Daytona
500 – 2/18/01
Starting
Position – 41st
Finishing
Position – 37th
In
a day everyone will remember for the death of a legend, Dale Earnhardt,
Robby Gordon finished 37th in the 43rd running of the Daytona
500.
Gordon
started 41st in hi s Kodak/CD2 Chevrolet, taking a provisional
position on the grid after an engine failure in Thursday’s Twin-125
qualifying race. From the start, Gordon took a patient approach
to the 500-mile event. Through the first 100 laps he stayed put,
consistently running mid-pack. It wasn’t until late in the race
when Gordon began to make his charge to the front.
Using
the draft lines high and low, Gordon was listed in 12th-place
on lap 160. His position would vary from lap to lap depending
on the strength of his draft line. On lap 173, Gordon tucked in
behind Tony Stewart with Ward Burton in alongside. The three made
a beeline to the front trying to take over the lead draft. Coming
out of turn two, however, Burton’s Dodge appeared to get loose,
causing Gordon to hit him from behind. Burton couldn’t recover
and veered into the right side of Stewart’s Pontiac setting off
a chain-reaction wreck that ultimately reeled in 16 other cars.
When
Burton hit Stewart, his car immediately turned right on the long
back straight in front of Gordon flying high in the air and landing
on Gordon, then tumbling down the track until finally resting
on the infield grass. Stewart was unhurt, as was the rest of the
field involved in the incident.
Robby
Gordon quote:
"It’s
hard to even comment on the wreck we were in when you lose a guy
like Dale Earnhardt – does it really matter right now?" said
Gordon. "I said this back in 1999 when we lost Greg Moore
in CART and I’ll say it again, "Guys like that aren’t supposed
to die, they’re studs in racing." It just makes you think
a little deeper about what we do. You never really think about
crashing when you strap in to the car, much less what happened
to Dale. But you see this and really think. It is dangerous, it
always has been. That’s racing. It’s just tough to lose someone,
anyone.
"Dale
was the best. I remember running with him in IROC and learning
about bump-drafting. That was some of the most fun racing I’ve
ever been a part of. He was "The Intimidator," no question
about it, but he was awesome. You think of all the talent he had,
plus all the experience, and he still had that fire on the track.
Even at his age. Think about it, at 49, he was second in the points
last year. That’s big.
"He
was the man. I’m going to miss him."
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