2019 Robby Gordon Headquarters
Don't Dissapoint Me, O.C.
If you flip a coin 4 times and you get heads each flip, it is just a matter of time before it comes up tails. Unfortunately, that seems to be the story of Robby's 2009 500. After putting up the best finishes at speedway races last year, a shock issue relegated him to also ran status. Getting hit in the Jr. fiasco probably did not help either. For sure a dissappointing way to start the year. It will
The 500 was a dissappointment from the 7 pit and it was a dissappointment from my perspective as well. You endure the first 180 laps just to watch the insanity of the last 20, and the rain made sure that was out of the cards. It's like being in high school and making out with a date in your parents basement, only to have your brother kick open the door before reaching your final destination. Then, Dale Jr. had to go and wipe out all of the competitive Toyota's and ruin any chance I had at a victory lunch. On a brighter note, my friend Chris used his free Honey Baked Ham coupon that he got from Roush to get an eight pound ham for the festivities. He made some bitchin potato salad, and I was among a bunch of friends so I cannot complain too much.
Of course there is alot of hullabaloo that goes along with Daytona, but I would look to California this week to get a better barometer of how the teams stack up in terms of pace and who will be in the hunt for race wins this season. California is the first of the fast speedways that actually requires braking and throttle control, so we will get to see who has made the most of thier offseason testing, simulation, and rig work to put a good setup under their driver.
Probably the biggest thing to look for, especially in qualifying, is the cars attitude. It will be interesting to see the toed out rear housings again that were the hot setup last year. The rule is that you can only toe the rear end 1/2", but we will see if anyone has figured out how to get away with a little more. Also, the cars that have the splitters on the ground all the way through the corner without bouncing around over the bumps too much will probably be the fastest.
With California being on the bigger side and everyone tip toeing around trying to maximize thier points and lock into the top 35, a fuel mileage race could be in the cards. There is none better than Carl at the fuel mileage game. With Carl's eye for mileage and the normally stout 2 mile Roush engine package, I will tip Carl for the win with atleast 2 other Roush cars in the top 10. Obviously Kyle will be a threat, and I will tip Vickers for a top 5 as my dark horse. I feel that RG will struggle this week. California has not been a happy hunting ground for him in the last bunch of years, despite it being in his back yard. He will have plenty of family and friends, but they may go home dissappointed. The Toyota power may help, but all of the bigger teams have spent more of their offseason refining their chassis package, and it could be a bleeder. I will go for 25th.
The 500 was a dissappointment from the 7 pit and it was a dissappointment from my perspective as well. You endure the first 180 laps just to watch the insanity of the last 20, and the rain made sure that was out of the cards. It's like being in high school and making out with a date in your parents basement, only to have your brother kick open the door before reaching your final destination. Then, Dale Jr. had to go and wipe out all of the competitive Toyota's and ruin any chance I had at a victory lunch. On a brighter note, my friend Chris used his free Honey Baked Ham coupon that he got from Roush to get an eight pound ham for the festivities. He made some bitchin potato salad, and I was among a bunch of friends so I cannot complain too much.
Of course there is alot of hullabaloo that goes along with Daytona, but I would look to California this week to get a better barometer of how the teams stack up in terms of pace and who will be in the hunt for race wins this season. California is the first of the fast speedways that actually requires braking and throttle control, so we will get to see who has made the most of thier offseason testing, simulation, and rig work to put a good setup under their driver.
Probably the biggest thing to look for, especially in qualifying, is the cars attitude. It will be interesting to see the toed out rear housings again that were the hot setup last year. The rule is that you can only toe the rear end 1/2", but we will see if anyone has figured out how to get away with a little more. Also, the cars that have the splitters on the ground all the way through the corner without bouncing around over the bumps too much will probably be the fastest.
With California being on the bigger side and everyone tip toeing around trying to maximize thier points and lock into the top 35, a fuel mileage race could be in the cards. There is none better than Carl at the fuel mileage game. With Carl's eye for mileage and the normally stout 2 mile Roush engine package, I will tip Carl for the win with atleast 2 other Roush cars in the top 10. Obviously Kyle will be a threat, and I will tip Vickers for a top 5 as my dark horse. I feel that RG will struggle this week. California has not been a happy hunting ground for him in the last bunch of years, despite it being in his back yard. He will have plenty of family and friends, but they may go home dissappointed. The Toyota power may help, but all of the bigger teams have spent more of their offseason refining their chassis package, and it could be a bleeder. I will go for 25th.
Views: 35
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Comment by Fatback McLosaw on February 21, 2009 at 5:47pm
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yeah...P12 is pretty good..if you can stay close to the lead lap for the first couple of stints, you are usually ok
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Comment by Mike/WC77 on February 20, 2009 at 8:50pm
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Great thoughts there Jeremy. Always love your insight on the tracks,& food. Plus, now we all know what to tell Tompkins to bring to a bbq. Where else can you find this I ask?
I just hope RG's car isn't too slick for the track @ Cali again. Unfortunately from what your saying, I take it RG hasn't taken full advantage of TRD's chassis support? Sounds like the inside of that top 20 is gonna be tough to crack.
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Comment by alan4s on February 19, 2009 at 8:45am
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Summary of Robby's results at Fontana:
13 starts, 3064 of 3255 laps completed (94.1%), 11 laps led
Win: 0 ( 0.0%) Average start: 30.9 Total Winnings: $1,190,156
Top 5: 0 ( 0.0%) Average finish: 26.8
Top 10: 1 ( 7.7%) DNF: 3
He's one of the worse 5 finishers there of current drivers
Let's hope he can buck the trend and start moving the stats in the other direction.
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We for sure got GEM support at the last California race..Our setup was junk and we ended up switching our setup to the 19s setup as I recall...It ran much better than what we had there before..I can't remember the specific result of the race last Feb., but my overall impression is that CA historically has not been a strong race for RGM...I just looked at the results from NASCAR and it was 18th for last Feb..which is pretty good actually...It will be difficult to top that...anywhere in the 15-25 range is achievable depending on how the race plays out.
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Comment by IndyTim on February 19, 2009 at 7:50am
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If my brother did that to me...I'd beat his ass........ :)
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Comment by James Tallant on February 19, 2009 at 2:12am
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It will be interesting to see if Gillett/RPM can keep their "streak" going past one race. If Sadler/A.J outperform the 9 team it will be a riot!
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Comment by timothy price on February 19, 2009 at 12:10am
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ray everham can make a promise
george will just lie to your face
till ya turn your back (then ya better have a .250 steel plate over yer back)
JUST ASK SADELER
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wait they supported him??
or did they make empty prominses
ya know WAA WAA WAA
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Comment by Lance on February 18, 2009 at 4:23pm
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Rob had a good run in Feb. last year at Cali and was junk in August. Did RGM just fall behind or was it a situation of having a much slicker track that didn't suit Robby's car?
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Comment by Turtle7 on February 18, 2009 at 1:02pm
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I think that you are right on with your analysis. This is the first track that they will get a chance to test the TTCOT chasis with the Toyota nose. It the two work well together, RGM may be off to the best single car team season yet.
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