Perhaps the biggest anomaly of this entire situation is the case of Robby Gordon Motorsports. The lone single-car, owner-driver team left in the garage has weathered this storm for years now. Last year's failed switch to Dodge and the botched relationship with Gillett Evernham Motorsports left team owner and driver Robby Gordon out on his own and racing for his team's existence. Recently announcing his team's switch to Toyota for 2009 and the return of sponsor Jim Beam for a partial schedule is proof that small teams can still function in today's ever-growing monopolistic world of NASCAR.

"You know, too many people just want to talk about negative, and I'm just not interested in having a conversation like that," Gordon explained to HardcoreRaceFans.com prior to the end of the season. "You've got to have a positive attitude all of the time and if you sit there and watch the news everyday, all it is, is negative. We're not going to let it affect us any way. We're just going to keep doing what we do. Hopefully we do a good enough job for the sponsors we have and they want to come back with us.

"NASCAR is the sport that it is because of the fans we have. If you look at this year, yeah the economy has taken a little bit of a dive, but more people are watching our races," Gordon pointed out. "TV ratings are up, more people are having backyard parties and one of my sponsors, John Menards, had some of the best three months in business. So, it's a philosophy that if you believe the sky is falling, the sky is probably going to fall - but the sky isn't falling."

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I'm glad he is positive... the team needs to see that in their leader. But we also deal with this ugly thing called "REALITY". As a single car team Robby still fights an uphill battle and the hill keeps getting steeper.

I wonder how "positive" his remarks will be at the first blown pit-stop or wrong adjustment call?
In the jimbeam.com video. Robby tells a Volkswagen driver he's starting his own Dakar team. The driver says why, you'll never be competitive. Robby wins a stage his 2nd year and has been competitve ever since. Thats
" REALITY ". Against a team with 4 cars and a budget of 80-100 million dollars.
off road and cup are two entirely different beasts.
I understand that. I guess what i'm getting at, is the will to win. He has the desire and determination. Not to many people have the fire Robby has.
It takes more than will to win.

The Cup field isn't filled with 40 wankers who woke up yesterday and decided to be race car drivers.
WOW!? So your saying that offroad racing in general is a bunch of wankers that think they are race car drivers? That the talented drivers are all in NeckCAR? Interesting statement, the few that came up in NASCRAP only racing backgrounds are pretty much on the back burner or gone or even more common getting bumped from rides from drivers that are coming in from other forms of racing. Petty, Sadlers (both), Nemachek(sp?) and the list goes on. One of the only drivers that comes from the NA$Car background that is doing well, not great but well is Dale Jr. Everyone else is from "other" forms of racing and a few with roots tide to offroad wanker racing. J.Johnson, R.Gordon, C. Mears, B.Ickler,,,,, Actually if you have not driven a Wanker mobile or a Sprint Car/ Midget before getting into Cup you have not won much after getting there. Just IMO. Sorry, for the little rant I just woke up........
Yes.

That is EXACTLY what I said!


insert rolling eyes of doom here
"REALITY" is that if anyone can pull this off in Nascar it's Robby Gordon. The deal is everyone has their own idea of what success is.
hey as long as RG is on the entry list, it's all good.
Very true TOG, but a little red meat every now and then... know what I mean?
I rarely comment on PR, but I have to say that while running a single car team makes for a nice david v goliath story, I'm really hoping for something more positive in 2009. I see alot of very encouraging signs from an organizational standpoint (moving offroad to NC, switch to Toyota and TRD, chassis set ups from offroad folks, being really prepared for Dakar). but I'd love to see RG being a week to week "factor" in cup. we definiately were 'there' in 2008.
Were did you hear Robby was moving off-road to NC? How long ago? If this is true I hope his guys in California want to move? He's got some great employees out here.

Jake

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