Race 2 Win: Samsung/Radio Shack 500

Nextel Cup Series

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Samsung/Radio Shack 500 - Robby Gordon Notes

Robby Gordon
Team Cingular
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: Samsung/Radio Shack 500/April 4, 2004
Venue: Texas Motor Speedway

NASCAR Cup Points Position: 24th

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car at Texas Motor Speedway (chassis No. 106) was built in December 2002 and raced as the No. 30 AOL Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the 2003 spring races at Las Vegas and Darlington, and the fall race at Richmond. The car has since been re-configured to meet the 2004 NASCAR regulations.

Gordon will be appearing at the Chevy Thunder in Sundance Square 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Fri., April 2, in downtown Fort Worth.

At Texas Motor Speedway, Gordon also will be competing as a driver and team owner in the NASCAR Busch Series O’Reilly 300 Saturday, April 3, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Team Gordon Fruit of the Loom Chevrolet. The O’Reilly 300 will broadcast live 2 p.m. EDT Sat., April 2, on FOX, PRN and XM Radio.

Qualifying for the O’Reilly 300 is scheduled for 5 p.m. EDT Thurs., April 1.

The Samsung/Radio Shack 500 will be broadcast live 1 p.m. EDT Sunday, April 4, on FOX, PRN and XM Radio. Qualifying for the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 will broadcast live Friday, April 2, starting at 4 p.m. EDT on SPEED, PRN and XM Radio.

ROBBY GORDON QUOTES
Upcoming weekend of racing at Texas Motor Speedway:
“Chris Andrews figured out the magic number is 14 for Team Cingular. If we want to be inside the top 10 this fall, we need to average a 14th-place finish or better during the next 20 races. If we do that, then Team Cingular will be in the chase later this year. However, if we finish outside the top 14 like we did this past weekend in Bristol, then we have to make it up with a stronger finish down the road to average it out. With that said, we are gunning for a top finish in Texas.”

“I can count on one hand how many times I have raced at Texas, but it only takes one time to realize what a fast track it is. They say it’s an intermediate track but I say it is more like a superspeedway. The corners at Texas are pretty narrow and the straightaway is fairly long so it can be a real engine-killer. You definitely have to take care of the motor and not run it into the ground. The throttle will be wide-open a lot, so having a balanced car is definitely key to a good day at Texas.”

Past weekend of racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
“We set a goal to finish 14th or better each race and 19th is almost there, but isn’t where we need to be. When you have to go to the back of the field because you have to change an engine like we did Friday, you pay a price, especially at Bristol. The car just wasn’t on the mark in Bristol, but I can’t complain because it was the same Cingular Wireless Chevrolet that got our momentum going in Atlanta and gave us a spectacular finish in Darlington. Bristol was a scary slick track Sunday. I told the guys if we didn’t make that short stop under green that we made around lap 330, I was going to probably be the reason for the next caution. There were some unusually long green-flag runs at Bristol last weekend, but we managed to work our way back to be the Lucky Dog and finished on the lead lap, which is not always the easiest thing to do at Bristol. Overall, it was a mediocre day of racing for us.”

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