Diamond Hill Plywood Co. 200 - Robby Gordon Notes

LADY IN BLACK SLIMS DOWN WITH A SAFER DIET

Huntersville, N.C. (March 16, 2004) – The Robby Gordon owned Fruit of the Loom Racing Team sets out to tame Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Busch Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200 this weekend. Gordon, currently seventh in the Series’ points standings, hopes to lead his team to its first victory as he races behind the wheel of the No. 55 Fruit of the Loom Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

The Darlington Raceway will have a whole new look to it this weekend due to the recent addition of SAFTER barriers. This new addition will take about three feet out of the racing groove at a track where cars already come dangerously close to scraping the wall on each lap. These barriers will decrease the chances of serious injury by adding a crush zone to the concrete wall. Due to the construction period, teams have not been allowed to test this year at the already narrow track making each practice session on Friday extremely important.

“The focus this weekend will be on getting grip in the Fruit of the Loom Chevrolet so we can keep from hitting the wall,” said Gordon. “I expect the racing groove will be different from anything we have ever seen at Darlington. There is going to be less track because of the new barriers, but in the end, safety is the most important thing and I commend the track for this decision.”

Crew Chief Bob Temple is looking forward to this weekend and has high hopes for the team’s performance. “Darlington will be the third non-plate race we have run so hopefully we can benefit from what we learned earlier this year,” said Temple. “At Darlington, we are going to use the same car as we did in Vegas. We are very happy with this car so hopefully we’ll see some good results and improve the car throughout the weekend.”

PIT NOTES

- The Diamond Hill Plywood 200 will be Robby Gordon’s seventh career NASCAR Busch Series race

- The Fruit of the Loom Racing Team has already achieved a top-five finish in their inaugural season finishing third at the season opener in Daytona Beach