Robby Gordon Mailbag: Road courses important

Many drivers have commented they would rather just do away with the road tracks. In my opinion, that's a big mistake. I think in order to be a champion, you should be able to do more than go in circles -- not that it's easy to race ovals, but it shows you can handle something else. In your opinion, do you think they should ever get rid of road racing? P.S You're the man, Hope you win at every racetrack -- especially Watkins. This year: top ten. Next year: championship

	Robby Gordon

--Jeff Heichel

No way. I mean, why would we get rid of road racing? Maybe some of the guys, who are not as competitive on road courses, might say that. But I think road racing is good because Winston Cup racing is made of a championship that involves road courses, short tracks, big tracks, intermediate tracks, and super speedways. It has a lot of variety.

I am relatively new to following your career and what I have seen so far has impressed me a great deal. You are truly one of the most versatile drivers I have ever witnessed. But in watching NASCAR, there seems to be more drivers getting to know the tracks better by competing in the Busch races. Why haven't we seen you competing in any of those Busch races?

--Whit Switzer

I'd like to compete in Busch, too. I just need a sponsor first.

Hello, I just want to know what's in your CD player right now? Can please tell us something about your favorites? Thanks and more power to you and to the whole RCR team!

--Millie Padila

Tim McGraw is in there right now, but I like all kinds of music.

Have you encountered any of the so-called favoritism at RCR from Childress toward Harvick as described by Jeff Green?

--Jane Eichstadt

ROBBY GORDON  •  Driver Page  •  2003 Season Stats  •  Video Highlights  •  Driver vs. Driver

Kevin and I are just really competitive guys. We both want to win. Kevin is closer to bringing home another championship for RCR than I am, so there may be a little more focus, but not favoritism. Richard wants all of us to win, because whether it is Kevin, Steve or me crossing the finish line, it's a win for us and Richard as well.

First of all congrats on the successful season you've been having! I have been a fan of yours since the old days on ESPN with the Mickey Thompson off-road racing series. My son is into NASCAR with both Busch and Winston Cup and he's only nine. I plan on introducing him to carts next spring and I was wondering if 5hp carts are enough for his age. I plan on getting him into racing carts the following year. Thanks Robby and good luck the rest of the year. I'll see you in Victory Lane in Talladega.

--William Potter

There are other series that would be better for him. I mean, he is a big boy at nine, so he could probably run 100CC with restrictor plates. To find out more about go-kart racing, check out www.worldkarting.com or www.ekartingnews.com.

I was wondering with the tight schedules, what is your typical routine between races and do you take the opportunity to take in the local "hot spots"?

--Denise Ragen

Every once in a while, I get to go home and sleep in my own bed, but for the last few weeks we've tested Mondays and Tuesdays. I threw out the First Pitch at a Braves game a couple of weeks ago but unfortunately, attended a funeral last week. This is not a three-day-a-week job. We move into the racetrack on Thursdays. Practice and qualifying is Friday, Happy Hour on Saturday and the race on Sunday. Then, we get home late Sunday night. My favorite thing to do is to go out water skiing, but I haven't been able to find time to do that lately.

Hey Robby, since that the economy is pretty bad right now, would it be easier to get into open wheel racing or stock car racing at this time? Also, which one is more expensive to race in ? stock car or open wheel?

--Devin Wells

ALSO  •  SI.com archive

Neither is easy to get into or cheap to fund. As for which is more expensive, I'm going to point in the stock car direction, because you race more often. On a per-race basis, open wheel is way more expensive. But, we race stock cars more often and you have to have more employees to build the cars because the cars are not built by the manufacturer.

Robby, you're doing a great job this year -- keep it up! My question to you is regarding drivers losing points for an infraction on their racecar. Do you think that drivers should lose their points for something illegal on the car, or should only owner's points be lost? Thanks for answering my question!

--Christa

This is a very competitive sport. Sometimes, people misinterpret the rules and use them to their advantage. Sometimes they'll lose points for something as simple as the rear spoiler being a little too low at the end of the race. Things like that and like ride height being a little too low. It is real hard to predict stuff like that because springs settle. You have to be aware that things do happen during the race so you got to make sure when you are going to access penalties you do it in the right way. I think NASCAR does a pretty good job at accessing penalties and making sure it is fair across the board.