NASCAR WCUP: Robby Gordon Gears Up For Charlotte, Reffner Tabbed as Backup
25 May 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Charlotte, North Carolina--Wednesdays opening practice for the Coca Cola 600 marks the beginning of the second leg of Robbys Gordons "Double Time" race slate this weekend. Gordon will race both the Indy 500 Sunday morning, May 28, then travel immediately to Charlotte to race in the NASCAR event which begins that evening at 6:15pm.
Planning for the two races has been a large undertaking with many contingency plans in effect to circumvent any changes in schedule. One of these plans includes a backup driver should Robby have any troubles getting to Charlotte following the race. It was announced today that Team Menard NASCAR SuperTruck driver Bryan Reffner will be waiting in the wings. Reffner will practice Thursday and Saturday in Team Gordons Turtle Wax/Burger King Ford Taurus to get a feel for what to expect should he be in position to race on Sunday.
"When we started putting the schedule together, we realized that having a backup plan was a necessity all the way around," said Gordon, who will start fourth in Sundays Indianapolis 500. "Putting Bryan in the car made sense for a number of reasons, one of which was that it keeps everything in the Menards family. John was nice enough to let me drive one of his cars, so we decided to return the favor. Bryans had a good this season in the SuperTruck series, so I feel comfortable that hell be a good replacement should something happen. But dont get me wrong, Im going to do whatever it takes to get back here!"
For Reffner, the opportunity to turn laps in a Winston Cup car on a race weekend was welcomed immediately.
"Im excited about the chance to run these cars and also to help Robby," said Reffner, a top ten finisher in his last six SuperTruck starts driving Team Menards Johns Manville-sponsored truck. "Tomorrow I plan on learning as much as I can about where Robby wants to run the car so when I jump in I can hopefully help improve the package."
Gordon will practice through the day Wednesday and qualify under the lights that night before boarding a plane to Indianapolis. Thursday morning he will run in what will be the final shakedown of his Indy car during Indys "Carburation Day" practice session. Following the shakedown Robby returns immediately to Charlotte to take part in Winston Cup practice.
Text provided by Kinnon Marshall
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