Double trouble

R. Gordon eyeing Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in 2004

Robby, congratulations on winning your third Winston Cup event. I am really proud of the way you have moved up the ranks this year. Question: Do you think you will eventually consider moving back into open-wheel, IRL style racing in the future? Do you believe you are still the one to beat each year at Indy?

--Randy Wingert

I don't know. Probably not as a driver, not the way my Winston Cup career is going at the current time. However, you really never know. Stranger things have happened. I am going to do the double again next year, running both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. I am planning to run Indy as a driver and owner.

Robby, is there any chance you would be racing in Iowa this summer? I know you like to race just about anything anywhere. Also, you have become a favorite driver of my nine year-old son, Scott. He is autistic, so it is always great when he gets interested in something. He especially liked your coin toss with Wally. Good luck in the points race!

--Maureen O'Hara

Currently, I do not have any plans, but you are right. I do like to race anywhere I can and I will often jump at the chance to race anytime an opportunity comes along. That is as long as it doesn't interfere with my Winston Cup commitments and career.

Robby is there any chance of you will be making any trips to Glamis with your truck? It's awesome to watch you jump your truck like that and would you ever let someone who is just a huge fan ride with you while you jumped your truck?

--Jeff Payne La Verne

I will be racing there Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. As far as riding along, for safety reasons it is probably not a good idea, but everything is always negotiable.

After your recent win at The Glen, you said you may not have had the best car. I can see that track strategy, driving skill and a little racing luck can make a big difference on a road course, but how about the high speed oval tracks? Do you have to have the best car to win on the ovals?

--Ken Gaffney

Ninety percent of the time, the best car does not win the race because the race is not about the race car. It is about the driver, the team, the strategy and areas like that. The team that performs the best and that has the better strategy than its competitors is usually the winner at the end of the day. It is bit of a game of chess.

Hey Robby, what is your favorite color? And what is your teammate, Steve [Park], like?

--Trisha

Orange is good and it's one of the colors on the Cingular Wireless Chevrolet. As for Steve, I haven't had a chance to really hang out with him yet. We are all so busy at the track and away from the track. But I do know he is a really nice guy and I was glad to see him and all the AOL guys have a great finish Sunday at MIS.

When you do wind tunnel testing, do you ever test the car with the nose or corners dented?

--Bill

Sometimes NASCAR will take a car after a race that has a dent in it. But that would not be to a team's advantage to test like that because a car has to fit to a template to get onto the race track to race.

Robby Gordon drives the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Before arriving in NASCAR's top division, Gordon enjoyed success in the CART Series and off-road racing.