Monday 2nd January 1967
Born on this day, Robby Gordon, American racing driver who has raced in NASCAR, CART, IndyCar, Trans-Am, IMSA, IROC and Dakar Rally.
After a number of misfires in getting his Winston Cup career underway, Robby Gordon finally struck gold with team owner Richard Childress in 2001. Gordon, who started the season with a five-year deal to drive Morgan-McClure Motorsports’ Chevrolets, was released after five events.
After having a potential race winning car in both the Winston Cup road races and scoring a second-place finish in the first, at Sears Point Raceway, Gordon was hired to drive RCR’s No. 31 Lowe’s Chevrolet for the final nine races of the season after driver Mike Skinner elected to get out of the car for reconstructive knee surgery.
While Gordon struggled in qualifying, missing three of those final nine events and using provisional starts in two others, he scored his first Winston Cup oval track top-10 at Phoenix and then ended the season with a victory at New Hampshire. After making 17 starts, he easily had his career high in winnings, $1,371,900.
Gordon’s first taste of Winston Cup came in 1991, when he drove for Junie Donlavey in the Daytona 500. He then drove the No. 28 Ford for Robert Yates Racing at Talladega Superspeedway in that team’s first race following Davey Allison’s death in 1993. He made single starts for Kranefuss-Haas and Dale Earnhardt Inc. before signing on with Felix Sabates in 1996, running 22 races with that team over the next two years.
Gordon formed his own Winston Cup team in 2000, running 17 races and earning a 43rd-place finish in the overall standings. He finished fourth at Watkins Glen and ninth at Sears Point.
A six-time off-road champion, he moved to sports cars in 1990, winning five GTO races in 1991 and a Trans-Am race in 1992. He got his first taste of Indy cars in 1993, driving for A.J. Foyt. Gordon then went on to win four CART poles and races at Detroit and Phoenix in 1995. He also had success in the International Race of Champions, finishing second in the series in 1996 and 1997.
Gordon nearly won the 1999 Indianapolis 500, running out of gas on the final lap while leading.
