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With a cooler head, Mr. Versatile prevails

Robby Gordon, who has had a few run-ins, has matured and has the best drive of his career.

By JOANNE KORTH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 19, 2002

WELCOME, N.C. -- Robby Gordon put on 10 pounds over the winter, so he expects to have the edge in disputes with his new teammates at Richard Childress Racing.

Uh, just kidding.

Gordon, whose confrontational ways are largely to blame for his vagabond stock car career, did gain weight.

But he has no intention of losing control or the best Winston Cup job he has had, driving the No. 31 Chevrolet for Childress.

This is Gordon's chance.

"Am I going to let Richard win some arguments? I'm not stupid. I think he's probably going to win most of them," said Gordon, 33. "With age comes experience, and I know this is a great opportunity for me and I'm going to make the most of it."

Gordon is part of a new look at RCR. Three drivers will steer Childress cars in the season-opening Daytona 500, none of whom drove that race for him last season.

Kevin Harvick, who took over when seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt was killed in a last-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500, returns to the No. 29, but will run his first 500.

Former Busch Grand National champion Jeff Green drives No. 30, a first-year team.

And Gordon, after a trial period last season, replaces Mike Skinner in No. 31.

All three have aggressive personalities, leading to jokes that Childress will need to hire a team psychologist by midseason just to keep the peace.

Harvick and Green tangled often last season in the Busch Grand National series. Gordon was leading late in a Winston Cup race at Sears Point when contact with Harvick's lapped car cost him a shot at a possible victory.

"I could have grabbed Kevin out of his car and done something stupid and I wouldn't have ended up with this opportunity," said Gordon, a California native. "Looking back, I think I've matured over the last couple of years."

Few dispute Gordon's talent. He had victories in many forms of racing, from open-wheel CART to the Baja 1000, when he decided in 1996 that Winston Cup was the place to be.

But after a turbulent 1997 season with Felix Sabates, he was fired and went back to CART.

He returned to Winston Cup in 2001, but after five races was fired by Larry McClure.

Desire sustained him in his tree months away from the series.

"I'm hungry," Gordon said. "I get opportunities because I push for them. If you sit on the sidelines and say, "Oh, poor me,' you're not going anywhere. You've got to find a way to get back up the ladder and I always find a way to get into a better situation."

In a car co-owned by A.J. Foyt and Childress, Gordon qualified third and led 22 laps at the Indianapolis 500 in May. A hired gun for the No. 7 Winston Cup Ford at Sears Point in June, he finished second.

Next thing he knew, Childress was calling.

After a disastrous start to 2001 Gordon landed on his feet as usual.

"He's a cat, isn't he?," said Winston Cup owner Cal Wells, who employed Gordon in CART and for off-road racing. "Robby's a good race driver. I don't think anybody has challenged that. Everything around him has been challenged. It'll be an interesting season. He and Kevin and Jeff. ... that's going to be interesting."

With Childress, Gordon might have found the perfect marriage between driver and owner. Childress likes assertive personalities and hard-nosed racers. After all, he hired Earnhardt.

"I don't want to tame them, I just want to help direct their fire," Childress said of his trio. "I'd rather have drivers like these who have fire and desire to win. These guys are going to stand on the gas."

Gordon quieted many skeptics by winning the season-ending race last year at New Hampshire in his 10th start in No. 31.

The team failed to win in five seasons with Skinner, but has new confidence with Gordon.

Gordon wants more.

"I've learned a lot over the years driving for Winston Cup teams, Indy car teams, off-road teams, rally teams," Gordon said. "I've gained a lot of experience about the way people do things. I think I've taken a pretty good path. I haven't won a championship yet, and I think with this team I have the opportunity to work toward that."

ROBBY GORDON VARIETY PACK

Gordon, 33, has been successful in nearly everything he tried as a racer, winning races and titles in a wide range of competitions: Consecutive SCORE/HDRA championships from 1986-90. Baja 1000 in 1987 as co-driver with father and solo in 1989. SCCA Trans-Am event in first-ever start in 1992. Consecutive GTS/GTO class titles in the 24 Hours of Daytona from 1990-93. CART races at Phoenix and Detroit in 1995. SCORE Off-Road Trophy Truck class title in 1996. IROC race at Charlotte in 1997. Winston Cup race at New Hampshire in 2001.

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