Chat Transcript: Robby Gordon

December 4, 2001
11:41 AM EST (1641 GMT)

[NASCAR_Host3] Welcome to NASCAR.com's chat with Robby Gordon!

[Robby_Gordon] Thanks for all the support. I know there has been a lot of good and some negative support, but I appreciate everyone's interest and I am looking forward to your questions!

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [schmiddy] So Robby, did you have fun going down the fire poles with me? (I am the boy you meet in N.Y.). I just wanted to say thank you for being so nice to me in New York. It is not every day that a young person gets to hang out with NASCAR drivers and slide down poles. I see that you posted our picture on your website and the quote under it is true. Yes you have converted another fan. I wish you all the luck!

[Robby_Gordon] Thank you never much. New York was a lot of fun and it was fun to hang out with the firemen and meet you. New York was a great experience, as always!

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [wanna be racer] Congratulations, Robby! I have read that your are a road course specialist. Do you enjoy oval racing as well? How differently is your physical and mental preparation for each?

[Robby_Gordon] Obviously the car control is different between the oval and road course tracks. I have done the road courses for so long that I have a handle on it, but I did get my first Indy-car win on an oval, and now I got my first Winston Cup win on an oval. Maybe I am not just a road racer.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [REAPER] Hello, Robby, what would you personally do to change the cars in order to remove the restrictor plate and yet still control the car at higher speeds?

[Robby_Gordon] I believe I would make a change to the racetracks and knock some banking out of them. That is probably the first thing I would do. Without doing that, the speeds would be 245-250mph right now.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [realtree71] Hey, Robby, congratulations on your win at Loudon! My question is: How do you and your entire crew feel about the potential for the No. 31 car for 2002?

[Robby_Gordon] I am very excited about the opportunity at RCR. I believe the win at Loudon was a morale booster and it is going to make our whole entire team, Jeff Green, Kevin Harvick, and myself, a lot strong rolling into next year, so I am real excited about the No. 31 team for 2002.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [robbytheman] A little birdie told me you will be in Spain for the Race of Champions. When is it and how did that come about?

[Robby_Gordon] It was an invitation I received two months ago and it is an IROC-type race like in America, but it has Rally cars, Formula 1 racers, and I represent the states. It will be three different events: road, dirt and mountains or something like that, all in Rally cars.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [Wburton22addict] Did you and Jeff ever have a conversation after the race about the incident? If so, what did it consist of and what were the results?

[Robby_Gordon] I have a lot of respect for Jeff as a racecar driver. He is very special with his ability to handle himself on and off the track. We talked on Eli Gold and we bumped into each other in New York. We are just going to have some great races next year. We don't have to be best friends to have good races. He was very professional.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [BjfromMN] Robby, your Minneapolis fans are celebrating! Wish we could have been there for the win. A couple months ago there were rumors of some Cingular commercials in progress, any truth to that? It would be great to see you in some so other fans could see your great and playful personality.

[Robby_Gordon] No truth to the commercials at this time. I don't know what their marketing plan is to be for 2002, but they are going to use the NASCAR No. 31 car for their platform, so I am looking forward to it.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [Karen b] Robby, just wanted to say congratulations on your first of many Winston cup wins. Will you be starting up your fan club again soon?

[Robby_Gordon] Yes, we will. My website has just been updated with 2002 information and pictures. Hopefully it will also let everybody know more about Robby Gordon. There is current stuff and a lot of past information there. The fan club will probably open up again in January, and thank you for the interest.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [theothergordon] Is everything cool between you and Harvick, now that you are "officially" teammates?

[Robby_Gordon] At Sears Point, I felt that Kevin and I were 90 percent going to end up as teammates for 2002, and I don't believe I have ever seen a lap car bump the leader out of first place. With that said, I am completely cool with Kevin. It is going to be a great year next year and a lot of fun.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [31Robbyfan] Hi Robby, congratulations on your first win in a Cup car. What weakness do you expect next year for you and the No. 31 team to stay consistent and how do you plan to fix those problems?

[Robby_Gordon] I think my biggest weakness is qualifying, and I don't know why that is. I have done it well in the past at Winston Cup races, so I don't know why it happens. I am just missing my fast balance at qualifying. Gil Martin, myself, and everyone involved will be working very hard on these things for next year, starting with our first test.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [RoryGentry] Hi Robby! Congratulations on that big first win! I'm wondering what will be the most memorable moment for you? Taking the checkers? The big burn out? Diving into the crew in the winner's circle? Tell us what it was like from your point of view- what stands out in your mind?

[Robby_Gordon] I think the biggest thing was the win. Getting the opportunity to prove that I can pull a Winston Cup car into Victory Lane. Second, the burnout was pretty cool! Ha, ha. Third, the excitement everyone at RCR had in Victory Lane, as well as everybody back in the shop about getting the No. 31 in Victory Lane. It was a great feeling.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [desertrazer] I raced against you and your dad Bob. He taught you a lot. What was the most important thing your father taught you about racing?

[Robby_Gordon] I think the most important thing, besides the driving, was the mechanical side of it and what it takes to get done. That has helped me to be a better racecar driver because I understand the mechanical side of it as well.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [darkon] What are the chances of you doing the Indy 500/World 600 double? Any thing in the works with RCR for Indy?

[Robby_Gordon] Stay tuned ... it will be interesting!

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [dslusher3] Robby, what do you say to fans, media and other racers that say you have an attitude problem?

[Robby_Gordon] Obviously they don't know me very well. I enjoy what I do and I am very competitive and the ones that say that obviously are saying and reading stuff from the past.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [Cheeta4RG] Weren't you working last year with Scott Pruitt and Jeff Burton to develop a Champ-car style seat for Winston Cup? What ever happened to that effort? What style seat do you currently use?

[Robby_Gordon] I use a concoction of a NASCAR seat and a CART seat. It is an aluminum shell with a beaded F1-style insert. Cal Wells has taken over that project and I believe the first seat has been released.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [theothergordon] If you owed a Cup team again, what would you do differently?

[Robby_Gordon] I think the first thing is I am very excited with the opportunity with RCR racing. That is a tough question that can and will be used against me in the future! Second off, make sure that I had enough financial support if it was to ever happen again. I would need to have a minimum of a three-year commitment with enough financial support to do things the right way.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [robby] Robby, are you planning on helping someone that is in a lower division than you? Tony Stewart is helping many racers across the U.S., and I was wondering if you plan on anything of that nature.

[Robby_Gordon] Right now it is all that I can do just to keep up with the things required from RCR and the other series that I am racing. As I gain more free time I would love to help up and coming racers in any way I can, from sponsorship proposals to honing their driving skills.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [dslusher3] What do you think made the biggest difference for the No. 31 team as a new driver that helped bring them to Victory Lane?

[Robby_Gordon] I think a lot of it has to do with all the pieces of the puzzle being in place. I think myself coming there with Gil Martin, Royce McGee and everyone already there, we had an attitude that we would go the racetrack and perform, and we were going to keep digging no matter how we got beat down.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [Martman] Robby, congratulations on your win. I knew you had it in you. You had the best burnout! All season, what did you do to get it so big and long? Did you turn the brake bias to front and stand on it? And what gear did you use? Good luck next year!

[Robby_Gordon] I started in first gear... I didn't turn the brake balance, no. I got to second gear, and then third gear, with the tires still spinning, and rode the brake just a little bit to keep the car slowed down. It shows how much power the RCR engine department puts out in order to burnout the tires that long in third gear! I was going to pop the tires but Richard asked me to bring it to pit lane, and as you know, I always do what the boss says! Ha,ha.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [silverbullet_3] Robby, is there any new technology expected this year? If so, what are they and how do you feel about it?

[Robby_Gordon] This team is always working on the latest technical things to keep the consistency closer and the cars more consistent, so they are working on numerous things for Daytona, as well as some other things for short tracks and road courses.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [GOGORDON24GO] Robby, what other hobbies and things do you enjoy other than racing?

[Robby_Gordon] I really love racing. Racing is No. 1. If I can't race in NASCAR one weekend, I love playing in my off road truck, and next week I am going to Spain for Rally cars. I like water skiing, snow skiing and other exciting sports.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [Forbidden] Robby, congratulations on your win and full-time ride with RCR. Coming from another racing league and then being bounced around NASCAR, has it been difficult to earn respect from the other drivers?

[Robby_Gordon] It has been difficult to earn respect from not only the drivers, which has been the easiest, but the fans, the racetracks, the sponsors, and everyone involved. NASCAR is a very competitive series and it has been difficult to break in to.

I am so happy that I stuck to my guns and I always said I would figure it out and see how to pull into Victory Lane, and with RCR I have been able to do that, and not on a road course. This year we very easily could have won three races out of the 17 or something that we raced, with a little bit of luck.

[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [#1 Robby fan] Hey Robby, congratulations on a great win! I thought it was really cool of you to donate all of your winnings to the New York Firefighters Fund. What was going through your mind when you won your first Winston Cup race?

[Robby_Gordon] Actually, as far as the excitement level, it was very high. I thought about donating the money while I was doing the burnout and I asked Richard. I was going to donate it to the fund for children and wives and I asked him if I could donate his part as well.

I was in second or third gear at this point, and Richard said, "You bet. That is the least we can do to support the country that we live in." Those civil servants support our country so that we can live the way we live.

We are all very fortunate to live in this great country. Hopefully we can put a few smiles on those faces that are struggling in this holiday season and missing loved ones.

[NASCAR_Host3] Robby, thank you! That's all the time we have this evening, do you have any final thoughts?

[Robby_Gordon] I just want to say thank you for the support, both good and bad. 2001 was a lot of fun and produced some excitement. I am looking forward to 2002 and seeing you at some NASCAR tracks near you. Have a happy holiday season and get it on!