CHAT ROOM: Tina Gordon, NASCAR truck driver
06-07-03


http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/sports/6027891.htm




SPORTS FIGURES SOUND OFF ON VARIOUS TOPICS
By Len Hayward
Star-Telegram Staff Writer



Tina Gordon went from selling insurance to racing in one of NASCAR's premier series in a little more than years.
Gordon, a native of northern Alabama, won a powder-puff race in 1995 at a small dirt track in Gadsden, Ala., sold her insurance agency and started a full-time career in racing. She has raced in the NASCAR All Pro Series and also in ARCA.
This season, she is driving a truck for Brevak Racing and is 18th in the truck series standings, but the team is still searching for a primary sponsor to make it the rest of the season.
Gordon's goals include running Winston Cup and becoming a member of the famed "Alabama Gang."
Why racing? I love it. You know, it's strange how all of this came about because it's not your normal story where you grew up in a racing family and had been in racing since you were 6 years old. Once I started doing it, it became a part of me. I wouldn't know what to do with myself now if I wasn't racing. That's strange to say. It hasn't really been that long, considering a lot of people have done it all their lives.
Do you have any racing heroes? Being from Alabama, I'd have to say the Allisons. I like Richard Petty, as far as the old-timers. But, of course, the Allisons. I would love to be considered one of the "Alabama Gang" someday.
Why is obtaining sponsorship so difficult? A lot of people try to throw it over being that a girl can't get the money to run on. There are a lot of guys out there that can't get the money to run on. I'm talking there about a lot of great drivers and a lot of great teams. Look at Roush Racing right now. They have two trucks that are unsponsored, and you are talking about Jack Roush. It really doesn't have anything to do with the gender. If anything, being a female probably opens up more doors because it's different. I don't really think of it that way, but I'm sure people look at it that way.
Are you often asked if you are related to Jeff Gordon or Robby Gordon? That's the first question that is asked me all the time. Are you kin to Jeff Gordon? Are you kin to Robby Gordon? Which is no.
What do you think of the Aaron's Dream Team that Shawna Robinson will drive for this weekend? I think it's great. I wish them the best. I think it's going to be tough for any new team coming in like that, and that's with anybody. It doesn't have anything to do with them being all girls.