Robby Gordon has failed to post a top-10 finish in 17 starts this season. Credit: Autostock

Q & A: Robby Gordon

This week's Nextel Cup Teleconference featured Robby Gordon, driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet, who discussed his season thus far and the upcoming road course race at Watkins Glen International. He will drive in both the Cup and Busch races at The Glen. Gordon won at Watkins Glen in 2003 and finished 16th earlier this season at Infineon Raceway.

What does it take to win at The Glen? Do you run a different kind of race at The Glen than at Infineon?

Inside the Numbers Robby Gordon in 2005 Track Start Finish Result Indianapolis 13 24 running Pocono 29 40 engine Loudon 31 30 running Chicago 12 35 running Daytona 11 26 running Sonoma 5 16 running Michigan 8 39 running Pocono 27 39 engine Dover 39 29 running Charlotte 25 27 crash Richmond 33 31 running Phoenix 43 37 running Texas 33 37 crash Martinsville 43 20 running Atlanta 26 34 engine Las Vegas 27 39 engine Fontana 25 35 engine Averages 25.3 31.6

Gordon: Well, you have to finish to win. You have to be there at the end. Half the battle is being toward the front for the first half of the race and then having enough race car left --- brakes, transmission, and engine -- that you haven't used up during the first half of the race that you can run hard at the end of the race.

Is there a chance that you will run a second car out of the Robby Gordon stable?

Gordon: I think that it is a possibility. Obviously we have some great companies (sponsors) that are surrounding our organization. We've been working really hard putting all of our specs and procedures and processes in place to be able to run one car. Once we get that done and get all that stuff ironed out, it'll be easier to run two cars. Our car has been getting a lot more competitive week in and week out. We're qualifying pretty good now. We race pretty good normally. I think the engines are getting better. So a two-car program is definitely something we'd like to do in the future. It would definitely make us a lot stronger. But you've got to crawl before walk and walk before you run.

Could it be as early as 2006?

Gordon: I don't see a two-car Cup program starting as early as 2006 unless something happened here very, very soon. We started in October getting ready for 2005 and we were behind. Now we have our procedures of how to build cars. We have a full fleet of cars built up to be able to race week in and week out and race the schedule. Racing the schedule is a big part of it. The first half of the season, we raced the wrong race. We raced the Thursday race to get the thing in the truck to go to the race track. And now we're to a point where we are two weeks ahead. We have cars that are done now for Michigan and are looking at Bristol and races like that as well.

Are you in this -- as an owner -- for the long haul?

Gordon: The next Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress, or Joe Gibbs has to come from somewhere. I love the sport. I like the competition that Nextel Cup gives us. The schedule is difficult. But this is something I want to do for sure. I'm 35 years old now and I believe that if we can stay on the same path, we'll be able to grow our company. We've dreamed of growing our company into something like Richard Childress has. We're working really hard and we're getting more competitive. Hopefully that becomes a reality.

What has been the most difficult part of being an owner that you didn't foresee?

Gordon: There have been a few things that have been difficult (like) the fleet of cars and some of the personalities have been interesting. It's easy to say our engines have been our biggest problem because we have lost a lot of engines. But I'm going to say that in the beginning, our team wasn't good enough for the engines and the engines were an easy excuse. They blew up and kind of saved us from looking like a bad race team. Now, we're a better race team and our engines are getting a lot more reliable and competitive. We finished the Coca-Cola 600 and we finished this past weekend at Indianapolis without any problems with engines. We're getting better week in and week out.

As hard as it is to win in NASCAR, why did you start up and owner / driver one-car team? Many years ago, Jeff Gordon said the reason he left Ford Motor Co. was because you were the designated star-to-be of Ford. Do you look back and wonder how things changed?

Gordon: Yes and no. Obviously, some things happened that were definitely out of my control. I was raised as an open-wheel racer. Open wheel racing has floundered for the last nine years. Since the split, open wheel racing hasn't been the same. I would say I was definitely on track all the way through 1995-'96. At the end of '96, yeah, I've changed career, I've changed my driving style, and I've changed just about everything we do to move my career toward stock cars. It's been a learning process. If, in 1988, I would have decided to go stock car racing instead of IndyCar racing, I believe my career would be a lot different than it is today. But I'm glad I've had all those experiences. I've had a lot of fun racing open wheel race cars. I've learned a tremendous amount of technology through Derrick Walker and A.J. Foyt -- the Toyota organization when I drove their Indy cars. I drove for Jack Roush for four years. I've learned a lot. That's why I believe, we have our own race team now is the experiences I've learned working at other places.

Are you disappointed when you look back?

Gordon: Not at all. Not even at all. Yeah, obviously I'm disappointed that in 1999 we ran out of fuel (while) leading the Indy 500. Heartbreak, OK? In '95 we were running second to Scott Goodyear with 10 laps to go -- ahead of (Jacques) Villeneuve -- and thought I had a flat tire. I pitted; didn't have a flat tire. Villeneuve wins the race because Goodyear jumps the restart. There's two Indy 500's that have just slipped out of my hands. But I've enjoyed racing open wheel. That's a part of racing that I think all of us wake up every day and love. We love the competition and the excitement. I've been able to learn a lot. I know for a fact that I've driven more cars than anybody in Nextel Cup. I have more experience with different types of race teams and the way they've done things for me like technology and so forth. I believe that will make us a stronger team as we grow in the future. We're a little under budget right now. We're not quite where we want to be. But I expect the second half of the season to be a lot better. We qualified 13th at Indianapolis and finished 24th. It wasn't a great day for us. We could very easily win both races this weekend (Watkins Glen). I look forward to going back to Michigan next weekend. We qualified eighth there last time. We ended up losing a coil while running fifth. We've had some good cars. We are definitely getting more competitive. Our pit crew has stepped up their game. I expect a good second half of the season.

As an experienced road course racer, do you get the impression that many of the NASCAR drivers wish there weren't any road courses on the Cup tour?

Gordon: I think stock car racing has changed a lot in the last 10 years. There used to be that. But these guys have gotten really good on road courses. I think they like mixing it up a little bit and bringing the driver ability into the program. The driver definitely shows up more on road courses. With ovals, you've got to have the set-up. You've got to have a car that's good. You've got to it the balance. On road courses, the driver can come into play and make a difference.

What are some of the positive things about being and owner / driver?

Gordon: It hasn't been easy for anybody. The Joe Gibbs car has gone home this year. There have been good cars that have gone home that have been in the sport for a long time. The positives are that we are alive and well. Sponsorship is good. Things are building. We're not shrinking in any way, shape, or form. Opportunities continue to open up on a daily basis. We're going to do everything we can to capitalize on those opportunities.

Will it be different to run in a Busch car at Watkins Glen after not racing there for several years?

Credit: Autostock

Gordon: We tested there with the Busch car a few weeks back and I think -- I may be wrong -- but I think we were the quickest car out of all cars with our Busch car. We built a purpose-built road course car that we took to Mexico City and we qualified on the front row (second) down there. We ended up having an engine failure. We went to Watkins Glen and put 150 miles on it and drove it really hard. I don't think driving a Busch car or a Cup car is going to be much different. The Busch cars seem to turn a little better than the Cup cars. And because of the spoiler change on Cup this year, the Busch cars actually make more downforce. I think that might even make them a little faster than a Cup car -- even thought a Cup car has 70 or 80 more horsepower.

What is the biggest difference between owning a Busch team and a Cup team?

Gordon: Last year, we won races with our Fruit of the Loom Chevrolet last year. We ran very competitively week in and week out. Cup is a different level. It's not the same. The cars look the same. They even feel the same. The competition level is black and white. It is so, so competitive. We have to push every area. Half these races that we fallen out of, the Busch race would have been over with. We've had to step up our mileage programs and preparation and engines and stuff like that. It's definitely getting better. We're finishing races and consistently racing ourselves into the top 15. Most of the time we've raced into the top 10. I know the results have not shown that, but we're definitely getting better each week.

What about the possibility of Paul Tracy running with you at Michigan?

Gordon: I think that's cool. He's driving for a team that I drove for, for the last three and a half years. Richard Childress is obviously not afraid to give an open-wheeler an opportunity. He gave me one with the Lowe's car back in 2001. He has a great situation. He has Kevin Harvick to bounce ideas off of. He has a team. I think he's got a great opportunity. I know he's tested. I don't know how fast he went (Monday). I actually went on the Web site to check out and to see how he ran. I'm a fan of Paul Tracy as well. The guy can drive the wheels off of a race car. I'm interested to see how he does at Michigan when we show up there next week.

Will it be fun to race against him -- like a reunion?

Gordon: Yeah, Paul and I have had some great battles over the years. It's going to be a lot of fun to race him. It's going to be fun to get his opinion of stock cars. They're not Indy cars. They don't do things like Indy cars do. And that's part of the fun of a stock car too, because they're not as technical. They're not fighter planes. In IndyCar, you give it two turns of front wing. Well, in stock car, you don't have the ability to give it two turns of front wing because it's the whole body built into it. So you've got to find other ways to adjust the balance of the race car. With him having a teammate and a team like Childress Racing, I'm sure he'll do a good job.

When you first came into NASCAR, did Michael Kranefuss and the media expect too much Superman stuff from you, or did you have those expectations of yourself at that time?

Gordon: I think there are a lot of things that have come into play a little bit. Until I drove for Richard Childress Racing in stock cars, I never really drove for a competitive Nextel Cup or Winston Cup team. They were all second or third-rate teams. And we're all aware of what the difference at team will do for somebody. We can talk about Michael Waltrip if you want. He struggled for years until he got with a professional team like DEI. He's an experienced, awesome race car driver. It doesn't happen by yourself. You have to have a team around you. That's what we're working hard on here.

Do you feel like, maybe, Ford or others -- even A.J. Foyt -- weren't as competitive as some real good teams you might have been with early in your career?

Gordon: We made that team competitive. We put that team back on the podium. When I went there, I brought a team manager with me. Ironically it's the same team manager who is now the team manager on Dan Wheldon's Indy car, John Anderson. I brought Kenny Anderson as an engineer there to A.J. Foyt's. I think there are reasons why we run good at certain times and reasons why we don't run good at certain times. And it's all about the people you surround yourself with.

Do you feel that early in your NASCAR career you were let down at a critical stage?

Credit: Autostock

Gordon: I've got to be honest. The NASCAR side was not my primary focus early in my career. Ford was great to me. I will say that Ford was wonderful and awesome to work for. I wouldn't be in the position I'm in today without Ford Motor Company. I don't know if Casey Mears would be in the position he is without Ford as well. I do respect that and appreciate the help they gave. Remember, early in my career I didn't want to race stock cars. I wanted to race Indy cars. I didn't change my decision of racing until 1997.

At Infineon, you expressed concern between qualifying well and staying on the track. Do you feel that same way at Watkins Glen?

Gordon: I feel that way every weekend. Being outside the top 35 in points is very tough. I will qualify the same way when we head to Watkins Glen this weekend. I'm confident we'll have a car for the pole. The key is I've got to be in the race to race the race. You only get one lap at Watkins Glen. Two laps you can't do because you're going to overheat your engine. I can't make any mistakes. You've got to stay on the asphalt. You can't lock up any brakes. We've proved every session we were the car for the pole at Infineon. And when it came down to qualifying, I just had to get in the show and we qualified fifth. I can't take a risk of missing the show. We've got to make the show every week.

What's the most difficult thing about being an owner / driver?

Gordon: We operate our company no differently than any other company in Nextel Cup. I'm not the crew chief. I'm not the general manager. I'm not the shop foreman. I'm not a fabricator. We have people in those positions to do those jobs. We're no different than Richard Childress Racing or Roger Penske Racing for that matter. Roger is not involved with his Cup team on a daily basis. He may talk to somebody there, but he's not running the organization. We are building our processes so I will not have to run the organization.