INterview with Robby

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid44929925001?bckey=A...

I hope you enjoy!

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Permalink Reply by BAD on April 5, 2013 at 12:52pm

Thanks for sharing - good vid!

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Permalink Reply by Baja Girl 77 on April 5, 2013 at 7:08pm

No problem

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Permalink Reply by richard berger on April 5, 2013 at 9:05pm

Jeff Ward was my guy back in the day, Ricky and yes show time I liked a lot. Wish I could go but sometimes.............................

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Permalink Reply by Baja Girl 77 on April 5, 2013 at 9:07pm

I want a ride in that thing looks Cool!

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Permalink Reply by Dave Horwath on April 6, 2013 at 11:07am

I thought this was cool for people new to RG or just a fun read for all...
By Michael Knight Special for azcentral sports Thu Apr 4, 2013 11:09 PM

Robby Gordon won the 1995 CART event at Phoenix International Raceway. He’s hoping his new off-road Super Truck series will be a winner when it debuts Saturday night at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Modeled after motorsports’ Hall of Famer Mickey Thompson’s stadium series which was popular in the 1980s, the inaugural race will feature Gordon plus Valley drivers J.J. Yeley and Arie Luyendyk Jr. among the 16 entries.

Thompson is credited with creating the stadium racing concept. He raced off-road events but said he was seen “by nothing but cactus and jackrabbits” and wanted to bring desert-type competition to a wider audience. Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson competed along with off-road legends Ivan “Ironman” Stewart and Walker Evans.

Thompson, who also fielded innovative Indianapolis 500 cars and land-speed-record vehicles, and wife Trudy were murdered in March 1988.

Gordon was the series champion that year.

“I knew Mickey very well,” Gordon said. “He was a close family friend. When we lost Mickey, I was devastated. I thought: ‘What are we going to do now? What is going to happen?’

“The sport’s been gone for about 20 years and I always thought there was a place in the market for a series like this. Where can races be held in places as nice as football stadiums?”

Gordon, who won three NASCAR Cup races and in recent years fielded his own car, has responsibility for most aspects of the 12-event series, which is sanctioned by the U.S. Auto Club. That includes preparing the trucks and venues, such as Chicago’s Soldier Field, Dallas’ Cowboys Stadium and the Los Angeles Coliseum.

The vehicles, which resemble the popular Traxxas Slash model radio-controlled trucks, were built at Gordon’s shop in Charlotte, N.C. Designed specifically to handle dirt, tight corners, crossovers and sideways-style racing, they weigh 3,000 pounds, are only 71 inches wide, with a 104-inch wheel base and front-wheel travel of 18 inches and 24 inches at the rear. The engine is a V-8.

“An Indy Car today is about 600 horsepower,” Gordon said. “We have 625 and it spins the tires at 100 mph. So you have to be very smooth.”

There’s no auto manufacturer identity. “I think it’s, ‘Let’s wait and see how it goes,’ ” Gordon said of potential future factory participation. But he stressed he wanted a situation where drivers who race for specific car companies in other series could compete in Super Trucks without conflict.

Competitors buy franchises and the series essentially provides a turn-key operation. Prize money is $60,000 per event with $500,000 to the champion. Luyendyk, whose father Arie Sr. is a two-time Indy 500 winner and Fountain Hills resident, is partially funding his entry through fan contributions at his arietruck.com website.

The University of Phoenix Stadium course includes seven turns and nine jumps per lap plus a sand pit.

The track consists of 6,000 yards of clay-based dirt — 400 dump-truck loads.

For Gordon, 44, the endeavor represents a full-time return to his racing roots after seasons in NASCAR, sports cars and Indy Cars.

“I’ve always continued to race off-road, like Baja and the Dakar rally,” he said. “It’s the right time. There needs to be a more exciting form of motorsports in this country.”