NASCAR’s weekend off sends Gordon to Baja

During a rare off-weekend in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, Robby Gordon will spend his time racing across Mexico’s Baja Peninsula as a part of the Tecate SCORE International Off-Road Series. As a two-time class winner, Gordon hopes to improve on his 2009 second-place finish and to bring home a victory for the Monster Energy / Toyo Tires team.

In last year’s edition of the San Felipe 250, Gordon led the event early, but fell behind when the air jack and mechanical jack both failed during a pit stop. Gordon was forced to drive his trophy truck a mile and a half on a flat tire, until he found some locals with a floor jack that helped him change the tire. Despite falling 22 minutes behind, Gordon was able to make up half of his deficit to finish the event in second-place just 11 minutes behind the leader. Gordon later went on to win the 2009 SCORE International Off-Road Series Season Championship.

This year, Gordon will pilot the No. 1 Monster Energy / Toyo Tires Chevy CK1500 Trophy Truck in the 24th Annual MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 this weekend. Gordon will race in a field of approximately 275 competitors from nearly ten different countries and 25 states. The race will take place over a narrow 248-mile loop that extends north of San Felipe and then south adjacent to the Sea of Cortez. The extreme course requires drivers to cross three of the most picturesque and challenging washes in Baja, as well as canyons filled with silt, jagged rocks and narrow passes between rock walls. Throughout the event, drivers will need to pass through four physical checkpoint locations before making their way across the finish line at the famed San Felipe Arches.

The trophy truck class will begin its trek across the Baja Peninsula at 10:00 a.m. PST on Saturday, March 13, with one vehicle beginning the timed-event every 30 seconds. Gordon will roll off second on Saturday morning in effort to capture this year’s San Felipe 250 title. Drivers will have a maximum of 11 hours to complete the course.

“Our Sprint Cup program has had a really tough start in 2010,” commented Gordon. “We simply haven’t had any luck, but I’m hoping that we can change that this weekend and boost the spirits of the entire Robby Gordon Motorsports organization. Our Monster Energy / Toyo Tires trophy truck was extremely fast here last year, and we have been pre-running in San Felipe twice – once during the week between the California and Las Vegas Cup races and then again this week. I put my usual 50 miles on the trophy truck yesterday to shake it down, and I’m positive that my team has prepared our trophy truck to be capable of winning. As long as we can avoid any trouble, we should be able to bring home a strong finish at San Felipe. Off-road racing and the SCORE desert series are two things that I am extremely passionate about. I can’t wait to get this race started!”

Fans that want to follow Gordon’s progress in the SCORE San Felipe 250 can visit robbygordon.com, planetrobby.com, and Robby Gordon’s twitter page for daily updates on the team’s performance. Fans can also check the overall progress of the San Felipe 250 at www.SCORE-international.com.