Event
Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date:
Auto Club 500/April 27, 2003
Venue:
California Speedway
Robby Gordon’s NASCAR Winston Cup Performance History
at California Speedway
Date
|
Start
|
Finish
|
Laps
Completed/
Total Laps
|
Status
|
Money
|
04/28/02
|
40
|
12
|
249/250
|
Running
|
$90,456
|
04/30/00
|
29
|
31
|
248/250
|
Running
|
36,750
|
TOTALS
Avg. Start: 34.5 Avg. Finish: 21.5
Laps: 497/500 Money: $127,206
NASCAR
Winston Cup Points Position: 14th
NOTES:
- This Week’s Race Car (chassis No. 116) is a brand-new race
car
- Gordon grew
up in nearby Orange, Calif., and still maintains a residence there.
His first race shop is located on the same property as his house
in Orange.
- Gordon finished
in the runner-up position in an IROC race at Fontana in June 1997
after starting from the 10th spot
- Gordon finished
in the 11th (10/99) and ninth (11/98) positions in
CART events at Fontana
- Gordon will
greet fans and sign autographs from 4-7 p.m. at the grand opening
of Robby Gordon Off Road on April 26.. The grand opening, which
is open to the public, is set for 10 a.m-7 p.m., and Gordon is
scheduled to arrive that afternoon following Happy Hour at California
Speedway. Located in Anaheim, Calif., about 35 miles from California
Speedway, Robby Gordon Off Road will showcase Gordon’s racing
memorabilia, NASCAR collectibles, show cars and show trucks, as
well as signature suspension lifts, wheels and tires.
- The Auto
Club 500 will be broadcast live on FOX and MRN on Sunday, April
27 at 3:00 p.m. EST. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday, April
25 at 6:05 p.m. EST.
ROBBY GORDON QUOTES
“I’m
really looking forward to Fontana because it’s in my backyard.
My family still lives in Orange, Calif., which is only about 45
minutes from the track. I’ve still got a house out there next
door to my father’s house and his race shop. My father’s
race shop was actually my first race shop where he and I built a
lot of my cars. He still races his off-road cars out of there.
So, Fontana is a pretty good trip for me. I’ll go out there
a little early and stay for a few days after the race is over with.
I don’t get to see my parents and sisters very often so I take
every chance I can get.
“I think
the Cingular team will do well at Fontana. We were pretty good
there last year after we made a few adjustments. We came all the
way from the back of the field due to an engine change to finish
in the 12th position. But we’ve struggled at the
downforce tracks so far this year but my teammates Kevin Harvick
and Jeff Green did a lot better at Texas, the last downforce track
we raced at. They had a different type of car than I did that weekend
— something the body shop had just finished up. We alternate which
teams get the new cars at Richard Childress Racing and it just so
happened that Texas wasn’t my weekend. So, we saw the difference
between the newest, most updated cars that Jeff and Kevin had and
the car I had. We had finally hit on something and the body shop
went to work making one for the Cingular team for Fontana. We should
be pretty competitive this weekend.
“Fontana
is the first two-mile track we’ve been to this season besides
Daytona and Talladega. It’s a really large, flat track that’s
similar to Las Vegas. The Cingular Wireless team plans to approach
Fontana the same way we approached Las Vegas. The banking at the
two tracks is similar but Fontana is just a larger track. Passing
hasn’t ever been easy at Fontana but it’s tended to be
a one-groove race track over the years, but has gotten a bit better
as rubber has been laid down on the track.
“I’ve
only run two Winston Cup races at Fontana, although I’ve raced
a few CART and IROC races there. A lot of people think that since
I’ve raced Indy cars there, I can take what I learned and apply
it to the Cingular team. Not true. There is really not much between
Indy and Winston Cup cars that I can compare and apply at Fontana.
There is a huge weight difference in the two styles of cars and
in an Indy car, you can pretty much run wide open around the whole
track and I don’t think you can do that in a Cup car. I haven’t
been able to do that at Fontana in a Winston Cup car — I don’t
know if anyone else can.”
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