Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 - Tina Gordon Notes

Tina Gordon Notes, Quotes: Bashas’ Supermarkets 200
‘Giving Back to West Coast Fans’

This weekend Tina Gordon and the #39 Yahoo! Ford team head to the one-mile Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway for Saturday’s Bashas’ Supermarkets 200. It is the first of the final three races left on the NASCAR Busch Series schedule.

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 Phoenix:

“We’re excited about going out to Phoenix. It’s a big race for all three series. It’s a big market with a lot of fans. It’s important for us to race there – it’s important for our sponsors to race there. This team has a lot of great supporters and sponsors. Microtel Inn and Suites, Vasarette, and Yahoo! really do a lot to help us move forward. We need to do our part by giving back to them. I think NASCAR racing in big and growing markets adds to that.

“The more we can reach out to the fans the better. This sport has always had a lot of supporters in the southeast. People there grew up on it. Racing is just as much a part of their lives as football or baseball. A casual sports fan in the south is more likely to know a little bit about NASCAR. I don’t know if we have always been able to say that with the fans out west.

“Our sport had to expand and grow. A big part of that was moving more and more races to tracks like California and Phoenix. I think know sports fans in the west are starting to really catch on to what NASCAR racing is all about. They know the drivers, they know the cars, and they support our sponsors. That’s a big deal for everyone.

“Everyone knows how brand loyal are fans are. I think it started with fans in the southeast. They knew all the drivers and the cars and who sponsored them. They related to the sport and supported it by buying the products of their favorite driver. It just became the status quo after a while, and it really has become the staple of our sport. Naturally, when we started racing out west, the fans just became just as much about supporting our sponsors as the fans back in the east. It’s a unique, but very successful relationship we have with our fans.

“Race fans have always been on a first-name basis with the drivers – Richard or Cale or David or Junior or whoever. And you know the car by the number sometimes – the 39 car – but a lot of times by the sponsor. . . as in ‘I’m pulling for the Yahoo! car,’ or something along those lines.

“That’s why I’m excited to get to Phoenix. I’m excited to see the fans out there, but I’m really excited about showing off Yahoo!, Microtel Inn and Suites, and Vasarette. We have great companies that are supporting us, and I think my fans can really enjoy them. It’s how we relate when we aren’t racing at their home track. They can buy the lingerie, visit the website, and stay in Microtel Inn and Suites - knowing that they are helping us race each weekend. We are looking forward to giving back this weekend with a good showing. It’s the way we get to say ‘thanks’ to all our fans.”