DAYTONA BEACH -- The first time Truck Series driver Tina Gordon came to Daytona International Speedway in 2002, she started ninth for the ARCA 200. Gordon ran as high as second place before "racing luck" got in her way, dropping her to a 26th-place finish.
"I feel confident that had we not found the trouble that we would've had a top-10 finish," Gordon said.
And though more than a handful of drivers have proclaimed great cars and even greater finishes in the wake of race-ending events, Gordon's proclamation doesn't exactly ring hollow when her resume lists a 10th-place finish in the April 2003 Busch Series race at Talladega.
But before she got a start in her only Busch Series race, Gordon would have to heal from injuries sustained a year earlier at Lowe's Motor Speedway, when she suffered fractures to her left leg and foot during an ARCA race.
"We got right back in the car at the following Talladega race and ran 11 truck races after that accident," Gordon said.
"Every once in awhile my legs still give me problems," Gordon said, adding that she still has "steel rods, plates and screws" in her left leg.
"When it gets real cold or when I sit for a while in one place and then I get out, it takes a couple of steps to get going."
Gordon didn't need much to get her going in the first two days of testing before a sour engine put the team out of action the morning of the third day.
"We just had a engine problem that cut our day short. But other than that I feel like we've had a pretty successful weekend," Gordon said.
Clocking consistent times, Gordon constantly flirted with top-10 test times, posting an 11th-fastest 178.409 mph Sunday before draft testing started Monday.
At the top of the charts with an unassisted 182.994 mph lap was the Jim Harris-owned No. 59 Dodge truck driven by Steve Grissom, though the truck's seat has yet to be permanently filled for the 2004 season.
Gordon, however, is assured of a season-long seat, having worked out a sponsorship package that enables the 34-year-old to run the Truck Series' full 2004 season. It's expected to be the first time a female has run a full season in one of NASCAR's top-three divisions.
"I've not had the time to run a full season in a series until this year, so I'm really looking forward to it."