‘Welcoming The Mile-and-a-Half Tracks’

This weekend Tina Gordon and the #39 Yahoo! Ford team head to the 1.5-mile Kansas (Kan.) Speedway for Saturday’s Mr. Goodcents 300.

Gordon, 33, is a native of Cedar Bluff, Ala., and driver of the Yahoo!-sponsored Ford fielded by Jay Robinson Racing of Charlotte, N.C. Robinson is the first car owner in major league motorsports to have fielded full-time rides for different female drivers, the other being Tammy Jo Kirk the second half of last season. Gordon comes to the Yahoo! Ford team from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but also brings strong experience credentials from the weekly short tracks of Alabama, the same tracks that spawned racing legends such as Davey Allison, and helped build legends such as Bobby and Donnie Allison, Red Farmer and Neil Bonnett.

Microtel Inn and Suites, which has received the J.D. Power & Associates award for highest guest satisfaction the past two years, and, Vasarette, a top of the line lingerie manufacturer, have joined Jay Robinson Racing as associate sponsors on the #39 Yahoo! Ford.

Jay Robinson Racing, in its fourth season of operation, is one of the fastest-growing teams in NASCAR. Robinson, a Charlotte, N.C., native who is a successful businessman, founded the team as a high-value endeavor that offers high-end equipment and efforts, while proving to be one of the most cost-efficient teams in the sport. Robinson fields two sponsored cars fulltime on the Busch Series: the #39 Yahoo! Ford and the #49 Advil Ford, and runs a third car in many Busch Series events.

The thoughts of Yahoo! Ford driver Tina Gordon heading into Kansas:

“It’s going to be good to get back to a track like Kansas. It’s the type of track, a mile-and-a-half oval, where I have more experience. I really enjoy racing on the bigger tracks, and I’ve learned a lot on them so far this season. I’m hoping to learn more this weekend.

“Kansas is a new track and it’s still really fast. The track seems to still have a lot of grip and is faster on the bottom. I don’t know how the groove will widen, or even if it will, but that’s something that other new tracks have dealt with in the past. Texas, Chicago, Atlanta, and other new track or ones that have just been repaved, always fight the same problem. Eventually, through time, however, the tracks groove widens and creates better racing. I think that’s what you see at a track like Lowe’s and now even a place like Atlanta.

“I think that Kansas is going to be the next in line for a place to watch a great race. The fans in Kansas City really deserve it too. The Midwest has always been a hot spot for good racing. Of course, Indianapolis has always been the center with open wheel racing, but I think this Kansas track continues to fill the need for all the NASCAR fans. NASCAR has also done a really good job recently of fulfilling the need for more races in major markets.

“Kansas and Chicago are two of the newest tracks and they both happen to be in major markets. I don’t think that is by coincidence. It’s good for NASCAR and it’s good for our sponsors too. Yahoo!, Microtel, and Vasarette all benefit from being in front of the large crowds that we see that these tracks. It’s good for everyone involved.