Robby Not Jeff

Robby Gordon is a man of ambition. His raw talent, openly expressed throughout his career, is one of the greatest and most sought after qualities in the motorsports industry. Robby Gordon applies himself completely to his career path with an uncommon integrity that makes its impact all the more thrilling.

Robby is often called the modern-day Mario Andretti or A.J. Foyt. He can and has driven virtually every type of racing vehicle on four wheels – a throwback to the days when racing was a passion rather than a business. He was discovered in the deserts of Baja, Mexico by Ford Racing executives at the same time he was running off five consecutive off-road championships (1986-1990). Ford later introduced the teenager to Jack Roush and the IMSA GTO series (four consecutive class wins in the famed Rolex 24 At Daytona), and he would eventually drive for such legendary owners as Foyt, Derrick Walker, Chip Ganassi, Michael Andretti, Richard Childress and others in Indy Cars, cup, off-road trucks and sports cars. Not known for following a standard career path, Robby has climbed the ladder his way and on his terms. Today, he has reached the highest possible competitive level in motorsports and is having fun along the way.

Robby Gordon is at home racing in the deserts as he is on NASACAR's pavement.

With career accomplishments dating back to 1985, Robby made an impressive mark in the SCORE/HDRA by winning the championship title four consecutive years in a row. The year 1989 featured Robby winning the Baja 1000 in his first solo drive, four off-road truck victories for Veneble racing, and capturing his first championship for the Ford factory team. Robby enjoyed a diverse array of accomplishments in the 1990s; celebrating his first pole position in his first ARCA event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, winning in the IMSA GTO Series and the 24 Hours of Daytona, and his first cup Winston Cup debut in the prestigious Daytona 500. Early 2000 brought Robby into the cup Winston Cup Series in a team he co-owned which eventually landed him the opportunity of a lifetime with Richard Childress Racing. Even more impressive than his early accomplishments was his ability to team with cup Owner Richard Childress to deliver career best finishes at a record pace. The team confirmed their ability to shine while Robby showed a new maturity and heightened confidence level when he captured his first cup career win in New Hampshire.

Robby Gordon remains secure with his alternative style and drive to become a cup champion and gain mutual respect from his competitors. His instinctive driving ability and passionate energy has gained him both massive popularity and admiration with motorsports enthusiasts. In the process of moving forward in the competitive industry, he has become aware of challenges and the joys of overcoming them. He doesn’t feel like a superstar, just someone who is successful, happy and having fun. But, does Robby desire to be on the cover of every motorsports publication – absolutely!

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In 2005, Gordon continued to build on his reputation as a driver with unlimited boundaries by becoming the first American in the history of the Dakar Rally (a 16-day 5,700-mile race from Barcelona, Spain to Dakar, Senegal) to win a daily stage. Gordon would complete his inaugural Dakar Rally with two stage victories and an overall 12th place finish in a field of more than 460 cars, motorcycles and trucks.

Based in Charlotte North Carolina, Robby Gordon Motorsports is home to the No. 7 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. With sponsorship for Menards, Jim Beam and Harrah's. The program will utilize motors from Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. The racecars will continue to be developed in-house at Robby Gordon Motorsports.

Gordon Has Been Fairly Successful

Robby Gordon aligned his race team with Gillett Evernham Motorports in a partnership that will give the owner/driver the technical, manufacturing and marketing support his single-car operation has lacked. As part of the agreement, Gordon will field Dodges instead of Fords this season. Gordon will also use GEM-produced engines.

Ford has been very good to me, and this move is not a reflection on our relationship at all. Ford was planning on supporting me, and even increasing its engineering support for my program in 2008. However, I felt that I needed to make this move to help put my team in a more stable financial situation in terms of marketing and sponsorship help.

Gordon took a severe financial hit when the Dakar Rally was canceled due to terrorism threats. He estimated his losses at approximately $4.5 million and was furious organizers didn't run at least a portion of the 16-day race. Gordon built two cars for the event, and invested more than $1 million into each of them. He said following the cancellation of the event that it would take a considerable amount of time for Robby Gordon Motorsports to recover from the setback.

As the only owner and driver of a single-car team, Gordon has been fairly successful while also managing to grow his organization. He switched from Chevrolet to Ford before the start of the 2007 season so he could climb higher on the priority list with a manufacturer, and his 28th-place finish in the points was the highest among all single-car teams.

Doug Hervey, manager of Ford Racing Technology's North American operations, said, "Robby made a difficult decision to do what he thought was necessary to financially support and stabilize his race team. We were fully prepared to continue our commitment with him this year, and had plans to increase our level of engineering support, before he told us of this decision to partner up with Gillett Evernham Motorsports," Hervey added. "As a manufacturer, we're disappointed to be losing him and his team, but understand the difficulties of running a one-car team in the sport today."

Gordon will now be a satellite of GEM, which was formed by three-time championship winning crew chief Ray Evernham. He sold majority ownership of the team last year to Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr., and the organization has since added heavy sponsor support in an attempt to grow globally.

The Dakar & The Baja

The Dakar is a race, the toughest rally in the World: over two weeks of hard work and thousands of kilometres over various tracks. Each year since 1979, crews including men and women, enjoy an intense rivalry in the middle of the desert. The final result always rewards an incredible winner. Indeed, more than elsewhere, success on a Dakar comes from a synthesis between performance, determination and regularity.

Beyond the borders of victory, the real essence of a Dakar is the challenge. A competitor battles both with the others but also with himself, in a context where humility is just as important as going beyond oneself. With objectives that match their capabilities, the candidates in this adventure have in common this search for balance.

On 26 December 1978, the Place du Trocadéro witnessed the first send-off of the Paris-Dakar rally. One hundred-seventy competitors had to cross 10,000 kilometers on the pistes of Algeria, Niger, Mali, Upper Volta and Senegal. The most newsworthy race of the late century was on! What made it unique was one particular characteristic: the contrast between a civilization and traditional villages with dried mud huts and the modern world.

The first car team was that of Genestier, Terbiaut and Lemordant (Range Rover), which finished in fourth place. But for this initial experience, finish times and rankings did not matter much. Self-discovery, adventure and exceeding one's own limitations were the essence of the event.

This first Dakar was a huge success. Its impact, both in terms of the majesty of the revealed landscapes and the originality of the route, resonated. The rally definitively changed the lives of every competitor. The most daunting off-road rally of all time was born.

The launch of the Dakar rally met with immediate, strong success and spawned true fascination among competitors and makers alike. Beginning in 1980, the biggest names in the industry, such as Yamaha, Volkswagen, Lada and BMW, each hired a team. Furthermore, the number of competitors moved up from 170 to 216 in 1980. This edition was also marked by a major first: the inclusion of trucks. The first truck to see its name among the winners was the Sonacome driven by Ataquat, Boukrif and Kaoula.

Baja 1000 is an off road race that takes place on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula during a full moon to aid the racers. The competition was offically started in 1967 (it had previously been the site of informal dirt bike racing), and originally went from Tijuana, Baja California, to La Paz, Baja California Sur. Now it starts from Ensenada, some 40 km to the south. It is usually held the weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated in the United States.

From 1967 to 1973 the race was organized by the National Off Road Racing Association (NORRA); however, in 1974, the government denied NORRA permission to hold the race, and the fuel crisis of 1974 forced the race to be removed from the off-road racing schedule.

In 1975, SCORE International, with sponsorship by Tecate beer, resumed the Baja as a loop course race with the start-finish line in Ensenada, and in 1979, SCORE was able to resume racing on the legendary 1,000 mile course to La Paz, as they have intermittently raced on the 1,000 every three to four years.

In recent years, the race has only been conducted each three or four years, depending on how Southern California Off-Road Enterprises (SCORE) is able to arrange for the venues to be scheduled. In years between the Baja 1000, a shorter race of the same name, usually between 600 and 800 miles, is held, through a loop course which starts and finishes in Ensenada.

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