Saturday, May 28, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Racer targets unique twin bill

Robby Gordon set to run in Baja 500, Cup race next week

By JEFF WOLF
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Robby Gordon Driver-owner qualified 25th for Sunday's Nextel Cup race in Concord, N.C.

CONCORD, N.C. -- An added wrinkle to Memorial Day weekend racing in recent years has been drivers attempting to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

John Andretti was the first to do it in 1994, and the challenging logistics of getting from Indianapolis to Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord have since been well ironed out.

No one will double up this weekend because the Indy starting time was moved back an hour. But Robby Gordon has a unique doubleheader planned for next weekend.

Gordon -- a Southern Californian who has done the 500-600 daily double several times, including last year -- will compete in the NASCAR Nextel Cup race in Dover, Del., and the SCORE Baja 500 desert race in Ensenada, Mexico.

"You race in the desert because you love it," Gordon said Thursday before qualifying 25th for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 Cup race, matching his best start of the season.

He said his SCORE team -- based near Los Angeles, where he operates an off-road parts business -- is funded entirely through sponsorships so there was added incentive to go to Baja.

"I'm ecstatic about it. I can't wait," Gordon said of competing in SCORE, where he's won numerous season championships and two Baja 1000 titles.

But the detour to Ensenada won't be easy.

The morning after Sunday's 600, Gordon and two members of his crew will take a four-hour flight to Ensenada for four days of pre-running on the Baja course. Then it's off to Dover on Friday for Cup practice and qualifying, back to Ensenada that night for Saturday's desert race before returning to Dover for the next day's Cup race.

He'll miss the final practice session in Dover, but getting his team owner's permission was easy -- Gordon fields his own Cup team.

"I've been so deep in developing my NASCAR team that going to Baja is almost like a vacation for me," said Gordon, who began his NASCAR ownership with a part-time campaign in last year's Busch Series.

"We are putting a system in place where I can have a life so I can do things I enjoy like racing in Baja," he said.

Gordon, 36, has the most diverse racing resume of any driver competing today. In addition to desert racing and stock cars, he has won in major sports-car racing series and was a star in open-wheel racing.

Gordon was running 10th last year in his 10th career Indy 500 start but had to leave early to get to Concord in time for the Cup race.

He said he might return to Indy next year. Gordon has five top-10 finishes there, including a fourth-place effort six years ago when he was in the lead with a lap left but ran out of gas.

Gordon owns his SCORE team and has owned Indy car teams, so he knew what to expect when he ventured into NASCAR's premier series as an owner after driving full time for nearly five seasons.

This season has been challenging for Gordon, but he seems to be smiling more. He has failed to qualify in four of the first 11 races, and his best finish was 20th last month in Martinsville, Va.

"We knew this was going to be a tough year for our Nextel Cup team," said Gordon, 39th in the series standings. "It's not like we expected to be leading in Nextel Cup points."

After Thursday's practice sessions, Gordon's No. 7 Chevrolet was the fifth fastest, ranking alongside multicar teams like Roush Racing, Robert Yates Racing and Hendrick Motorsports.

"The only thing they have that we don't have is experience, and that's something money can't buy," Gordon said.

Gordon said he thought it would take nearly a full season to get his car up to speed, but he was prepared for a long journey.

Gordon said the most important step was selecting Indy Racing League engine builder Menard Racing to develop its first NASCAR engines for him.

But the learning curve has been steep for John Menard, who first worked with Gordon in Indy cars in 1999.

The use of an unapproved intake manifold cost Gordon a spot in the Daytona 500, $50,000 in fines and 25 owner points.

But Gordon's support of Menard is unwavering.

"We just tried the cut it too close and John was new to NASCAR's specifications," Gordon said. "We're getting more power all the time and if it wasn't for Menard I wouldn't have been able to get Fruit of the Loom, Harrah's or Jim Beam to come on board to sponsor this Cup team.

"We're getting closer," Gordon said. "If we stay on track and keep our noses to the grindstone we should be able to be competitive this year."