Winston Cup Mailbag: Rockingham

Robby Gordon drives the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Before arriving in NASCAR's top division, Gordon enjoyed success in the CART Series and off-road racing.

Throughout the 2003 Winston Cup season, Gordon will answer questions from SI.com users in a weekly Mailbag.

	Robby Gordon

Congratulations on your win in the 125s. You won that race in the pits as well on the track. What has the team done to improve on the pit stop times from last year, and do you believe that most races are won in the pits? --Rick Walston, Rosedale, Md.

Richard has changed a few things with the pit crews this year. This year's Cingular pit crew is made up of guys who only fly into town on the day of the race to pit the car. None of the guys work on the car during the week at the track. That way, they're more rested up and have the luxury of another day at the shop for pit stop practice.

It takes a combination of things to win races. Preparation is one of the more important things, and pit stops are some of the places where we've given up races. It's not only pit stops, but it's what you do during those stops. Did you take two tires, four tires or fuel only? It's not just how fast you make those pit stops, but the strategy you use and the calls you make in the pits that can win you races.

Do you think NASCAR should implement a points reward for qualifying? I think with the one-engine rule, a lot of teams seem to concentrate more on setups rather than putting a big effort into qualifying. Awarding points would make the title race more interesting and complete. --Les Cook, Ft. Wayne, Ind.

I do like the idea of awarding points for qualifying position. Maybe not a lot of points but the pole position should be worth just as much as leading a lap in the race.

Hey, Robby. You've raced just about everything that has wheels on it -- off-road, open-wheel, stock cars, etc. What has been your favorite to drive and why? --Jeff Gish, Oceanside, Calif.

I like them all for different reasons. The Indy cars give me the fighter pilot-type of handling. The Winston Cup Series is tougher and allows me to work with good race teams who can make a big difference in the driver's performance. The cars don't handle that well, so it comes down to being able to optimize your equipment and the abilities of your crew. The Winston Cup cars are the hardest to drive. Off-road racing is just pure fun for me out there in the middle of the desert. All three are really different, and I enjoy all of them. I can't choose a favorite.

How much input do you have on the setups of your cars? -- Todd Thornburg, Holtville, Calif.

I have as much input as I want to have. It's a complete team effort on the Cingular Wireless car. Crew chief Kevin Hamlin has a good handle on the car and what we're going to use as a baseline when we get to the track. We always tune on the setup once we get going in practice, but he's always got a good starting point. Very rarely does a team show up at the track and not tune on their race car.

How old were you when you first started racing and what did you race? Do you have siblings and were you competitive with them? Does anyone else in your family race? --Christie Foster, Niota, Tenn.

I was 5 or 6 years old when I started racing in BMX. I've pretty much raced everything with wheels on it since then. I get a lot of that from my father, who has raced off-road for years. He and I have raced together a lot and have been co-drivers in the Baja 1000. My father still has an off-road race shop out in California built next to the home I grew up in.