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Cabela's 250 - Tina Gordon Notes
08-19-04
Rookie’s learning curve continues
This weekend Tina Gordon and the #39 Yahoo! Ford team head the two-mile Michigan International Speedway, located in Brooklyn, MI for Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series’ Michigan 200.
The 33-year-old driver 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 Michigan:
“Obviously, I’m hoping we have a good run at Michigan. I’m continuing to learn on the fly, which is really the only choice I have considering that since July at Daytona, every track the Busch Series has gone to has been my first time there. But, that’s the burden you bear whenever you’re a rookie in any series.
“From what I’ve seen and heard Michigan should be my kind of race track. It’s wide and multi-grooved, and you usually see a lot of three-wide racing. Some of these tracks we run at, it’s extremely difficult to pass, but I don’t think that will be a problem at Michigan.
“I’m seeing a lot of new tracks here in the past couple months. Again, since I joined Jay Robinson Racing at the first of July, other than Daytona, every track we’ve raced at has been a first for me. Luckily, I have the luxury of two veteran teammates in Derrike Cope and Mark Green, both of whom have been more than generous with their time and insight on every track we’ve been to. Between the two of them and Jay, theire isn’t a track we go to that they haven’t raced. So, that helps tremendously. With Derrike and Mark’s experience, I really feel grateful that I have them as such great resources. They’re all three like an encyclopedia of information for every track we go to.
“Both Derrike and Mark think that Michigan will suit me well. I’ll have the chance to find the groove that’s comfortable and fast for me. Of course, I have to find it quickly, because one of the disadvantages of being your first time at a track, is that you’re having to learn the track as well as setup for qualifying and then the race, all at the same time. It can get frustrating at times, but the learning curve is all a part of being a rookie in the NASCAR Busch Series.
“We’re continuing to learn and improve and Michigan is just the next step in the process. Everyone here on the Yahoo! Ford is looking to move this program forward every time out. We’re working hard and hopefully we’ll come away from Michigan feeling good about our efforts and enjoying a good run.”
