CART: Better late than never for Team Gordon
9 March 1999
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Having had to sit out last month's CART FedEx Championship Series Spring Training at Homestead while awaiting delivery of the Swift chassis, Gordon joined eight other series regulars for three days of testing last week (Thursday through Saturday). He recorded a fast lap of 25.863 seconds on the 1.5-mile oval on Saturday. By comparison, the two fastest times reported during the three days were by Michael Andretti (24.8) and Adrian Fernandez (24.9). In addition to race car setup, Team Gordon also spent a considerable amount of time practicing pit stops during the final two days.
The season-opening event at Homestead March 21 will be the first-ever CART race for the new team.
ROBBY GORDON QUOTES:
"On paper, we want to look down and see ourselves faster because we're under the gun and less than two weeks away from racing. But, in reality, we made progress bringing our lap times down each day, and that makes me happy. We're not too far off right now, and the bottom line is, this is why we test. It was our first shot at the oval with the new car, so we'll go to race weekend with the knowledge we gained the last few days and take care of business. Everybody's still learning, and I'm impressed with what I see so far. The guys had time to practice hot (pit) stops each day. We changed a motor after Thursday's session and we ran trouble free. These are the things a new team has to iron out early... the basics. Setups will come. So will speed. I fully intend to stand on the gas on March 21."
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