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Permalink Reply by Walt Pendleton on March 31, 2009 at 11:40am

When I am at the Phoenix race, I will get photos and interview pit crew members. I only have limited access to pit road. Baja Bill still has some of the pit crew from San Felipe on his blog that he has not posted yet.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Meyer on March 31, 2009 at 11:42am

I saw what he did post and found it very interesting and informative.. kinda like a mini-bio. Cool stuff.

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Permalink Reply by All-American Girl 2 on March 31, 2009 at 12:49pm

The catch-can man is our step-dad, Randy. He has been with RG since his Indycar days. He also drives the transporter to the races. RG took him to Dakar this year and had him drive one of the MAN support vehicles.

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Permalink Reply by Keith on March 31, 2009 at 12:58pm

Kool...!

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Permalink Reply by TOG on March 31, 2009 at 12:59pm

I still love that picture of Randy with the old-school Team Gordon shirt, and the straw hat.

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Permalink Reply by All-American Girl 2 on March 31, 2009 at 1:41pm

omg...that is funny!

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Permalink Reply by TOG on March 31, 2009 at 1:43pm

ask him if he still has that shirt.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Meyer on April 7, 2009 at 3:11pm

From "Baja Bill's" blog post.. liked this so much I had to put it in here. Can't wait for more.......

While down at the San Felipe 250, we had the chance to hang out with Team Gordon to find out what makes them so unique in such a demanding industry.

The following interviews were conducted candidly and in private the day before the race. What struck me about all the the off-road and NASCAR crew members was their attention to detail, structure and attitude. The team, as I saw it in San Felipe, had two basic age groups: 23 to 30, and then 50 to 60 years old.

Each team member was polite and did not know they were going to be interviewed. In light of the fact that it's getting late here in Baja, let me just introduce you to a couple the guys we caught up with:




Meet fellow “Planet” member Will Higman!

Will is a 46 year old desert racing veteran who lives in Orange County and is in the lumber business.

In 1981, Will got his first co-driver ride with a Class 2 Raceco buggy for the Baja 1000. One year later he got behind the wheel of buggy at a “Baja Cross” at the legendary Saddleback Park. In 1983, Will drove in the Mint 400 in a Class 9 Bug and finished 6th.

When asked what was one of the most insane things he has ever done in off-road racing, Will hesitated, then smiled broadly: “2002… I drove the entire Baja 1000 solo in Class 10 buggy! It took me 24 hours, but we finished (10th)!”

Will participated as a member of Team Dakar U.S.A. and his photo holding the American flag is proudly posted on the “Planet” membership files. When I asked him what it is about Team Gordon he appreciates the most, he didn’t hesitate: “This is the only true, professional off-road racing team. This is important because Robby is all business, and I’m a businessman. At the same time, he’s fun, and wants everyone else on the team to have fun.”

Check out Will’s Profile Page here on the “Planet”!




Meet Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson is a twenty-five year old resident of Chino, California who describes himself as a “mechanic”, which was a more humble way of saying he is one of the fabricators at Robby Gordon Off-Road in Orange. Matt has one of the most fascinating stories on the team.

From a basic training through the R.O.P. Program in his high school years, Matt worked for a motorcycle shop, then over to “Suspensions Unlimited”, he suddenly was told that “Robby was looking for someone to do some fabrication work” and he accepted the job.

He explains it this way:

“It wasn’t like I was a big ‘Robby Gordon Fan’, but when I got asked to be a sub-contractor, I told them: ‘I’ll do it’!”

Since September of 2007, Matt has worked on all kinds of projects. Off-road, Dakar, etc…. He told me Robby has a way about him that “…you can be working on a project, and Robby will just come out and ask you ‘how’s it going’ and then he’s right in there getting his hands dirty right there with you. It’s like there’s something new every day, and that’s what makes it so fun to work for him!”

Matt told me that in the last year he has been to seven different countries and two continents and had this huge grin on his face when I asked him to use one word to describe working for RGM, and he just couldn’t lose that smile: “AMAZING!!!” Pry and pry as I tried, I gave up and asked:

“OK Matt, describe what you mean when you say it’s ‘amazing’ to work for RGM.”

Matt recounted a story at the Dakar Rally in January…. He said: “We were driving down this dirt road for what seemed like eternity. I mean, we were in the middle of nowhere (Chile – Day 4 or 5) and suddenly, we came to the poorest village I have ever seen in my life. We were looking for fuel, and all these kids came out. We gave them stickers and Monster drinks, and then the pulled out these two big five gallon cans of diesel and put it in our truck. I don’t know, but who gets to experience something like that?”

“If people only knew Robby…..” he mused.

In the near future, we will post the profiles of other Team Gordon members like Andy Grider, James Lin, Brandon Benesch (Robby’s NASCAR Spotter), Kyle Robbins, Mike Sladek and John Tondro (Trophy Truck Crew Chief)...

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