Robby Gordon is starting to get things programmed in. Credit: Autostock

10 Questions: R. Gordon

Perhaps nothing emphasized the progress Robby Gordon Motorsports has made in the Nextel Cup Series than last Sunday's performance at Michigan International Speedway.

Gordon came off a weekend in which he scored top-five finishes in both the Nextel Cup and Busch series road races at Watkins Glen International, then went to Michigan and, filling in for buddy and Busch team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., Gordon was third in Saturday's Busch race.

Robby Gordon is 24th in points. Credit: Autostock

Inside the Numbers Robby Gordon in 2006 Site Start Finish Daytona 20 13 Fontana 34 26 Las Vegas 32 12 Atlanta 36 28 Bristol 37 26 Martinsville 27 43 Texas 29 20 Phoenix 25 41 Talladega 19 10 Richmond 39 39 Darlington 24 13 Charlotte 41 16 Dover 41 36 Pocono 28 35 Michigan 24 18 Sonoma 14 40 Daytona 25 14 Chicago 30 19 Loudon 34 19 Pocono 29 13 Indianapolis 9 35 Watkins Glen 6 4 Michigan 24 12 Averages 27.3 23.1 • 4 DNFs

On Sunday, Gordon found his No. 7 Chevrolet spun out, literally, early in the GFS Marketplace 400. But he rebounded, persevered and regained the lead lap on his way to a 12th-place finish.

This weekend Gordon makes the next step in what he hopes will be a march back into the top 20 in the Nextel Cup standings, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Saturday night's Sharpie 500.

But first, on his way to Michigan, RGM's principal took a moment to answer 10 questions not necessarily connected to his racing career.

1. What's your least favorite household chore?

Gordon: Oh, man. That would have to be cleaning the toilets, wouldn't it? It's a [crappy] job but somebody's got to do it, right?

You wouldn't believe it, but I do my whole house. I actually take care of everything and all the stuff around it. Despite the schedule we keep and all I've got to do, my house is pretty tidy.

2. What's your favorite outdoor activity, other than racing?

Gordon: I love wakeboarding -- just playing out on the water. I couldn't tell you the most outrageous trick I like to pull, wakeboarding [because] there is so much stuff we do.

I just like getting nutty out there -- just being wild.

3. What is the most embarrassing moment you'll own up to, either in or out of racing?

Gordon: I have embarrassing moments all the time. I've got probably too many of them to tell.

But really, I can't remember one specifically, because I really don't embarrass too easily.

4. What was your first car?

Gordon: My first car was a 1977 Chevrolet Blazer. It was hopped-up -- it was trick. It was fire-engine red and it was a pretty sweet little hot rod.

I was 15 or 16 when I got that, and my dad was heavily into desert racing at that time. I think he came across this thing at one of those custom car swap meets and he got a steal on it.

I mean; it was just really cool. I remember it had stock wheels on it, but it was lowered a little bit. It was just a really clean truck. Somebody had taken the time to do it right and it was just a clean truck.

I had that truck for three years.

5. Have you seen Talladega Nights, and did you like it?

Gordon: Yes, I saw it and I liked everything but the end -- everything but the end. Will Ferrell is funny, but I'm pretty sure those kids, Walker and Texas Ranger, were just as funny as he was.

6. If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be?

Gordon: I have no idea. I'm pretty fortunate in my life and I just don't know. I tell you what; I'll play Vince Vaughn for one night -- as long as Jennifer is around.

7. Which athlete outside of racing do you most admire?

Gordon: I think you'd have to look at guys like Michael Jordan, that have just set the stage of what an athlete is to be, both in their sport and in life.

The part that impresses me is how good he was in his sport, but also how influential that he's continued to be and how much of an impact he made, outside of basketball.

8. What's your favorite section of public road in the United States?

Gordon: I think you'd have to look at that road that goes across the Appalachians -- what's that called? Oh yeah, the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I'd want to close traffic down, and then I'd want to get after it. Just stop the traffic coming the other way and let's have fun.

9. If you could go back in time, in what period in history would you like to live?

Gordon: I would have liked to live in the A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and Mickey Thompson era. It was just because those guys were racers, and they raced all the time and had a lot of fun.

I've enjoyed pretty much all the stuff they've done, at some point in my career, so I'd say I'm a decade-and-a-half too young.

Then again, this is the best time to be in Nextel Cup racing, I know that for sure.

10. What have you learned about yourself in the last year?

Gordon: I think the biggest thing that I've learned was the part, that I always felt you could just walk in and make stuff happen and perform right away [in Cup racing].

I've learned that Rome wasn't built in a day, so to speak. I remember Felix [Sabates, one of his former car owners] telling me that and [Richard] Childress telling me that -- and I was saying "We can do that, and that and that."

It has taken us a while to get our program to a competitive state, but we have. I had to learn to hire the right people to do the job, and then to let them do their jobs.

That's really been the hardest thing for me, but I think that our performances as this year winds down are going to show -- and they have shown -- that if we improve as much next year as we did this year, we'll definitely be a force to be reckoned with, week in and week out.