so for most of the remainder of the season. "Start and park" is a controversial practice whereby a driver starts the race but then immediately parks his car, collecting last place prize money and protecting his car from any on-track incidents. At Bristol, Gordon completed only 10 laps but pocketed $85,960. Ironically, in 2012, Gordon blasted past-champion Terry Labonte for "starting and parking" after 12 laps at the Daytona 500 qualifying race. As a past champion whose team was not in the Top 35 in 2011 owner's points, Labonte was guaranteed a start regardless of how he finished. Gordon stated: "It's just not right. Why take a free ride when the rest of us have to bust our butts to get into the 500?" Labonte responded that his team had only one car and they needed it for the race. Labonte ran the full race, leading three laps and finishing 18th, while Gordon retired after 25 laps and finished 41st. Controversy continued to plague Gordon in 2012. While participating in the Dakar Rally, Gordon was running a strong second after nine stages before being disqualified after stewards ruled that the tire inflation system on his Hummer was illegal after another competitor made an anonymous suggestion to the tech inspectors along the rally route, where it was called into question. Gordon stated that if there was a problem with the system, he would plug it and still win stages. He did so the following day, winning the stage by more than 15 minutes in front of the second-place finisher. Gordon was permitted to continue while the ruling was appealed to the French Automobile Sport Federation (FFSA). The appeal was denied two months later. After Gordon's disqualification was upheld, he was stricken from the race results. Gordon's Hummer crashed and rolled over in the sand dunes of Peru in the penultimate stage of the rally (January 14, 2012), but was set back on its wheels by spectators and Gordon continued on to a 10th-place finish of that stage. He then won the final stage the following day, finishing the rally in 5th place overall. Personal life Throughout his racing career, Gordon preferred to keep his private life private, and shared few details about his personal life. Though not married, he has a son, Max Gordon, from a previous relationship. In 2016, eight-year-old Max competed in a UTV at the Bluewater Desert Challenge