CART: Team Gordon Hits the Road (Course)
17 June 1999
PORTLAND, Ore. - With all due respects to racetracks oval and points east of here, there's something doubly comforting about the Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 for Robby Gordon and his first-year Team Gordon."It kicks off a stretch in which six of the next seven races are on road courses, and it's just a short plane ride up the West Coast from Home Sweet Home," said Gordon, the 30-year-old owner/driver, the only person to hold that title on the CART FedEx Championship Series, Round 8 of which comes this weekend (June 18-20) at Portland International Raceway.
It also comes after a much-needed weekend off that has allowed Gordon's banged-up right leg heal from an early race accident at Gateway International Raceway on Memorial Day weekend, and the team to recover from a busy stretch that also included a near-victorious run at the Indianapolis 500 that very same weekend.
Gordon will be back behind the wheel of his #22 Johns Manville/Panasonic/Menards Toyota-powered Swift for Sunday afternoon's shootout on the 1.967-mile PIR road course. He made solid runs with that package when it debuted at Rio de Janeiro, and had his best qualifying run of the year (ninth) before the accident at Gateway.
Last time out, on the legendary Milwaukee Mile oval, Gordon had to retire early with electrical gremlins that caused terminal problems for his Champ Car midway through the race.
"Patience, patience, patience - that's the key to getting through the first year with a brand new team," said the youthful Gordon, spoken like a veteran team owner. "Our day is coming. We have a helluva group in our corner, including (co-owner) John Menard and the great racing minds at Toyota. If we just keep working hard, the results will come. I believe in our package more and more every day."
Ditto, says Team Gordon co-owner Mike Held.
"We're making great strides, whether their visible in the public eye or not," said Held, who helped orchestrate the formation of Team Gordon this past offseason. "When Robby crashes into the wall, like he did at Gateway, or when he pulls into the pits with smoke pouring out of his cockpit, like he did at Milwaukee, those aren't the visions that do justice to how well this team is coming along. It's all about peaks and valleys when you're in the business of building a first-year team. The best way to look at where we are this very moment: We're looking up!"
Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 weekend begins with practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday (June 18-19). The green flag falls on race day at 1 p.m. PDT (4 p.m. EDT) on Sunday (June 20). ABC-TV will broadcast the race live.
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