No. 7 Jim Beam Dodge Charger California Preview

Robby Gordon began the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season with an eighth place finish Sunday at the Daytona 500. The California native hopes to turn in an equally impressive run this weekend at California Speedway. Gordon along with Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, David Gilliland, and Casey Mears comprise the California drivers in the Sprint Cup Series – the largest contingent from a single state.

Robby Gordon will be available to media at 10:15 Friday in the California Speedway media center. He will also be appearing at the Costco located at 16505 Sierra Lakes Parkway, Fontana, CA 92336 and his souvenir trailer on Sunday morning at 9:30 am.

DRIVER ROBBY GORDON QUOTES:

CALIFORNIANS IN NASCAR: “It used to be that if you weren’t from North Carolina or some part of the South you were an outsider but NASCAR has grown so much over the last few years that every driver wants to be part of it all. You have Indianapolis 500 winners, Formula One drivers, off road racers, you name it – they want to be part of our sport now. California gives a driver a lot of opportunity you can race just about anything you want to race somewhere in the state. I love California and still spend a lot of my time there. Go back through history; California has produced some of the best racers in the world.”

GREAT START TO THE SEASON: “We couldn’t have asked for a much better finish last weekend in Daytona. I wanted to win the thing there at the end. We stuck with our strategy the entire race – we stayed real patient and then at the end just went for it. It was a great night for Dodge, too.”

NOTES California Speedway • In 11 starts, Gordon has completed 2,566 of 2,755 laps. He owns an average finish of 26.5 and an average start of 30.7. He has led 10 laps. His best finish of ninth came in the fall of 2004.

2008 Season • Gordon recorded his second highest career best finish of eighth in the Daytona 500 last week. It was also his first race as part of the Dodge family.

Career • Gordon owns three NASCAR Sprint Cup victories: o Loudon on Nov. 23, 2001 o Infineon on June 22, 2003 o Watkins Glen Aug. 10, 2003 • Gordon’s only NASCAR pole came at Atlanta on March 7, 1997. • Gordon owns one Nationwide Series victory at Richmond on Sept. 10, 2004 • In the CART Series, Gordon made 106 starts posting wins at Phoenix and Detroit plus four poles. • In his ten starts in the Indianapolis 500, Gordon owns five top-10 finishes. • In 2005, Gordon became first American to win a stage in the Dakar Rally. Gordon also scored his second victory during the 16 day event. • In 271 starts, Gordon has posted 14 top-5 finishes and 35 top-10 finishes. Gordon has led 463 laps and driven 71,129 laps in his Sprint Cup career covering over 95,670 miles. He has finished on the lead lap 84 times. He owns a career average start of 26.1 and an average finish of 24.8.