Ford 300 - Tina Gordon Notes

Tina Gordon Notes, Quotes: Ford 300
‘First Season with Busch Experience’

This weekend Tina Gordon and the #39 Yahoo! Ford team head to the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway for Saturday’s Ford 300. It will be the last race of the 2004 NASCAR Busch Series. Gordon is completing her first season in the NASCAR Busch Series.

Gordon, 33, is a native of Cedar Bluff, Ala., and driver of the Yahoo!-sponsored Ford fielded by Jay Robinson Racing of Charlotte, N.C. Robinson is the first car owner in major league motorsports to have fielded full-time rides for different female drivers, the other being Tammy Jo Kirk the second half of last season. Gordon comes to the Yahoo! Ford team from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but also brings strong experience credentials from the weekly short tracks of Alabama, the same tracks that spawned racing legends such as Davey Allison, and helped build legends such as Bobby and Donnie Allison, Red Farmer and Neil Bonnett.

Microtel Inn and Suites, which has received the J.D. Power & Associates award for highest guest satisfaction the past two years, and, Vasarette, a top of the line lingerie manufacturer, have joined Jay Robinson Racing as associate sponsors on the #39 Yahoo! Ford.

Jay Robinson Racing, in its fourth season of operation, is one of the fastest-growing teams in NASCAR. Robinson, a Charlotte, N.C., native who is a successful businessman, founded the team as a high-value endeavor that offers high-end equipment and efforts, while proving to be one of the most cost-efficient teams in the sport. Robinson fields two sponsored cars fulltime on the Busch Series: the #39 Yahoo! Ford and the #49 Advil Ford, and runs a third car in many Busch Series events.

The thoughts of Yahoo! Ford driver Tina Gordon heading into Homestead:

“This year has been a great experience. I started the season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and ended it with this #39 Yahoo! Ford team for Jay Robinson Racing. It has been a busy year. The goal when I ended up here with Jay Robinson Racing was to gain as much experience as possible. I felt that this was a good place to continue to grow my racing career. I think, in a short time, we have accomplished a lot.

“I had to learn a lot. I had experience with the Trucks, and was pretty comfortable with them, but you always want to move forward. The Busch Series was the next step and the next level of professional racing. It has been a challenge, sure, but anytime you move up through the ranks you are going to be faced with challenges.

“I think the biggest obstacle was learning the tracks that I never raced on before - some I had never even seen. That was tough, but Jay Robinson Racing is one of the few teams where a rookie driver can come to and be immediately assisted by great veterans. Derrike (Cope) is a winning driver and he has helped me greatly this season. I think this was a unique situation where I was able to learn on my own, but also lean on the experiences of my teammate.

“The rest of the challenges were ones that any rookie driver face - earning respect, getting used to the car, and just making laps. The tracks that I raced on with the Truck Series I was ahead of the curve, but some of the tracks that I hadn’t been to were a bit more challenging. Now, and in the future, I won’t have to jump that hurdle. That’s satisfying and it makes me excited about the future.

“I want to continue to learn and continue to be a better driver. The Busch Series is very competitive and exciting. It’s something that any driver wants to be a part of. I’ve been fortunate enough to have landed here, and it’s where I want to stay and continue to grow. This has been a productive season, but without the help of Jay Robinson Racing, Yahoo! Vasarette and Microtel I wouldn’t be here. I’d like to reward them with a good run this Saturday at Homestead.”