Robby Gordon Mailbag: It's all about consistency

I recently heard RC might be doing some IRL racing. Just wondering if you are excited about maybe racing for RCR at Indy again? Thanks for your time.

	Robby Gordon

--James Pyle

I'm definitely looking to put together a deal to run the Indianapolis 500 again next year but don't know just yet who I'll be driving for. If Richard were to go IRL racing for that race, I would definitely welcome the opportunity to team up with him again. We had a great run together in 2002 and it would be cool to do it again. But one way or another, I plan to compete in the 2004 Indy 500.

I think you are one of the greatest drivers out there. I am always saying you get the short end of the stick from drivers and NASCAR, both, and you are still able to prove yourself. Do you have any NASCAR buddies, or are you really the "loner" everyone likes to portray you as?

--Suzanne Penna

Yes, I do have friends in the business and we do hang out together at the track and sometimes away from the track. There are very few drivers who have enough time between races to actually hang out with each other away from the race track, so we normally see each other on the weekends. I think that "loner" persona was started when I first got into NASCAR and was still trying to prove that I wasn't just another open-wheel guy trying to move into stock cars. I'm very comfortable with my place in this sport now and by no means do I feel like an outsider.

You mentioned on Trackside that you are bringing your trucks to Phoenix. Are you just bringing them to show or are you racing? If racing, when and where? I will be heading out for race weekend and didn't want to miss anything.

--Devota

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I'm not racing my sand buggies it but I'm not exactly showing them, either. Those are the sand rail cars or sand buggies like I had out in Las Vegas earlier this year. I'm going to run them in Phoenix to have some fun and show some people the cars' capabilities. I'm building and selling some dune buggies in a limited production from my shop in California. I've got some prospective buyers who want to see the buggies and I'm taking them to Phoenix for those guys to look at.

A lot of fuss is made over the rising amount of sprint car guys coming into NASCAR, but don't you think the off-road guys deserve some credit, too? I remember watching Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears in CORR, and you're one of the greats of off road. Do you think it will ever get the respect it deserves in mainstream auto racing?

--Ben Hurley

I think they definitely deserve a lot more recognition than they get now. I'm known as a driver with a good deal of car control and I learned a lot of that from my off-road experience. I don't think that off-road racing will ever get the respect it deserves but when you run 1,000 miles across the desert, it's hard to build an at-track fan base. But the sport still deserves more recognition than it gets. The Mickey Thompson series was a stadium series and was a great one. Hopefully, one day something like it will be organized again because it had such a strong following.

In your opinion, what is the single, most challenging aspect of remaining competitive in Winston Cup on a weekly basis?

--Steve Payne

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Consistency is probably the most challenging aspect of Winston Cup racing. Being consistent every week is what put Matt Kenseth so far ahead of everyone in the points lead and that's not an easy thing to do. The Cingular team had a string of great runs but then all it took was two weeks of bad finishes at Bristol and Darlington due to bad luck to knock us out of the top 10. We've got to get back to being consistent on a weekly basis and that's not an easy thing to do in this sport.

I have enjoyed watching you at Indy in the past, but I have really enjoyed watching you run in NASCAR this year. After visiting your website, I noticed you run in several different types of races. Which is the most demanding and difficult of all that you run and why?

--Shannon Bratcher

That's a tough question. Each series is very demanding in its own way. Off-road racing is very demanding because so much of it depends on the driver and not making a mistake. Car control is so important in off-road racing and in those endurance races like the Baja 1000, it's very important to have your car mechanically sound so that nothing breaks and knocks you out of the race. But NASCAR is a very competitive sport now, more than ever, and it is tough to run up front all the time. The cars are so similar nowadays and we run so close together. Track position has become key this year, as has fuel mileage. Every little mistake in the Winston Cup Series seems to cost us because the competition is so tight.

How does a person make it to NASCAR? Truck or car? I have been racing for the past 15 years and in only six starts, I have three wins in Crandon, Wis. I have gone to driving school for the Cup cars. I even went to Parump, Nevada, worked on pro-truck in the BITD race. We finished second. Am I missing something?

--Justin Keehner

You just have to keep working at it and you can't quit, even when you want to. The difference between winners and losers is that the winners never quit, no matter how difficult or frustrating racing gets. The desire and dream of people who succeed in this sport is so strong and that will get you a long ways.

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.