Atlanta: Robby Gordon preview

Robby Gordon
No. 7 Harrah's Chevrolet

Notes:

* Better Luck Ahead? Robby Gordon has been running at the finish in all nine of his races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He his one of two drivers (with more than three starts) to finish all of his races at Atlanta

* Impound -- After Friday's qualifying the cars will be impounded giving the teams a well deserved day off on Saturday

* Pole position -- Gordon got his first NASCAR Cup pole at the Atlanta Motor Speedway (3-7-97)

* Listen up... Got a scanner? Tune it to 469.4500 to hear Robby Gordon Motorsports team communications during the race

* Purple and Gold -- Harrah's returns as the primary sponsor on the car. Jim Beam and Menards will continue as associate sponsors

* Tune in -- The Golden Corral 500 can be seen live on FOX Sunday, March 20th at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and can be heard live on MRN and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying is set for Saturday March 18th at 7:10p.m. EST p.m. and will be broadcast live on FX and MRN and XM Satellite Radio

Robby Gordon on the engine program

"At this point, we're starting to live by the old racer's line 'I order to finish first, you must first finish.' Having the engine failures that we are is beyond frustrating, and that goes for everyone involved. Every week we think we diagnose the problem, but so far we obviously haven't. If there is any good news in all of this, it would be that our engine failures are consistently coming from the same spot in the engine. If the problems were different every week, we would be really lost, but if the engine shop can continue to chase the problem in one spot, they will eventually get it. The guys from Menards have recruited some expert help in the area of our issues, and while I am frustrated, I also remain confident that when things start going right, we will be in the best possible situation.

Robby Gordon on the next couple of weeks

"The next few weeks are going to be critical for our new program. Atlanta is tough on an engine, so we're going to have to get things right this weekend if we want to be around for the finish. Then getting a weekend off for Easter couldn't come at a better time for everyone. Not only will it give the engine department another week to get caught up, but it will also allow our guys two weeks to see their families and work at a relatively normal pace. After a three-week swing in California, Mexico City and Las Vegas, the road guys really need some time to regroup. Then we run a couple of short tracks (Bristol and Martinsville), and that should take a little pressure off the engine guys also and allow them to get the big horsepower stuff back on track for Texas and beyond."

-rgm-