Robby makes Top 10 drivers list to take advantage of new racing rules


NBC SPORTS: Racers will be more aggressive this season!

 

NASCAR officials are encouraging drivers to mix it up more on the track this season, vowing that NASCAR is a contact sport and they want see a bit more bumping and banging.

Chairman Brian and NASCAR President Mike Helton even declared that they will continue to lighten up on aggressive drivers, allowing them to use their bumpers, trade some paint and show more emotion when things get heated.

They set the tone in last year's season finale, going easy on Denny Hamlin when he wrecked Brad Keselowski on purpose at Homestead and on Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart when they got into it in the final Cup race of the season.

 

1. Tony Stewart You name 'em and Stewart has tangled with them over the years. Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya and Carl Edwards have all had run-ins with Stewart. Heck, he even feuded with teammate Denny Hamlin while at Joe Gibbs Racing. Good thing his mother doesn't race. One of the most talented drivers in the sport, the two-time Cup champion will rough up competitors if it means winning a race or gaining another position on the track, and he backs down from no one. His skirmish with Montoya at Homestead last year might only be a sign of things to come.

2. Kyle Busch NASCAR's preeminent bad boy is as aggressive as they come and is not afraid to use his bumper. He has knocked more than a few drivers out of his way and loves stirring the fans up. His most memorable moment came in 2008 at Richmond, where he spun Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of the lead with just a few laps remaining, sparking a near riot by Junior Nation. Busch loves wearing the black hat and seems to revel in his bad-boy image. NASCAR's anything-goes approach was made for drivers like him.

3. Juan Pablo Montoya Like Stewart, Montoya holds his ground and doesn't give an inch to no one. A fiery competitor, he took out his anger and frustration on Stewart last year, drawing an in-race penalty from NASCAR. His pushing and shoving and helmet-grabbing incident with Kevin Harvick in 2007 was one of the best on-track confrontations in years. Now that he has gotten the hang of stock-car racing, look for Montoya to use his bumper a bit more, creating some fireworks on occasion.

4. Brad Keselowski He hasn't even run a full Cup season yet, but Keselowski has already made a name for himself in the Sprint Cup garage – a name not fit for print. The talented young driver is as aggressive as they come on the track and will do just about anything to win, as he showed last year at Talladega when he held his ground on the last lap, causing Carl Edwards to wreck and sending his car sailing into the fence. He has already angered drivers throughout the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series and will have some of them aiming to get even this year. Hamlin has already had his revenge, intentionally wrecking Keselowski in the Nationwide race at Homestead last year. That's the first of many feuds Keselowski is likely to be in the middle of .

5. Carl Edwards NASCAR's Mr. Nice Guy is as aggressive as they come on the track and has shown a bit of a temper over the years. He once marched into victory lane to confront Dale Earnhardt Jr. after a late wreck in a Nationwide race at Michigan. He nearly came to blows with Kevin Harvick in the Charlotte garage in 2008, and he scared the daylights out of his own teammate, Matt Kenseth, a few years ago at Martinsville. He even threatened to make Tony Stewart "bleed" after getting wrecked by Stewart at Pocono in 2007. He also won over a few fans by punting Kyle Busch out of the lead to win at Bristol in 2008. Determined to put last year's winless season behind him, look for Edwards to put his bumper and temper to the test in 2010.

6. Kurt Busch He won his very first Cup race by spinning Jimmy Spencer out of the lead at Bristol in 2002. The move sparked a feud that eventually earned Busch a bloody nose. He has also feuded with Tony Stewart over the years, getting into a physical confrontation with him in the NASCAR hauler in 2008 and nearly running over one of Stewart's crewmen while trying to intentionally hit his car on pit road at Dover. He has traded some classic barbs with Kevin Harvick and even feuded with his little brother after an on-track incident in the All-Star race a few years ago. Simply put, the older Busch aggravates people and has made a few enemies over the years. If the gloves are truly off, he's bound to be on the wrong end of a bumper or two, finding himself in the middle of yet another heated confrontation.

 

7. Robby Gordon Gordon, one of the orneriest drivers in the series, has wrecked just about everyone in the Sprint Cup garage, or at least that is the perception. A talented driver struggling to compete with his own team, Gordon typically tries to get every ounce of speed out of his car, and often winds up getting himself in trouble. That has earned him more than a few enemies over the years. Drivers love to rip him after winding up on the wrong end of his bumper. But Gordon can dish out as much medicine as he takes. He won his first Cup race by wrecking Jeff Gordon at New Hampshire and once tangled with former teammate Kevin Harvick at Sonoma. He also had a physical confrontation with Stewart in the garage at Daytona. Look for Gordon's aggressive style to get him into even more trouble now that NASCAR is willing to turn its head to some on-track shenanigans.

8. Jeff Gordon Though he is one of NASCAR's most-respected drivers and hasn't been in a skirmish in a while, the four-time Cup champion has had his share of run-ins over the years. He used his bumper to win quite often on the short tracks – too bad Rusty Wallace is no longer racing – and some of his victims probably have good memories. He has also had classic feuds with Stewart and, surprisingly, Matt Kenseth. He shoved Kenseth on pit road at Bristol in 2006, and a few months later, sent him spinning to win at Chicago. Gordon could be on both ends of some paybacks under NASCAR's more lenient rules.

9. Kevin Harvick Harvick doesn't really have a reputation for wrecking people but, boy, does his mouth get him into trouble. Harvick likes to pick on fellow drivers and there's more than a few that would like to send him spinning. He also has a mighty temper, as he showed in 2003 when he climbed on top of Ricky Rudd's car after getting spun at Richmond and in going after Montoya at Watkins Glen in 2007. It would be a shock if Harvick doesn't take a shot at someone and wind up in at least one incident this year.

10. Denny Hamlin Hamlin has stirred up more than his share of trouble in just a few years in the series. Fair or not, he has developed a reputation as a bit of a whiner for criticizing other drivers and, at times, his own crew. He has also made a few ill-advised moves on the track that has drawn the ire of drivers. And in going after Keselowski last year, Hamlin has shown he has a bit of an edge. He is expected to be a strong championship contender this year after winning four races last season. He could find himself in a hornet's nest or two

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I really dont think it is going to be that "limited"

Unless I am reading this wrong, whatever races Robby currently does not or does not get sponsorship for he is going to wear the Warner Music BAM colors on is #7... (as BAM has reported having a full year of funding from Warner Music Nashville)

The limited part comes in with whatever side ventures he has brewing with Monster (Rally, X-Games, Monster Truck, Score, etc..)

I still expect to see robby in 25-30 races in his own or Bams sponsors adoring the #7 hood.....and hopefully a competant substitute driver in the #7 with the BAM sponsor when Robby isn't. (to keep the #7 locked in)

Again, BAM is giving their sponsor WAY more value for their dollar by putting it on the #7 when the need arises as opposed to going it alone...i.e. you will see a Warner Music scheme in a Nascar race more often tis way then if BAM went it alone and tried to qulaify in for all 36 races..

And this part is just PURE specualtion and completely baseless, but it wouldn;t even surprise me if RGM gave BAM a small perecntage (say 5% or so) stake on the down low to ensure the #7 is on track with a sponsor all year, regardless whther Robby is driving it.
Thats really not too far off from what I suggested would happen when the RGM/BAM deal was announced....
great minds think alike!
I guess getting the monster truck wasn't such a bad idea... I can see it now... LOL RG smash's Mike Waltrips car post race.

Mike would probally get in on this... LOL RG gets suspended for the next race (that he isn't racing anyways)
Ok is the damn monster truck for real? I like it but thought it was a joke.
Dude it's real
im sitting here longing for the drivers to settle thier disputs the old way

in the back of the pits after the races LIKE REAL DRIVERS DID IN THE 60's AND 70's
I guess NAPCAR is getting tired of losing fans to real racing like our friday and saturday night local short track races. I hope for them that it is too late!!! We true racing fans that made NAPCAR what it is today were forgotten and left behind in a search for "a bigger and better fan base". A trip to a NAPCAR race used to cost me around $350.00 for a weekend in the late 90's and that included tickets to both races on a two race weekend. Now if i decide to attend I'll spend around $1000.00 for a weekend. I guess I'm not a better fan!! In 2009 I attended 7 CRA Racing events and spent less than $1000.00, and the racing was real!!! Super Late Models, Street Stocks, FWD class, and Late model sportsman. Check out the CRA's @ www.CRAracing.net. Robby would be an excellent addition to this series if he had time for a couple of races, say WinchesterSpeedway, or Toledo Speedway. Everybodies favorite driver(Kyle Busch), runs 3 or 4 races a year in this series and his fellow competitors aren't afraid to lay it on him if need be in this series. Go local short tracks!!! Go Robby Gordon!!!
aahhh yes local short tracks ya gotta love them
sign at local track pit gate NO GUNS NO FIGHTING TILL AFTER RACES i love this place
sign on back of my new car BUMP HERE IF YA FEEL LUCKY
i've only been banned for rest of season twice in 7 years
CRA Ascot in the 70's and early 80's ???
No CRA series as of 2003 until now, hopefully forever. As I said check out their site at www.CRAracing.net. One show @ Anderson Speedway last year had 40 streetstocks starting a 300 lap event, and there were some that didn't make the show. These guys didn't need $500,000 to run a real race. It was awesome!!!
I dont recall Robby wrecking the #24 to win his first race...He just moved him out of the way.

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