Weekly
Racing Journal
Race/Date: Sirius Satellite Radio 400/June 15,
2003
Location: Michigan International Speedway
Start Position: 19th
Finish Position: 22nd
Points Position: 16th
Race Recap:
A race car’s handling is important to running well each weekend
but is especially vital on two-mile speedways like Michigan International
Speedway, where aerodynamics and balance play a huge role. Unfortunately,
Robby Gordon and the No. 31 Cingular Wireless team battled hard
all day Sunday at Michigan but only emerged with a 22nd-place finish.
Having fought a tight-handling car in Saturday’s
practice session, Team Cingular made several setup changes Sunday
morning to loosen up the car but Gordon still fought the condition
a bit throughout the day. He moved into the 11th position by lap
seven of the race but fell out of the top 20 as the tires worked
in, the track heated up and the car tightened up.
Gordon fell as far as 36th after the team spent
extra time during a pit stop on lap 73 making some major adjustments
to the car. Those changes loosened up the car a bit and Gordon worked
his way into the 26th position by lap 134. Team Cingular continued
to adjust on the car throughout the 200-lap event and made it much
more drivable for Gordon. He picked up several positions in the
closing laps and crossed the finish line in the 22nd position.
Robby Gordon Quotes:
"The Cingular team definitely expected a better day at Michigan.
We were tight all weekend but made some changes before the race
that we thought would help. The weather complicated things a bit,
though, because it was so much hotter today than during practice
yesterday. I thought we were going to be really good at the beginning
of the race because the Cingular was a tick loose, but it tightened
up a few laps into the run. But we didn’t give up and we’re not
giving up. We will make up the ground we lost and get to running
well again soon."
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