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2010 Robby Gordon Infineon Recap
Robby Gordon Infineon Recap
Charlotte, N.C. (June 21, 2010) – Expert experience navigating the turns of Infineon Raceway and methodically-planned pit strategy helped Robby Gordon and the No. 7 Monster Energy team race their way to a second-place finish on Sunday afternoon in Sonoma, Calif. Gordon, a California native and renowned “road course ace,” raced from 16th utilizing pit strategy to gain track position around the 1.99-mile road course.
Gordon came over the radio during the lap 11 caution period to tell the crew that the car was a little tight trying to navigate through turn seven, but otherwise running well. The 2003 Infineon race winner added, “It’s no better than yesterday, but it’s still quite a bit better than a lot of cars out here. We’ll be ok.”
The crew immediately began devising a plan to help the No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota Camry turn through the corners, while focusing specifically on turn seven. The team decided to stay on the track during that early caution and wait until they got inside their pit window hoping to make the 110-lap event a two-stop race. Gordon was scored in the 15th-position and steadily holding his position.
The team made their first stop under green on lap 32. Several of Gordon’s competitors also stopped on that lap making for a busy pit road, but the No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota team made it through the pits without any incidents.
When the caution came out on lap 58, Gordon was sitting in the 10th position just 10 laps outside of his fuel window. The No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota team decided to come down pit road for four fresh tires, fuel, and another air pressure adjustment to help Gordon navigate the turns. The team returned to the track knowing that they would need to stop at least one last time to pack the car full of fuel.
Their opportunity to pit came just 10 laps later placing Gordon just inside his fuel window and leaving him to conserve fuel for much of the remainder of the race. The team packed the No. 7 Monster Energy Camry with as much fuel as it could hold and had Gordon stop just before the field returned to green to top off the tank.
Knowing that they were still close, Gordon continued to conserve fuel under green and during the caution laps to ensure that he could make it the distance.
The race heated up during the lap 103 caution period. Then leader, Marcos Ambrose failed to maintain a cautious pace—a rule that gained recognition at the 2007 NNS Montreal race during feud between Gordon and Ambrose for the win—and was forced to drop back to the seventh position. The mistake allowed Gordon and the No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota team to move into the second position for the final restart and race Jimmie Johnson for the win.
Gordon followed his line, hit every mark, and held off third-place Kevin Harvick to cross the finish line in the second position. The finish marks Gordon’s best finish of the 2010 season and ties his second-best finish at Infineon Raceway. The No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota moved up three spots in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owners points to the 32nd position.
“I’m very proud of the effort from the entire No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota team today, and I want to thank everyone on my team – both here and back at the shop,” commented Robby Gordon. “It was a great run for us, and our strategy worked well. At the end of the day, we got beat on tires—Jimmie had tires that were about 10 laps newer than ours—and that was the difference between winning and losing today. We needed a strong finish today and we did just that, so I’m happy with our race overall and am really looking forward to Watkins Glen now.”
Next weekend the Sprint Cup Series travels to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. TNT, PRN and Sirius Satellite radio will all kick off their coverage at 12:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 27th, with the green flag scheduled to fall shortly after 1:00 p.m. EST. Qualifying for the event will be broadcast on SPEED Channel beginning at 3:00 p.m. EST on Friday, June 25th. For news and updates, please visit ROBBYGORDON.COM or PLANETROBBY.COM. Watch Gordon’s weekly reality show at SPEEDFACTORY.TV.
Charlotte, N.C. (June 21, 2010) – Expert experience navigating the turns of Infineon Raceway and methodically-planned pit strategy helped Robby Gordon and the No. 7 Monster Energy team race their way to a second-place finish on Sunday afternoon in Sonoma, Calif. Gordon, a California native and renowned “road course ace,” raced from 16th utilizing pit strategy to gain track position around the 1.99-mile road course.
Gordon came over the radio during the lap 11 caution period to tell the crew that the car was a little tight trying to navigate through turn seven, but otherwise running well. The 2003 Infineon race winner added, “It’s no better than yesterday, but it’s still quite a bit better than a lot of cars out here. We’ll be ok.”
The crew immediately began devising a plan to help the No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota Camry turn through the corners, while focusing specifically on turn seven. The team decided to stay on the track during that early caution and wait until they got inside their pit window hoping to make the 110-lap event a two-stop race. Gordon was scored in the 15th-position and steadily holding his position.
The team made their first stop under green on lap 32. Several of Gordon’s competitors also stopped on that lap making for a busy pit road, but the No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota team made it through the pits without any incidents.
When the caution came out on lap 58, Gordon was sitting in the 10th position just 10 laps outside of his fuel window. The No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota team decided to come down pit road for four fresh tires, fuel, and another air pressure adjustment to help Gordon navigate the turns. The team returned to the track knowing that they would need to stop at least one last time to pack the car full of fuel.
Their opportunity to pit came just 10 laps later placing Gordon just inside his fuel window and leaving him to conserve fuel for much of the remainder of the race. The team packed the No. 7 Monster Energy Camry with as much fuel as it could hold and had Gordon stop just before the field returned to green to top off the tank.
Knowing that they were still close, Gordon continued to conserve fuel under green and during the caution laps to ensure that he could make it the distance.
The race heated up during the lap 103 caution period. Then leader, Marcos Ambrose failed to maintain a cautious pace—a rule that gained recognition at the 2007 NNS Montreal race during feud between Gordon and Ambrose for the win—and was forced to drop back to the seventh position. The mistake allowed Gordon and the No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota team to move into the second position for the final restart and race Jimmie Johnson for the win.
Gordon followed his line, hit every mark, and held off third-place Kevin Harvick to cross the finish line in the second position. The finish marks Gordon’s best finish of the 2010 season and ties his second-best finish at Infineon Raceway. The No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota moved up three spots in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owners points to the 32nd position.
“I’m very proud of the effort from the entire No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota team today, and I want to thank everyone on my team – both here and back at the shop,” commented Robby Gordon. “It was a great run for us, and our strategy worked well. At the end of the day, we got beat on tires—Jimmie had tires that were about 10 laps newer than ours—and that was the difference between winning and losing today. We needed a strong finish today and we did just that, so I’m happy with our race overall and am really looking forward to Watkins Glen now.”
Next weekend the Sprint Cup Series travels to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. TNT, PRN and Sirius Satellite radio will all kick off their coverage at 12:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 27th, with the green flag scheduled to fall shortly after 1:00 p.m. EST. Qualifying for the event will be broadcast on SPEED Channel beginning at 3:00 p.m. EST on Friday, June 25th. For news and updates, please visit ROBBYGORDON.COM or PLANETROBBY.COM. Watch Gordon’s weekly reality show at SPEEDFACTORY.TV.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by JUSTIN GALBREATH on
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I am very happy to see my guy finish up front...they finally stuck to a strategy and made it work. I only think that if the car would have been as good as some of the other road course races, we would have had a win.
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Permalink Reply by TOG on
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actually, they called an audible. The 'original' strategy was thrown out the window.
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Permalink Reply by RGMS7 on
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Based on the 2 pre-race interviews that I saw when Robby said they worked and planned on a fuel race scenario, I think their strategy worked out just fine. I guess we all do not have the the inside track on the race day plan, but very pleased with the end results.
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Permalink Reply by Rob Hoban on
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Not sure if this belongs on the PlanetPJ page, but does anyone have some information on PJ's day? I half expected him to run a handful of laps, but somehow his car was out there a lot more than I expected. Did he really run 68 laps?! That's a whole lot more than the 2 laps he ran last year. Could this have been an extended test session for WG or was Robby using PJ's team as a platform for strategy changes during the race?
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Permalink Reply by mw on
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sounde like pjs car was not running right early in the race.that was a great call by GENE after he talked the boss into it...
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Permalink Reply by Michael Martinez on
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Yes I still stand by my superstitions as crazy as they may seem, I had a 4 leafer marked. Great to see Robby have things not go bad- luck.
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Permalink Reply by alan4s on
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Woo Hoo!
Gene Nead Named WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race in Sonoma
Roswell, Ga. (June 22, 2010) - Gene Nead, crew chief for the No. 7 Monster Energy Toyota driven by Robby Gordon, has been named the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race following Sunday's race at Infineon Raceway.
Nead, looking for a strategy that would pay off at the end of the race, made a call midway through the event that put his driver in position to win. ...
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Permalink Reply by Jaci on
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Awesome job RGM! Robby Gordon wins the Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race award at Infineon and Gene Nead Named WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race in Sonoma. What a weekend!
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Permalink Reply by 7gason7 on
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I love this line:
"and methodically-planned pit strategy helped" PR dept must of had their radio turned off during the Red Flag!!!
"Gordon followed his line, hit every mark, and held off..."
If this line was written for The Other Gordon it would read:
"Gordon followed his line, hit every mark, Elliott, Martin, and Clint and held off...."
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