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Robby Gordon & David Gilliland Weekend Recaps
Charlotte, N.C. (September 14, 2009) – While Robby Gordon raced in SCORE Terrible‘s Primm 300 off-road race in Primm, NV, David Gilliland wheeled the No. 7 Jim Beam Camry around Richmond International Raceway. It was a successful weekend for both Robby Gordon Motorsports entries – Gilliland finished 24th in the Chevy Rock and Roll 400, and Gordon won the Primm 300, advancing his lead of the 2009 SCORE Off-Road Trophy Truck Championship points.
At the Richmond International Raceway, both practice sessions were held during the day on Friday. With the race beginning in the evening and under different track conditions, only qualifying offered drivers a chance to complete circuits around the track in the early evening. The Jim Beam team spent most of Friday’s practice sessions adjusting the handling of the No. 7 Jim Beam Camry to suit Gilliland’s driving style around the 0.75-mile oval and adjusting the setup for the challenges of night racing.
Rain drenched the Richmond International Raceway about an hour before the green flag was supposed to drop. In a slightly delayed race, the race went green around 8:15 p.m., and the changed track conditions immediately posed increased handling challenges for teams. By Lap 23, Gilliland called in to the Jim Beam crew to report a tight handling condition throughout the center of the turns that was slowing his lap times.
The team used each pit stop as an opportunity to improve the handling of the No. 7 Jim Beam Camry. However, despite their efforts the handling continued to be tight around the center of the turns. As the race progressed, the entry and exit of the turns also suffered as the car developed a loose condition during both maneuvers. Crew chief, Kirk Almquist, called for a variety of changes throughout the evening to help the handling including air pressure alterations, chassis adjustments and spring rubbers, but the car never seemed to exactly fit Gilliland’s driving style.
The Robby Gordon Motorsports team had quite a bit of luck on their side, as they were the recipient of the Lucky Dog award on two separate occasions. Just prior to the Lap 172 caution period, Gilliland raced the leader for nearly five laps before succumbing to be scored a lap down. When the caution flag flew just one lap later, Gilliland was able to return to the lead lap of competition where he remained until another long green flag run. In a similar situation, Gilliland benefited from the free pass rule during the Lap 278 caution by beating Casey Mears for the Lucky Dog. By the time the checkered flag fell, Gilliland had worked his into the 24th position, lead-lap finish.
At the same time, Gordon was working on winning the Primm 300. Gordon rolled off fifth for the 69-mile race and quickly worked his way into the lead, where he stayed for most of the race. When the dust settled and the time adjustments had been made, Gordon was declared the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck winner on Sunday, edging Rob MacCachren for the victory by just one minute, two seconds for the 14th Annual SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300 desert race. This win is his ninth career SCORE Trophy Truck victory and his second at this race. Gordon’s adjusted time in his No. 77 Monster Energy / Toyo Tires Trophy Truck was 4 hours, 49 minutes and 18 seconds, which averaged 57.24 miles per hour over the 69-mile rugged race course.
This weekend, driver Robby Gordon will return to the wheel of the No. 7 Sylvania Camry at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Sylvania 300. The first Race for the Chase will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, September 20. PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will carry a live radio broadcast of the event also beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST. Qualifying for the race will be broadcast on SPEED beginning at 3:00 p.m. EST on Friday, September 18.
At the Richmond International Raceway, both practice sessions were held during the day on Friday. With the race beginning in the evening and under different track conditions, only qualifying offered drivers a chance to complete circuits around the track in the early evening. The Jim Beam team spent most of Friday’s practice sessions adjusting the handling of the No. 7 Jim Beam Camry to suit Gilliland’s driving style around the 0.75-mile oval and adjusting the setup for the challenges of night racing.
Rain drenched the Richmond International Raceway about an hour before the green flag was supposed to drop. In a slightly delayed race, the race went green around 8:15 p.m., and the changed track conditions immediately posed increased handling challenges for teams. By Lap 23, Gilliland called in to the Jim Beam crew to report a tight handling condition throughout the center of the turns that was slowing his lap times.
The team used each pit stop as an opportunity to improve the handling of the No. 7 Jim Beam Camry. However, despite their efforts the handling continued to be tight around the center of the turns. As the race progressed, the entry and exit of the turns also suffered as the car developed a loose condition during both maneuvers. Crew chief, Kirk Almquist, called for a variety of changes throughout the evening to help the handling including air pressure alterations, chassis adjustments and spring rubbers, but the car never seemed to exactly fit Gilliland’s driving style.
The Robby Gordon Motorsports team had quite a bit of luck on their side, as they were the recipient of the Lucky Dog award on two separate occasions. Just prior to the Lap 172 caution period, Gilliland raced the leader for nearly five laps before succumbing to be scored a lap down. When the caution flag flew just one lap later, Gilliland was able to return to the lead lap of competition where he remained until another long green flag run. In a similar situation, Gilliland benefited from the free pass rule during the Lap 278 caution by beating Casey Mears for the Lucky Dog. By the time the checkered flag fell, Gilliland had worked his into the 24th position, lead-lap finish.
At the same time, Gordon was working on winning the Primm 300. Gordon rolled off fifth for the 69-mile race and quickly worked his way into the lead, where he stayed for most of the race. When the dust settled and the time adjustments had been made, Gordon was declared the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck winner on Sunday, edging Rob MacCachren for the victory by just one minute, two seconds for the 14th Annual SCORE Terrible’s Primm 300 desert race. This win is his ninth career SCORE Trophy Truck victory and his second at this race. Gordon’s adjusted time in his No. 77 Monster Energy / Toyo Tires Trophy Truck was 4 hours, 49 minutes and 18 seconds, which averaged 57.24 miles per hour over the 69-mile rugged race course.
This weekend, driver Robby Gordon will return to the wheel of the No. 7 Sylvania Camry at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Sylvania 300. The first Race for the Chase will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, September 20. PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will carry a live radio broadcast of the event also beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST. Qualifying for the race will be broadcast on SPEED beginning at 3:00 p.m. EST on Friday, September 18.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rob Hoban on
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Not to bash David or anything, but what feedback could he provide? His basis of comparisson is the 71 car that has not been ultra competitive this year and the Yates car he drove last year. The only valuable feedback I would hope for would be from Bob or Kirk to let Robby know how David reacted to specific situations. This would be helpful for future fill in duties. Yes, he was a multiple time winner of the Lucky Dog, but he kept the car in one piece and brought home a 24th place finish not to mention some good TV time for Jim Beam.
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Permalink Reply by Matt on
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Comparison to the 71 team, which has a fraction of the budget of RGM, has maybe 7 full time employees, and has on many weekends been a good bit faster than the #7 car. (When its not a start and park)
It is a mistake to think that nothing can be learned from the small guys, especially when that small guy has a technology agreement with RCR...
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Permalink Reply by Coltranefan on
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Yes I think at some race teams the driver simply offers his observations for what the car is or is not doing and then (again as I understand it) the crew chief then decides what changes and or adjustments to make to the car. Not sure how well this system works at other teams but maybe it pays dividends for some teams (just saying)...
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Permalink Reply by vak7 on
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Interesting concept... but curious as to how many of those CCs are as smart as Robby. We second guess him in the car making all the calls, wearing both hats. I just wonder how the team would perform if he were sitting on the pit box and calling shots for someone else behind the wheel. Don't get me wrong. I don't want him to get out of the seat. Watching him drive is the only thing that makes nascar interesting. But it would be an interesting experiment at a nationwide event or something else that didn't count. I'm thinking he might well be the best crew chief in the garage. Those guys that let their CC make the calls aren't qualified to do so themself.
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Key words here "...for another team." Hard to call the shots when someone else is at the helm.
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One thing we do know is that the owner wasn't driving the car and sitting on the pit box.
How did he finish? Just curious.
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So it didn't really matter. We're right back where we've been all along! But it was an interesting thought.
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Permalink Reply by shawn rhinehart on
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He would fire his driver half way into the race
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