2011 Phoenix #2 Race Weekend Info & Discussion

Join in here and discuss all the weekend action for the 2011 Phoenix #2
cup race. Robby Gordon will attempt to qualify & IT IS a full
race ( last full race of the year ). Here is the weekend schedule for RGM at the Arizona track.

FRIDAY , NOVEMBER 11th

Practice               1:30pm - 3:30 pm/et   ( TV - ESPN2 )
Happy Hour          5:30pm - 7:30 pm/et   ( TV - ESPN2 )

 Practice Live Leaderboard

SATURDAY , NOVEMBERBER 12th

Qualifying            1:30pm/et - 2:30pm/et ( TV - SPEED )

SUNDAY , NOVEMBER 13th

Raceday           3:00 pm/et , greenflag at 3:16 pm/et  ( TV - ESPN )

Dont forget live raceday chat will be available & live track updates via  PLANETROBBY TWITTER

 

Charlotte, NC (November 11, 2011) – Robby Gordon will return to the wheel of the No. 7 SPEED Energy / MAPEI Dodge Charger R/T in the Kobalt Tools 500 this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.  The one-mile track in the Arizona desert underwent a major repave following its NASCAR races in February, which included a track reconfiguration and the addition of progressive banking.  The significant changes leave teams with a lot of unknowns headed into the weekend that will challenge all NASCAR’s top competitors.

 

Robby’s Remarks – “I’m really looking forward to racing this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway and having MAPEI on board with us,” commented Robby Gordon.  “In the past, it has always been one of my favorite tracks, but it’s likely to be a much different circuit this weekend.  I haven’t personally been on the track yet, so I’m very excited to see what kind of racing the new surface will produce.  I have talked to several drivers that attended the open test a few weeks ago, and I’ve heard a lot of feedback from that session.  Everyone has said that it took a long time for rubber to build up on the track, so we don’t know if there will be one racing groove or two.  If the second groove doesn’t come in, track position will be the key to success in Sunday’s race.” 

 

Past Phoenix Performances – Since beginning his Sprint Cup Series career, Robby Gordon has recorded 18 starts at the 1-mile oval in Avondale, Ariz.  Over the years, Gordon has recorded more than 5,000 miles at Phoenix International Raceway, and has achieved two top-ten finishes.  Gordon recorded his best finish, seventh, during just his second trip to the Arizona desert. 

 

Weekend Appearances – Gordon will be at the Bashas’ track store on Saturday at 5 p.m. On Sunday, he will be at the SPEED Energy souvenir trailer at 9 a.m.

 

Baja 1000 – Following the race at Phoenix International Raceway, Gordon and his SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires team will travel to Ensenada, Mexico, to compete in the Baja 1000, one of the most prestigious off-road racing events of the year.  After taking the green flag on Friday morning, November 18, at 11:30 a.m. PST, Gordon will have exactly 32 hours to complete the event.  The 692.82-mile course loop, known for its unexpected challenges and pushing competitors to the edge, will send racers across the rugged terrain of the Baja Peninsula with the race both beginning and ending in Ensenada.

 

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Permalink Reply by NIKAL on November 14, 2011 at 11:36am

"Robby Gordon" as a business was pretty good in 2011. Speed Energy is continuing to grow and considering it is just a year old you would have to say that Speed Energy has done pretty well in that amount of time. Speed Energy is available in the USA and in Baja California Mexico.

"Robby Gordon" as a race team, was not good at all. The results in Cup were nowhere where Robby and his fans would like to see it. In NASCAR the "have's and have not's" gap is widening more and more. S&Ping is strictly a financial decision to cover costs of keeping RGM NC open. Very little can be learned from S&Ping and it is evident in Robby's post race quotes from Phoenix. Robby's TT program is not up to the same caliber it once was when it was financed by outside sponsors. This is understandable as Robby is Speed Energy and Speed Energy is his sponsor. The fact is corners are having to be cut and when other full time Score Off-Road teams are continuing to build new trucks and perfect their teams it will be tough to beat them. Then you had the disaster of a race called Speed Energy Desert Challenge. And regarding Dakar, Once again it sounds like the majority of RGM's sponsorship for Dakar will come from Toyo Tires and Speed Energy. At this time RGM has only entered one vehicle which is still listed as a Hummer and has not listed any support trucks like in the past. Even with VW gone it will be hard to beat teams like Mini who are out spending RGM and are entering 4 or 5 vehicles with factory support and huge amounts of support from a former RGM drink sponsor.

I am a strong believer that RGM's racing success is going to be based on how Speed Energy does and more so the Economy in the USA. If things dont get better I dont see companies looking to sponsor motorsports teams. Our president need's to focus on our national economy and quit spending tax payers money attending basketball games. San Diego's local news was taking about the expenses to have the President attend the Carrier Basketball game. It was in the $millions$ of dollars! For one game!

Permalink Reply by Rob Hoban on November 14, 2011 at 10:04am

I wonder how Robby would grade his performance this past season? It would probably start off with the subtle reminder that the team lacked sufficient funding which was why the early plan was to run a partial schedule. Still, the 7 car was at every track this year, some for attempted full runs and some for the S&P money. On to Baja!

Permalink Reply by RG7FAN on November 14, 2011 at 2:59pm

I agree with Nikal, but hey I am in Anaheim today, drove by RGM's shop early this morning on my way to the hotel, could not see anything......damn now that is an "industrial area" for a business if i have ever seen one. Now on my way with the family to spend some money with the evil rat...AKA..Mickey Mouse

Permalink Reply by Kevin Sweeney on November 14, 2011 at 9:12pm

Off Topic, but hats off to Cole Whitt yesterday. Kid did a helluva job

Permalink Reply by Charlie on November 14, 2011 at 10:43pm

What happened to Robby yesterday? I watched the dvr and saw he wrecked running a lap down but was about the third or fourth car on lap down so that wasn't bad at all. They said he could have lost his brakes but never heard a follow up to it or did they interview him or at least I didn't see it.

Also, what was the damage from that caused him to have the white tape on the front end before crashing out? I didn't see that scanning through.

Looks like he had a good car though yesterday and was running with some of the well funded teams. The season was not good when you look at the results but what season can you compare it too that the team has had recently. For the past few years, Robby has his good runs and then a lot of bad runs and a lot of is it from having odd things breaking on the car or just bad luck, but missing the races this year was the worst things of the year I'd say.

This season did bring as others said good things like Dodge, the FastFive Experience, the BullRun and more stores to market Speed in with a new flavor to go along with it! If the team can ever figure out the one thing that is missing keeping them from getting a handle on the car and keep from having random things fail, RGM would easily be a top-25 team each week!! Maybe Baja and Dakar will be better this/next year and be a good jump start to next season. :)

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