Gordon gearing up to run very rough, very fast Baja

Most drivers are looking forward to getting some rest now that the 2008 season is over. Robby Gordon isn't among them.

After finishing 26th in the Cup Series season-finale Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Gordon headed for Ensenada, Mexico, to compete in the 41st annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 that begins on Friday.

Robby Gordon

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Gordon has three victories in the off-road classic. He will drive the No. 77 Chevrolet CK 1500 trophy truck in this year's race.

The Baja 1000 is the world's longest nonstop desert race. This year its route across the northern Baja California Peninsula will cover 631.34 miles through rocky desert and mountain terrain, beginning and ending in Ensenada.

"This year's course is very technical, very rough and very fast, which plays right into our team's strengths," said Gordon, who has also won races in Cup and open-wheel racing. "The team has done a good job building up the reliability in our truck."

Gordon, whose one-car team ran the entire 36-race Cup schedule and finished 33rd in the points, took time during the past few weeks to fly out to Baja to "prerun" the course several times.

"Having covered the course twice, I feel very confident of our chances," Gordon said. "With the assistance of both our off-road and NASCAR team personnel, we have a really good support staff in place. Everyone is well informed on our race strategy and goals for this week. If all goes according to plan, we should bring home our fourth overall Baja 1000 victory."