After failing to strike a deal to buy Robert Yates Racing twice #7-Robby Gordon began making known his desire to be the No. 2 team with Ford (behind Roush Racing) instead of his current status as, at best, the No. 5 Chevy team. Officially, Gordon says “as of now, we have no manufacturer deal for 2007,” but RGM [Robby Gordon Motorsports] has chosen not to renew its association with Chevrolet after this season. That leaves Gordon looking at Ford, Dodge and Toyota. And while Gordon has a past relationship with Toyota, his team doesn’t fit into Toyota’s immediate NASCAR plans. A source with a manufacturer says Gordon is most closely looking at Ford, which is in line with Gordon’s recent comments on the subject. Ford officials have declined to comment as to the status of their relationship with Gordon, although they have acknowledged having a dialog with the owner/driver. In the meantime, Gordon’s team has moved ahead with plans to expand its operation by building a new facility and expanding to two cars in 2007. Speculation centers on Motorola being one of the primary sponsors for the second car.(Yahoo Sports)(9-23-2006)
UPDATE: #7-Robby Gordon, a longtime Chevy driver, denies a report that he has decided to abandon Chevrolet and switch to a Ford in 2007, and he insisted he’s still debating his situation as an owner-driver. “That’s just not true, that I’m not going to be back with Chevrolet,” Gordon said. “We’re doing the Dakar Rally with Chevrolet, and we have an off-road (Baja) deal with them (GM’s Hummer division). When we get down to brass tacks (for a Cup deal), we’ll see where we end up. I have not said I will not be back with Chevrolet. We’re working methodically on it, and we want to make sure we make the right decision … based solely on performance opportunities. We’ll probably have a decision by Charlotte (Oct. 14).” But Gordon repeated his position that at the moment he’s fifth on the Chevrolet totem pole, behind the Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Joe Gibbs and Dale Earnhardt Inc. teams, and that if he switched to Ford he would be at least third, behind Jack Roush and Robert Yates.(Winston Salem Journal)(9-25-2006)
