Both races disappointing for R. Gordon

CONCORD, N.C. -- This was not the double duty day that Robby Gordon had envisioned when he signed up to take his 10th run at the Indianapolis 500.

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After a rain-delayed start of almost two hours, Gordon rolled off the grid for the 88th running of the Indianapolis 500 in the 18th position.

Unfortunately, because of inclement weather, the event was halted again for an hour and 47 minutes after just 27 laps, forcing Gordon to put aside his dreams of an Indy 500 win yet again.

Double-Double with Robby  INDIANAPOLIS/CHARLOTTE -- NASCAR.COM's Elliott Gordon spent Sunday with Robby Gordon, following his attempt to run both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. Running blog

"We had a good race car. We started out good and handled the leaders there for a while, but we slid back to 16th during pit stops. I was kind of hoping it was going to rain all day there and then we would have been much better off," a tired and clearly disappointed Gordon said following the Coca-Cola 600.

If the event had been called because of weather, Gordon's tentative plan was to fly back to Speedway, Ind. following the Coca-Cola 600 and finish the race on Monday.

"I was kind of hoping it was going to be like 1997. It rained there after about Lap 19 and we went back and raced on Monday morning," Gordon said. "That is what I was hoping for, but you know, it is what it is and it is definitely going to be hard to sell for next year, but the key is we are still competitive when we show up there."

Gordon has finished outside of the top 20 in two of his last three attempts at the Indianapolis 500.

"It is disappointing that we didn't get to run as good as we had hoped for, and as well as our sponsors had wanted us to," Gordon said. "I do want to thank everyone at Meijer, Coca-Cola, Cingular Wireless, and Dallara-Chevrolet for helping us with the efforts, and Red Bull for helping me through the night tonight."

Gordon left the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday on track owner Tony George's helicopter at approximately 3 p.m. ET to take a Citation X jet to Concord, N.C. for Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600.

Jaques Lazier, Gordon's designated relief driver and Turn 1 spotter, finished the race 29th for Team Gordon once the Indianapolis 500 resumed.

"I thought we were lucky when we left the racetrack. It looked like they were going to have storms the rest of the day. I heard they called it early, too, so I am disappointed that Jaques couldn't stay on the lead lap," Gordon said.

"I don't know what happened to the car. I haven't had a chance to talk to those guys yet. They were racing when we were getting ready to start the race here."

Gordon's second segment of "double duty" -- the Coca-Cola 600, the longest event on the Nextel Cup circuit -- had similarly disappointing results.

	Gordon: "We got pretty good when the sun went down, but obviously not good enough." Credit: AP

After arriving at the track too late in the day to attend the mandatory driver's meeting, Gordon was forced to start at the back of the field and work his way through traffic all night.

"We had a decent run down here," Gordon said. "We couldn't get a hold of the racetrack early. We started out really good. The car got up to the top of the racetrack and slid four tires until the sun went down. We got pretty good when the sun went down, but obviously not good enough."

Gordon finished the Coca-Cola 600 in the 20th position, three laps down to winner Jimmie Johnson.

"All of us at RCR have a lot of work to do," Gordon said. "I think we finished three laps down, and that was the best (RCR) car, so Kevin (Harvick), myself and Johnny (Sauter), all the crew chiefs, all the engineers, well, we have some catching up to do.

"I guess they say when you get down, you get tough, and we have a tough race team here. I know that Richard (Childress) gives us the tools to do our jobs, so we are going to have to find out why we aren't as competitive as we should be."

And what of the double duty run in 2005?

Gordon responded with two simple words before ducking into his hauler. "We'll see."