Robby Gordon - His Own Man

Gordon's back at Indy in 1999. He's coming around Turn 4 again, but this time he's leading America's premier open-wheel race.

He took the lead on Lap 171 when he and team owner John Menard decided not to pit for fuel and run the tank dry in an attempt to win the Indianapolis 500.

"There was only one way we were going to lose this race," Gordon says.

And that's how they did it.

It was on Lap 199-the white flag was waving from the starter's stand-when his engine sputtered, his car again coasted to a stop, and Gordon watched Kenny Brack accelerate away for the win.

"Life's a gamble," he says a week later. "Sure, I would have loved to have won that Indy 500, but we knew that the only way we were going to do that is to gamble. We did. We lost. There are no guarantees in racing."

Gordon has never been timid about rolling the dice.

In the middle of 2004, he told Childress he would be leaving RCR to create his own Nextel Cup operation.

But then reality hit.

Story admits the team may have been overconfident with its initial performance in the Busch Series.

"There were two things we underestimated," he says. "Richard Childress let us hire the Cup pit crew for Busch, so we had phenomenal stops. We'd pick up positions every time we pitted, and we were using RCR engines. Between the pit crew, the engines and Robby's talents, we figured we were set to go to the big time.

"We got into Cup with Jim Beam, which came about for a one-season deal," adds Story. "It was kind of risky for them. As a team, we didn't have any history. All we had to sell them was Robby.

"Then we had what seemed to us like the worst year in NASCAR history. It was an abysmal season. It was like we just couldn't do anything right. But in spite of the results, Jim Beam renewed their contract in October. For us, it gave us a big boost in confidence."

The difference was Gordon.

"Robby went out of his way to keep his sponsors updated on the team and his personal performance," Story says. "When we had a bad day, they knew why, and Robby told them what we were doing to fix it."

Story says that type of relationship comes from having your name on the car . . . and on the door to the business.

Story says he and Gordon are the yin and yang of the successful business mode.

"I'm very, very conservative and really like to think things out over and over," Story says. "Robby makes decisions right away. He's usually right, but he just reacts quicker than most other people."

Robby Gordon was more than a little upset when he and Michael Waltrip connected under a caution flag at New Hampshire International Speedway in 2005.

"I will pay him back. NASCAR, listen. I'm getting him big-time," Gordon said into his radio.

Gordon got out of his car under a caution, walked up the track and waited for Waltrip's Chevrolet to come by.

Then he tossed his helmet at Waltrip, bouncing it off the side of the NAPA Chevy as it coasted by under the caution.

The incident and post-race comments about Waltrip cost Gordon 50 points and $35,000. But he gained some fans who lament the apparent loss of drivers with personality and passion.

The following week, Gordon posted the helmet for sale on eBay, the Internet auction site, with all the money going to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. It sold for $51,100.

It is Saturday afternoon after the final round of practice for this year's Coca Cola 600, and Gordon's car is mired in the back of the pack.

"It's always like that," says Chris Boller, who is under the Chevrolet changing the rearend gear. "He needs a rabbit to chase. We test slow, we qualify slow, and then Robby passes 20 cars in the first 20 laps."

"Robby's got a lot of heart," adds Jason Arden, as he works on the fuel system."I think that's one of the reasons people are attracted to the team. I think everyone here really believes in him."

"It's a good thing," offers Boller. "The hours are awful; the job is really seven days a week. It's definitely not a job for everyone . . . especially if you want to work 9 to 5 and then go home.

"Kerr, Gordon's car chief, says the size of the team and the scope of the work are both a blessing and a curse.

"This is not a factory shop," he says. "We have a lot of very talented people who can do very specialized work, but everyone has to pitch in where they are needed."

That includes Gordon, who is a frequent visitor to the shop.

"The best part of Robby is that he's built cars and knows how things work," Kerr says. "He can sit down on the floor, look at what we are doing and know right away if there's a better way. There isn't a job on the car Robby couldn't do if he wanted to.

"But that," Kerr adds with a smile, "can also be the worst part of working for Robby Gordon."

The shop has the energy of a bunch of buddies building dirt track cars for the local bullring, with everyone hustling and having to work around everyone else.

"It's pretty close quarters," says Arden."It's a good thing everyone gets along, especially given the amount of time we spend together."