SPEEDWAY,
Ind., (May 10, 2001) – Robby Gordon knows a bit about the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway. The only thing he doesn¹t know is Victory Lane,
something he hopes to take care of with AJ Foyt in his back pocket
this year. Gordon is driving Foyt¹s #41 Conseco/CD2-sponsored
Dallara/Oldsmobile, with his first job to qualify on the front
row.
While
it¹s not a big issue, Gordon has taken it somewhat personally
the last two years not being able to start from the front row.
In both 1999 and 2000, Gordon has posted speeds that have landed
him on the inside of row two, or 4th-position. In both years it
has been a Foyt car that has bumped him from that spot, Billy
Boat in 1999, and teammate this year, Eliseo Salazar in 2000.
³I
don¹t know what it is, but I figured I better get over to Foyt¹s
team if I want to sit on the front row,² laughed Gordon. ³Maybe
this year we can have both cars on the front row, or at a minimum
I can do the bumping. Although, that spot on th inside of row
two isn¹t a bad place to be for the start. Last year I had a good
run on Greg (Ray) going into the first corner. We kind of played
chicken, then decided it wasn¹t smart to potentially take each
other out like that – this race isn¹t won on the first corner.
It¹s all about the last 50 laps. AJ¹s knows that better than anyone
– I handed him a win in 1999 during those last 50 laps when we
ran out of fuel on lap 199!²
Gordon
has the ability to laugh off the disappointment of 1999, but deep
down it¹s something that has motivated him to be back in that
position with 50 laps to go for 2001. Right now, it¹s chalked
up as a learning experience, but it¹s something that will haunt
him until he finally tastes milk in front of the Borg-Warner trophy.
³1999 was an experience I¹ll obviously never forget,² added Gordon.
³To come that close you have to have all the stars aligning the
right way. Your car has to be fast and you need to avoid trouble.
It¹s almost like a video game in that respect. You know there
are going to be obstacles thrown at you. If you can get past them,
that¹s one phase completed. After that your strategy has to be
right on, the car has to be trimmed perfectly, and you need to
have blinding speed. We had all that in 1999, we just didn¹t have
the extra drop of fuel we needed.
³But
hey, you live and you learn. I like to think I know how to make
a car last here and be in position to win now because of a lot
of the things I learned in 99. I also like to believe AJ can
put that car under me to win.²
Gordon
and his Conseco/CD2 Dallara will attempt pole qualifying Saturday,
May 12.
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