One thing to remember when they talk about Tony Stewart being an owner driver.... -vs- RGM

Just think how Robby would be doing if he had current generation chassis, engines, and support from HMS.

"Stewart thanks HMS employees in person: On Monday [9/21], #14-Tony Stewart made a surprise visit to the Hendrick Motorsports chassis and engine shop in Concord, NC. It was his second visit this year to thank all those employees face to face for their part in helping both #39-Ryan Newman and Stewart's cars make the chase and for all they've done for them this year.(9-24-2009)"

http://jayski.com/cupnews.htm#news2thu

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Permalink Reply by vak7 on September 25, 2009 at 9:00am

Sad to see but this is what you get when it turned from a sport to a business. I was a Petty fan and at first applauded his efforts to keep his team up and running when the Wood Brothers, McClure and others couldn't make a go of it. But it spiraled downhill quickly when they went back to Dodge but contracted their motors through Yates. Gee, ya think a manufacturer just getting back into the sport would want their premier team running a rival engine? Dodge pulled their sponsorship for the season. Whey they came back full force the next year, teams were already building the COT so RPM was way behind the 8 ball. The first death toll came when he moved out of Level Cross, the final blow with the Gillett merger. Only gotten uglier since.

No astute businessman would invest in nostalgia without a marketable return.

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Permalink Reply by Xracer on September 25, 2009 at 4:59pm

he did because gillett was going to pay some 20mil for his race op. and 3mil a yr to race

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Permalink Reply by Xracer on September 25, 2009 at 4:55pm

he did because gillett was going to pay some 20mil for his race op. and i think it was 3mil a yr to race for him

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Permalink Reply by Bryan Zeigler on September 25, 2009 at 5:14pm

Robby is a TRUE owner/driver. With all do respect Tony Stewart didnt start a race team from scratch. He bought into an existing and is partners with Hendrick. Anybody can do that with the right money. Robby is doing it right. Robby wont fail. Give the guy time as his career winds down and he is a multi car operation is when the payoff will come.

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Permalink Reply by C2B on September 25, 2009 at 7:12pm

Tony didn't buy into the race team, it was given to him. Tony maybe the smartest man in NASCAR. Spend $0 to get in and maybe win a championship with your name on the front door.

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Permalink Reply by 7gason7 on September 26, 2009 at 11:38am

Goes for Haas as well he gave away half his team, but now his half is worth 4 times as much...

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Permalink Reply by Beagle7 on September 26, 2009 at 2:54pm

Let's just hope for his sake he remembers to pay taxes on his gains this time...lol

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Permalink Reply by 7 Gordon 7 on September 27, 2009 at 3:08am

Yeah if if if if if ..............

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Ricks on September 27, 2009 at 10:11am

Last time I checked it was Robby Gordon Motorsports. Owner/Driver. And it was Stewart/Haas Racing. Tony is not listed as owner of the 14 car. If Robby had all that support and the partners he would be a serious contender on a regular basis. But he does it on his own, along with having a very successful off-road racing program.

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Permalink Reply by TOG on September 28, 2009 at 5:49pm

yup. I think Robby was just making a wise-crack when he said that comment.

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Permalink Reply by Turtle7 on September 27, 2009 at 12:07pm

I am convinced that the RGM Chassis are only a small part of the COT handling issue for Robby. I think tha shocks, supension attitude and aero are the bigger issues. The larger teams have the in depth engineering talent to work these issues out and make the cars perform using time in the windtunnels, shaker rigs and simulations. In F1 the teams have 100 plus engineering departments with top of the line CAD systems supporting development and on track testing. I wonder how many engineers RGM has and how much time they spend on Engineering activities during the week.