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Up in the air Better finish, but still no peace of mind for Gordon
Updated: Monday March 19, 2001 12:02 PM
By Stephen Thomas, CNNSI.com DARLINGTON, S.C. -- As Robby Gordon and his No. 4 car finished the last of their three parade laps and prepared for the green flag, one of Gordon's crew members radioed him a final bit of encouragement. "Be patient, Robby, let's just race this race track for awhile." Good advice, to be sure, especially before a race at a track like Darlington and especially for a driver like Gordon. And if both the 32-year-old and his career would assuredly benefit from just such character development, patience is precisely what the notoriously impatient Gordon can least afford to cultivate. If Busch Grand National driver Kevin Lepage's statement to a radio reporter before Saturday's race -- that it was simply a matter of when, not if he would be driving the No. 4 -- wasn't bad enough, there were the countless rumors swirling through the garage that Gordon was driving for his job Sunday.
Remarkably, it's possible that Gordon's 29th -- he started 38th and has finished no higher than 20th this year -- might at least have bought him some time. How much is the question. Team owner Larry McClure seemed to send a conflicting message after the race, telling a reporter that the team would likely issue a statement mid-week; the implication was that the pending statement would address Gordon's status with the team. But when pressed as to whether or not Gordon's race Sunday had helped alleviate any of the team's concerns, McClure simply said "It's never been a performance issue. I thought he drove a good race," he continued. "I thought he learned a lot. If it hadn't been for some stripped lug nuts [that caused Gordon to lose four laps early], I thought he could've run on the lead lap all day." For his part, Gordon was pleased. "We were as good as anybody out there all day," Gordon said after he pulled himself out of the dented and donutted No. 4. "We had some stripped lugs that caused us to lose four laps, but we had a really good car. It's nice to know that I can run with these guys. We have a lot of work to do, but it'll be interesting to see how the next few weeks go." The only question is, will Gordon be given the luxury of time to find out just how interesting those weeks might be?
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