The helmet Robby Gordon threw at Michael Waltrip's car is up for auction -- again. Credit: Credit: Autostock

Gordon's helmet yanked off eBay, then re-listed
Verification impossible after bids exceeded $10 million
By Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press
September 22, 2005
11:36 AM EDT (15:36 GMT)


CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The helmet that Robby Gordon threw at Michael Waltrip was temporarily pulled off the online auction site eBay on Wednesday after bidding exceeded $10 million.

The site ended the auction because it was unable to verify the legitimacy of the bids and because Gordon didn't have the proper documentation showing that he planned to donate the proceeds of the sale to charity, eBay spokesman Hani Durzy said.


Tempers flareRobby Gordon throws his helmet at the No. 15 after wrecking
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The helmet was re-listed late Wednesday night with the assistance of AuctionCause, a company known for helping in fund-raising efforts with experience in prequalifying bidders.

Gordon listed the helmet on eBay on Tuesday and planned to donate all proceeds to the Harrah's Employee Relief Fund, a charity designed to aid Harrah's employees affected by Hurricane Katrina. Bidding was spirited all day and the helmet was listed at more than $100,000.

By Wednesday morning it had reached $8 million and Gordon's representatives began questioning the validity of the bids. By this time, eBay had also taken notice of the high amount of traffic and decided to end the auction.

"That sort of thing sometimes happens on high-profile listings, its what we call bogus bidding -- people just bidding with no intention to pay for it," Durzy said. "People sometimes do that because they think it is funny, and it's not."

Durzy said eBay would probably investigate the bogus bids and either suspend or issue a warning against the potential buyers.

Gordon was directed to AuctionCause by eBay, and the company helped him re-list the helmet at a starting bid of $5,000. The auction now has a letter proving that all proceeds will go to the Harrah's Fund, and bidding now requires proof of the ability to pay for the helmet.

"We hope that everyone that submitted a valid bid will do so again," said John Story, CEO of Robby Gordon Motorsports. "Robby has a genuine interest in helping build the Harrah's Employee Relief Fund, and all of us here want to help in any way we can.

"That's why it is so important to re-establish the auction and guarantee that every dollar pledged actually goes to the relief effort."

Gordon threw the helmet at Waltrip after they were involved in an accident during Sunday's race at New Hampshire International Speedway.

After Waltrip wrecked him, Gordon first tried to hit Waltrip's car with his own. He then climbed from his car, walked through race traffic and tossed his helmet at Waltrip. He also used a derogatory term during a television interview when asked about Waltrip.

Gordon was fined a total of $35,000 and docked 50 driver points by NASCAR for the actions.



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I'll pee in it for free.