Robby Gordon says he told Richard Childress he would never leave RCR unless it was to start a team of his own. Credit: Autostock

Gordon ready for second chance as owner/driver

Longtime driver says he's learned from past mistakes

Robby Gordon's calendar tells the tale of how the veteran driver feels about his decision to field his own team in NASCAR's premier division.

Gordon doesn't plan to return to the United States from the Dakar Rally in Northern Africa until Sunday, less than two days before he's scheduled to open his first Nextel Cup Series test session of the year.

Gordon expects to have two No. 7 Chevrolet Monte Carlos powered by engines from Indy car owner John Menard's shop in Indianapolis at the second round of testing at Daytona International Speedway Jan. 18.

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Ever since Gordon and Richard Childress announced late last season that Gordon had decided not to return to the seat of Childress' No. 31 Cingular Chevrolet, there had been doubts about the viability of Gordon's 2005 program. But a team spokesman says Robby Gordon Motorsports is on the verge of announcing a multi-part sponsorship program that will enable Gordon to compete in the full Nextel Cup schedule.

According to RGM general manager John Story, five-and-a-half chassis are complete -- including two speedway cars and two downforce cars that are ready to test at Las Vegas and Fontana later this month.

Gordon said he told Childress in August of his plans to field his own Cup team for the second time. He initially made a return to stock cars with his own Cup team in 2000. Gordon won three Cup races for Richard Childress Racing, including both road-course races in 2003. He also won a 125-mile qualifying race at Daytona in '03.

At least one of the road course wins came in a car Gordon's team had built.

"On the surface, leaving RCR was very difficult, and I told Richard in the middle of the season that I would never leave his organization to drive for a team other than one I owned," Gordon said.

"RCR is one of the all-time greatest NASCAR teams and having an opportunity to work for Richard is what prepared me properly to be a team owner.

"We talked long and hard about my plans for 2005, and Richard asked me to consider staying in one of his cars for next season and beyond.

"I gave it a lot of thought, but in the end, when I realized that sponsorship would come together for our own program, I decided that venturing out on my own was what was in my own best interest."

Robby Gordon and Dirk Zitzewicz try to repair their Volkswagen Race Touareg during the sixth stage of the Dakar rally between Smara, Morocco, and Zouerat, Mauritania on Wednesday. Credit: AP

Gordon fielded his own No. 55 Fruit of the Loom Chevrolets in the 2004 Busch Series. It was the first step, Gordon felt, to once again operating his own Nextel Cup team as he's done in the SCORE Off-Road Desert Series, CART Indy cars and the Indy Racing League's Indianapolis 500.

Gordon says that having put the Busch team together from scratch, along with crew chief Bob Temple, for 2004 gave them virtually everything necessary to operate the Nextel Cup team. Gordon's record in 25 Busch races included a win, six top-five and 10 top-10s while running in the top five in the standings before cutting back on his schedule.

It made a tough decision easier, and while Gordon admits staying with Childress would have been most logical, it would not have been truest to his own aspirations.

"I suppose it would have been easier (to stay) -- and I really enjoyed working with Richard and have a ton of respect for him -- I always will," Gordon said. "But I have always been a guy that likes to do my own thing.

"I guess you could say that I'm fairly particular about things, and if I'm just the driver and don't have a big say in how the cars are prepared I guess it will never be done the way that I'm most comfortable as a driver.

"Most people don't know that I'm a very mechanical person and I like working on the cars and being involved with the engineering side and the build side. I like hanging out in the shop, spending time with the fabricators and mechanics to try and find ways to make the cars better.

"That's the side of this business that excites me, and if I drive for someone else, I don't really have that opportunity."

Fruit of the Loom remains part of Gordon's program as he considers his Busch schedule for the season. Story said the focus would definitely be on Nextel Cup.

"We haven't made a final decision on the Busch race at Daytona yet," Story said. "The same car that Robby finished third in there last year is prepped and ready to race, but it may be a few weeks before we make the final decision."

Busch testing at Daytona is the final session of the month, from Jan. 22-24.

"Given Robby's history in Mexico in his off-road truck, not to mention the fact that the Mexico City (Busch) race is a road course, we would like to go there," Story said. "But beyond that our Busch schedule is up in the air for next season.

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"We'll only run races in the Busch Series if we are prepared with our Cup cars and if it helps our Cup program from a testing standpoint."

Gordon is most enthused about introducing veteran Indy car team owner Menard's engines to Nextel Cup and, Story said, he felt the personal attention Menard could give their team was an incentive to go that route.

If Gordon's learned one thing, it's that having the right people in the right places makes it possible for an organization to succeed, and its owner to get more fun out of life.

"Being my own boss allows me to go off and run races like Dakar, the Baja 1000 and the Indy 500 if I feel up to it," Gordon said.

"People always ask me why I run so many different types of races, and they think it's a distraction. My answer is always 'because I can,' and while I'm off running races like Dakar, my team is still in Charlotte working in the shop, so there is no distraction.

"Driving different types of cars makes me a better driver, and by having good people run the business and oversee the shop I can do what I love, and that's race.

One of Gordon's wins as a Busch Series driver/owner in 2004 came at Richmond International Raceway. Credit: Autostock

"Some drivers who have run their own teams in the past failed because they also tried to operate the business and manage the shop. I've learned over the years that the only way to be successful as an owner is to put people in those positions and allow them to do the job."

The last owner/driver to win a Cup championship was Alan Kulwicki in 1992, and Gordon wearing the No. 7 on his car is not a coincidence, Gordon said.

"Alan Kulwicki did things right," Gordon said. "I actually have a picture of Alan standing next to his No. 7 car at Daytona on my desk as a reminder that if you work hard enough, and do things right you can win as an owner/driver.

"Running No. 7 on our Cup car is as much a tribute to what Alan was able to accomplish as much as it is an inspiration for what we hope to do. Our goal is to work as hard and as smart as he and his team did, and hopefully we'll have as much success as they did.

"I plan to be in this sport as a driver for a long time, and as an owner beyond that. The stories of how hard Alan, (crew chief) Paul Andrews and his team worked are legendary, and if we keep our heads down, follow our dreams and keep trying to reach our goals we may just take No. 7 back to New York as a NASCAR Nextel Cup champion."