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Rally World? Maybe in the future Posted: Wednesday April 30, 2003 1:16 PM
I read in Rally XL magazine that you were offered a tryout for the Ford World Rally Championship team. You declined it, Rally XL said. Why? Is this something you plan to pursue if there are WRC events started in the US in the future? It wasn't that I really declined their offer. They wanted me to test and, at that time, I was preparing to take my Indy Car team to NASCAR in the 2000 season and didn't have time. I haven't been offered anything else since then and with my schedule with the Cingular Wireless car, I don't think I'd be able to do it. But I'd love to go testing later in my career. I don't think the country where World Rally cars race has anything to do with it. I think that the World Rally is a really cool series and looks like a ton of fun. Hopefully, one day I will get to participate in it in some shape or form when I have more time.
Are you going to run any more special paint schemes this year? Definitely. We're running a special bright orange "reverse" paint scheme on the Cingular Wireless Chevrolet this weekend at Richmond and at all the night races this year. We're also planning on running a couple of additional cool paint schemes this year that we're not ready to announce but hopefully can tell you about soon.
Robby, what would be a bigger win for you -- the Indy 500 or the Daytona 500? At this point in my career, I've chosen to drive the Cingular car in the Winston Cup Series, so winning the Daytona 500 would be the biggest accomplishment for my career. But that doesn't discount Indianapolis 500 because they're both special and different in their own ways. I look at the Daytona 500 completely differently than the Indy 500. I grew up around watching the Indianapolis 500 and dreaming of entering it and hopefully winning it. I'd like to win the Indy 500 probably for more historical reasons but the Daytona 500 would be great for my career in NASCAR.
I read in a previous response that you and the team are still looking for that magic in the Cup series. It seems as if none of the Childress teams have the magic they have worked so hard to find (in terms of wins; you and Kevin [Harvick] are not doing all that bad in points). I realize that all three teams want to work together to bring success to the Childress organization but how stiff is the competition between Kevin, Jeff [Green] and yourself to get the first win of the season? Or are the three of you and your teams working together all for one and one for all? Also, would you run second to help secure a teammates win? The only competition between Jeff, Kevin and me to get the first win of the year is that all of us want to win every week and would be very happy to see each other win if we weren't in a position to bring home the checkered flag ourselves that day. We really are all working together to hopefully bring Richard Childress Racing back to a consistently competitive status. We'd all love to have that first win, not because it means we beat each other, but because it meant we won the race. I'd only run second to help a teammate if I could not safely and cleanly beat that teammate myself. I'd never just give them the win. While they're my teammates, I race them hard, as well. That's what we all do because it helps make all of us better drivers.
If you were the driver that went below the yellow line at Talladega, would you have treated the same as Dale Jr.? Honest response, please. At risk of getting in a lot of trouble, I think the circumstances would have been different if you'd seen the Cingular Wireless Chevy go below that yellow line. 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. Throughout the 2003 Winston Cup season, Gordon will answer questions from SI.com users in a weekly Mailbag. Enter your question below, and Robby will answer selected questions in the coming weeks.
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