Emerson Radio 250 - Tina Gordon Notes

Tina Gordon Notes, Quotes: Emerson Radio 250
‘Another Learning Curve’

This weekend Tina Gordon and the #39 Yahoo! Ford team stop at the .750-mile Richmond (Va.) International Raceway for Friday night’s Funai 250.

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 Richmond:

“I’ve raced Richmond with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but this will be my first time there in a Busch car. I don’t have a lot of laps of Richmond, but enough to know that Richmond is a unique and different track. It’s a short track with a lot of speedway characteristics. It’s extremely fast for a three-quarter mile track. The turns are fast, and we carry a lot of speed on the straights. It’s an exciting track.

“You can’t just go into Richmond thinking you can compare it to any another place. Richmond is so unique. It stands alone. That’s good. Richmond makes racing a lot of fun. The other tracks we visit are great, but Richmond isn’t just another ‘cookie-cutter’ track. As a driver, especially a rookie like I am, you learn so many different things throughout a weekend about a track. Most of the time, you can take what you learn and apply it to the next place you race, but not Richmond. Everything I know about driving a Busch car really doesn’t apply at Richmond.

“It’s a demanding track. You’re braking hard, getting back on the gas early and turning aggressively. It’s a tough track and we really just don’t race on another track like that. You can be great at a place like Michigan, California, or even a Charlotte or an Atlanta, but that doesn’t guarantee you anything at Richmond.

“It’s going to be another learning experience for me, but that’s what this year is all about. If you want to be a champion you have to be able to adapt to every type of track - including Richmond. You just can’t win at the mile-and-a-half tracks and forget about all the rest. You have to be good at all of them, including the short tracks.

“I’m excited for this weekend. I just want to learn as much as I can about Richmond and move forward from here. I’ve learned so much in a short period of time, but I know that there is still more to learn. Richmond is just the next learning curve.”