#7 Menards/Mapei Subway Fresh Fit 500
Pre Race Report

• Back in the saddle – Robby Gordon Motorsport’s NASCAR program is back in session this week at Phoenix International Raceway as the #7 Menards/Mapei Toyota looks to rebound from a disappointing finish at Texas two weeks ago. As a result, the #7 is now 34th in owner’s points and is looking at finishing solidly at Phoenix to help move the team forward in the standings.

• I love a parade – In a move to show their growing frustration with how the NASCAR governing body is ruining the sport, fans are organizing across the country for what is being called the “Brian France is a Tea Bag” parade. Parade participants plan to show their frustration through a number of different methods including the use of suggestive skits performed by Sex and the City star, Kim Cattrall. RGM requests that you send NASCAR bags of Lipton tea because of its similarities with the COT…very safe, rather bland and lacks any real performance.

• RGM selects Portuguese Water Dog as team mascot – Taking a lead from the always PR-minded President Obama, team owner Robby Gordon has decided that he too plans to adopt a new dog. Citing the reasons for choosing this particular breed, Gordon emphasized the similarities between the water dog and his company. “We love the Dakar and we used to race in Portugal, plus as you know I’m a big fan of the water. And I understand the pooch is great on restrictor plates, but is usually tight in the middle on intermediate tracks.”

Robby Gordon Quotes: I enjoyed a very nice break last week and I think we’ll be more than ready to do well in Phoenix. I used the off-week to see a couple of movies, including Slum Dog Millionaire, The Wrestler, and Hanna Montana The Movie. Speaking of movies, I was saddened to learn of the passing of Marilyn Chambers. She had a big impact on me growing up and I was a huge fan of her work.

Kurt Almquist Quotes: Well, after taking apart the blown motor last week, we determined we had a bad fetzer valve. So we used some WD-40 and removed all the gunk on it, so we should be good to go for Phoenix. Meanwhile, the boys have been working out their pit stop routines and we’ve come up with a new lug-nut glue that will help shave .0004 seconds off of our stops…so that’s a good thing.

Editors Note: I have to apologize to all of my fans (all 6 of you) for not preparing a report for the Texas race. Having just come back from a vacation in Hawaii, there seemed to be little energy for cooking up my weekly set of snide comments, biting sarcasm and the usual tomfoolery. But I’m back and ready to call a spade a spade, a track bar a track bar and a toe a toe (and there were plenty in Hawaii….).