Growing
up in Bellflower, California, Gordon was drawn to anything with
a motor. By age eight, he was racing motorcycles, and as soon as he
turned
16, he jumped behind the wheel of a car. The
young driver won the first off-road race he entered, the Nevada 400
in 1985. The following years brought Gordon half a dozen off-road
champion- ships and wins including the grueling Baja 1000 in both
1987 and 1989. But as much as he loved the no-holds-barred spirit
of streaking across the desert landscape, he was eager to try other
forms of motorsports. So in 1990, Gordon
decided to try his hand with sports cars and he quickly proved himself
a force to be reckoned with by winning five GTO races in 1991 and
a Trans-Am race in 1992. By 1993, he was driving an Indy car for the
legendary A.J. Foyt. Success after success
followed, with wins and podium finishes in CART and the International
Race of Champions (IROC). Meanwhile, Gordon became increasingly involved
in NASCAR’s Winston Cup Series. He drove for various Winston
Cup teams until he landed a ride with Richard Childress Racing in
the No. 31 entry where he again found success capturing several wins
and podium finishes. In 2004, Gordon competed
in his first Dakar Rally as a part of the Red Bull Volkswagen Race
team, where he became the first American to win in the car division.
Traveling from Barcelona, Spain to Dakar, Senegal in West Africa,
this world renown race covers more than 5,000 miles of territory and
is billed as the world’s most grueling road race. On
off days, Gordon splits his time between California, where he has
his off road store and fabrication facility - Robby Gordon Off-Road
- and North Carolina, the heart of NASCAR country.
Godon wins 2005 baja 500 overall
ENSENADA, Mexico—Returning to his racing roots, NASCAR Team
Owner/Driver Robby Gordon began his double-duty weekend with a stunning
overall 4-wheel and SCORE Trophy-Truck victory in the 37th Tecate
SCORE Baja 500 desert race in Ensenada, Mexico June 4th. Leaving
shortly after finishing the race to return to Dover, Del., to drive
in Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup race, Gordon charged to the
front early in his No. 83 Red Bull Chevy CK1500 and stayed there,
covering the brutally-tough 419-mile course in 9 hours, 10 minutes,
32 seconds, averaging 45.66 miles per hour.
Gordon, 36, who lives in Cornelius, N.C. and races out of his Robby
Gordon desert race team shop in Anaheim, Calif., captured the 4-wheel
vehicle win with a flawless, flat-free race over a boulder-strewn,
silt-grabbing desert course in front of a massive crowd estimated
at over 150,000 spread out... |