AUTO CLUB 500 NOTEBOOK: ROBBY GORDON IN AT INDIANAPOLIS.Byline: Louis Brewster Staff Writer FONTANA - Robby Gordon Robby Gordon (born in Bellflower, California, on January 2, 1969) is an American racing driver who currently competes in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, owning his #7 Ford Fusion, sponsored by Jim Beam, and also owning his #55 Verizon Wireless/Motorola ride which competes part-time , much to his delight, will be a very busy driver on May 25. Prior to qualifying for Sunday's Auto Club California 500 Friday at California Speedway The California Speedway is a two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California, similar to that of "sister track" Michigan International Speedway. It is located approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles on the site of the former Kaiser Steel mill. , Gordon announced he will replace Dario Franchitti Dario Franchitti (b. 19 May, 1973 in Bathgate, West Lothian) is a Scottish racing driver of Italian descent. He is the 2007 IndyCar Series champion. He used to compete in the IndyCar Series, formerly drove in the CART series, and won the rain-shortened 2007 Indianapolis 500. at the Indianapolis 500. Later in the day, he will run the Cola-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway) is a speedway in Concord, North Carolina, north of Charlotte. It features a 1.5 mile long quad-oval track that seats 167,000 people, with room for 50,000 more spectators in the infield. in Concord, N.C. Gordon has started eight Indianapolis 500 races, including last year when he completed the ``Memorial Day double,`` finishing eighth in the open-wheel race and 16th at the NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Winston Cup race. Weather problems prevented him from the double on two previous occasions. ``I'm thrilled to have the chance to attempt one of the ultimate racing challenges again this year, and hopefully win both races,`` said Gordon, who drives the Cingular Chevrolet owned by Richard Childress Richard Childress (born September 21, 1945 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is a former NASCAR driver and successful team owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR) in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup competition. . ``I certainly haven't given up on the goal of winning both and 2003 will be my year to do it. ``Running in an Andretti Green prepared-car will no doubt give me a good shot at having one win down and one to go.`` Gordon said a representative of team owner Michael Andretti Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is an American retired CART and Formula One driver with Italian heritage. He now co-owns the Andretti Green Racing team in the Indy Racing League. approached him soon after Franchitti injured his back in a motorcycle accident in Scotland. Gordon, who has five top 10 finishes ay Indy, said he also had talks with car owners Derrick Walker and Roger Penske before agreeing with Andretti. In addition to Gordon and Andretti, Tony Kannan and Dan Wheldon will also attempt to qualify for the race. Fontana Gifts: Three drivers, including defending California 500 champion Jimmy Johnson, will leave with specials gifts from the Speedway. Johnson was inducted into the Walk of Fame Friday morning and received a wakeboard. The track traditionally presents the winner of its major races with a personal gift after leaving a handprint hand·print n. An outline or indentation left by a hand. in cement. On Sunday, Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott will be presented with personalized belt buckets commemorating their first Winston Cup victory 20 years ago at Riverside International Raceway. Leader bonus: Matt Kenseth has tasted victory at Fontana, winning two Busch Series races. However, if he should take the checkered flag Sunday in the Auto Club California 500, he'll collect a cool $100,000 for the Winston Cup Leader Bonus. The leader bonus, given at a rate of $10,000 per race, is given to a driver who wins the race and either maintains or takes the points lead. Kenseth is 51 points ahead of Dale Earnhardt and 139 in front of Jeff Gordon, the only other driver with a mathematical chance at the top spot. Headed north: Kevin Harvick spent part of the day Thursday testing a late model stock car that he will drive tonight at Mesa Marin Raceway Mesa Marin Raceway was a high banked half mile racetrack in Bakersfield, California that was demolished following the 2005 racing season to make way for housing developments in the foothills of northeast Bakersfield. for Gary and Marion Collins.Harvick plans to run the Busch CaliforniaSpeedway.com 300 and then fly to Bakersfield for the night race along with Ron Hornaday. Harvick won the event in 2002, coming from the back of the pack. ``I'm very excited about the race,`` said Hornaday. ``The whole reason Kevin and I are doing this is to say thank you to everyone at the track that helped us along the way. When we were starting out, this was our Daytona.'' |
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