NASCAR WCUP: Robby Gordon Notes and Qutoes, Michigan Speedway Post Race
22 August 2000
Starting position - 43rd Finishing position - 34th After starting 43rd and moving as high as 20th late in the Pepsi 400 from Michigan, Robby Gordon spun his Turtle Wax/Duracell/Menards Ford Taurus coming out of turn four. Gordon tried to save the car but his throttle stuck partially open in the process and he hit the wall, then spun backwards down and across the track and into the grass infield. Damage to the car was too severe to continue the race's last 25 laps. He finished 34th. Prior to the crash, Gordon was running a smart race working to improve his car each pit stop. He was very fast through the corners, but had trouble on the straights. On a number of occasions he would pass multiple cars going through turns 1&2 and 3&4, but then lose the positions as he continued down the straights. On long runs, however, he was able to gain and keep positions which showed in his steady run to the top-20. Next week Team Gordon travels to Bristol, Tennessee for the ever-popular Bristol night race Saturday under the lights of Bristol Motor Speedway. Quotes: ROBBY GORDON "Ahh, I'm not upset about the crash itself, but I am upset that it kind of ruined what was shaping up to be a decent day for us. I'm fine, the crash didn't hurt. But we took what wasn't at all the best car we've ever had and worked on it all day long. It was a killer in the corners, I could take anybody down there. Sometimes three and four at once. But on the straights we had trouble. I don't know if we had too much downforce or maybe a problem getting air to the motor. We know the motor was strong, so maybe we were starving it or possibly just pushing too much air with the body. I know in a straight line we gave up quite a bit. Even so, we figured out that on long green runs we had the ability to take people and then put some car lengths on them when their tires went off, that's how we kept creeping up through the field. We gained a few spots in the pits too. With about 50 laps to go I started thinking seriously about maybe putting this car in the top-15 or 20 and calling it a very good day. But I got a little too greedy trying too hard at the end and the car got sideways in turn four. When I lifted the gas pedal, the throttle stuck - not all the way, maybe halfway. Enough though to keep me from being able to save it. "It wasn't exactly the weekend I had planned in Michigan, but we ran well enough to leave here feeling pretty good. I held my breath for a little while, but the crew did a good job of working with the car and playing to its strengths. I've never had a car turn like that here, I was on rails in the corners which was a lot of fun. Starting Monday we'll figure out why we weren't making it on the straights and look forward to Bristol."