Robert (Robin) Pemberton (born August 15, 1956) is an American

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

and former vice president for competition of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

. Previously, Pemberton was a crew chief for several NASCAR teams over the course of 17 years, heading teams for

Rusty Wallace Russell William "Rusty" Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He has won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. Over the course of his successful care ...

Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series st ...

and

Kyle Petty Kyle Eugene Petty (born June 2, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver, and current racing commentator. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash dur ...

.CrewChiefClub.com: Robin Pemberton name VP for Competition (August 18, 2004)
FastMachines.com: Robin Pemberton VP of Competition
/ref> Pemberton was field manager for

Ford Racing Ford Performance (formerly Ford Racing) is the high-performance division of the Ford Motor Company and the multinational name used for its motorsport and racing activity. History * 1896 – Henry Ford reached a top speed of 20 mph in his ...

immediately prior to being named VP of Competition.

NASCAR team member

Pemberton began his NASCAR career as a mechanic and fabricator with

Petty Enterprises Petty Enterprises (formerly Lee Petty Engineering) was a NASCAR racing team based in Level Cross, North Carolina, USA. It was founded by Lee Petty with his two sons Richard Petty and Maurice Petty. The team was later owned by Richard Petty, hi ...

in 1979, becoming a crew chief in 1983. He moved to

Roush Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Politics *Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana * J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of: ** J. Edward Roush Lake, a re ...

at its inception in 1987, then moved to

Penske Racing South Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organiza ...

in 1995. Pemberton was Wallace's crew chief for 230 races, which had been the longest driver/crew chief combination in NASCAR. He returned to Petty to serve as general manager in 2002. He now resides in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, the capital of NASCAR. He has two sons, Bray and Briggs.

NASCAR official

In his former position, Pemberton was in charge of rules enforcement. That sometimes made him the object of criticism from drivers, crews and the sport's particularly rabid fans. Pemberton was also called on to enforce discipline among drivers, often in consultation with Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby and NASCAR President

Mike Helton Michael Gregory Helton (born August 30, 1953) is an American businessman, and the Vice Chairman of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). He replaced Bill France Jr. in November 2000 as the company's 3rd president. He was ...

. Pemberton gained notoriety before and during the

2007 Daytona 500 The 2007 Daytona 500, the 49th running of the event, was the first race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, taking place on February 18, 2007, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Kevin Harvick won the race by 0 ...

, in particular the

2007 NASCAR Gatorade Duel scandal The 2007 Gatorade Duels were a pair of NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stock car races that were held on February 15, 2007 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Both, contested over 60 laps, were the qualifying r ...

, when he suspended six crew chiefs for various infractions, and also threw out the director of competition for

Michael Waltrip Racing Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings LLC, doing business as Michael Waltrip Racing ("MWR"), was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The company was as a 50–50 partnership betwe ...

's new team for using an illegal fuel additive during qualifying. Pemberton also penalized the team 100 NEXTEL Series driver and owner points, one of the most severe point penalties in the modern history of NASCAR's top level of racing. His brother

Ryan Pemberton Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...

was

's crew chief in 2007. Martin and

Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champio ...

were battling for the win on the final lap of the

. The race ended under caution flag when a big wreck happened on that final lap. Robin Pemberton determined the exact moment that the caution flag was displayed, which resulted in Harvick being declared the winner. "We obin and Ryan Pembertonkeep the business part separate," Ryan Pemberton said. "We don't put ourselves in position to do that. I don't call him to talk to him about it. I don't ask him any questions." One of his most famous quotes is ''

Have at it, boys "Have at it, boys" (also interpreted as "Boys, have at it") was a quote formerly used by NASCAR to describe the philosophy that the Sprint Cup Series drivers used starting in the 2010 season to solve their disputes on the race track. This practic ...

''; which was the new philosophy of the Sprint Cup Series in the 2010s.''Have at it, boys'' information
at NASCAR Speed TV On December 1, 2015, Pemberton announced that he will be leaving his Senior Vice President of Competition position with NASCAR at the end of 2015. Currently, he serves on an INDYCAR appeals board panel whose job is to hear all appeals. Former NASCAR official John Darby also serves as an INDYCAR board member. On September 8, 2021; Pemberton's son, Robin Brayden Pemberton, died at the age of 35.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pemberton, Robin NASCAR crew chiefs NASCAR people Living people 1956 births