was in Paris preparing to compete in the Race of Champions all-star event. Actor Will Ferrell, pretending to be Gordon, accepted the $1,075,386 payout — which included a $250,000 bonus for finishing 11th — on Gordon’s behalf. Gordon’s absence was glaring because under NASCAR’s new points system the 11th-place driver is awarded a spot at the banquet as a reward for being the highest finishing driver outside of the Chase for the championship. Earnhardt, selected as NASCAR’s most popular driver for the third straight season, didn’t travel to New York to pick up his award. Also absent were Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne, who earned a combined $175,000 in secondary awards. It’s not clear what NASCAR can do to force drivers to attend the ceremonies. Among the things being considered is revoking the contingency awards that Kahne and Sadler received and giving the money to the runner-ups.(ESPN.com/AP)(12-7-2005)
UPDATE: In his first public comments since being criticized by NASCAR for failing to attend the year-ending Awards Gala, four-time Cup champ Jeff Gordon fired back Friday, saying NASCAR gave its blessing for Gordon to skip the dinner at New Yorks Waldorf-Astoria so he could compete in an all-star race in Paris the following day. Gordonwho was in the Big Apple Friday for a promotional appearancesaid that NASCAR initially had no problem with him missing the Champions Week festivities. I was in a unique situation where I was 13th or 14th in points, got invited to go over to Paris for that event [the Race of Champions], which I missed out on last year, Gordon told the Press in an exclusive interview. I agreed to go, not expecting to be at the banquet for 11th or any other position. And when the conflict came up, I talked to the higher-ups in NASCAR, and they told me, Hey, we understand. Youve got a commitment and you cant be here this year. Im pretty disappointed in some of the things that were said, Gordon said. I understand that they want to get as many drivers there [as possible], and being a past champion, I want to be there as the champion. But I also want to be there to accept any award that I can.(Long Island Press)(12-10-2005)
