Cedar Bluff’s Tina Gordon will make her debut with the Jay Robinson Racing #39 Yahoo! Ford team in Friday night’s Winn-Dixie 250 NASCAR Busch Series race at Daytona International Speedway. The race is a first in a new deal that will have Gordon in the driver’s seat for the rest of the Busch Series season. Jay Robinson Racing will be the first team in NASCAR history to have placed two female drivers in full-time driving roles. Tammy Jo Kirk was in a full-time driving role for Robinson 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.
Gordon competed in three Busch Series races over the past three years, two at Talladega and one at Darlington. “The tradition of racing in Alabama is important to me, and I want to help carry on that heritage,” said Gordon. “Being able to work with a consistent team such as Jay Robinson Racing and a cutting-edge sponsor like Yahoo! is important to my career and to my development as a driver.” “We’re excited to bring someone with Tina Gordon’s potential to our race team,” said team owner Jay Robinson. “Besides her obvious future as a driver, she is a great fit for the team and for our sponsors. This will also give us some continuity with a driver for the Yahoo! team, which should help us on the track as well.” Microtel Inn and Suites and Vasarette will join Jay Robinson Racing as associate sponsors on the #39 Yahoo! Ford. In its fourth season of operation, Jay Robinson Racing is one of the fastest-growing teams in NASCAR. Robinson, a Charlotte, N.C., native, 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.
