Race Reports
Infineon Race Report
By
Jun 23, 2008, 10:22

Sonoma, CA (June 23, 2008) – Robby Gordon came into the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway determined bring home the first victory for his No. 7 Dodge team and his second at the 1.99-mile road course. With an eighth place qualifying run on Friday afternoon and a first place practice session on Saturday, it seemed apparent that Gordon would be a strong contender for Sunday’s race. It was sheer heartbreak when a gamble with fuel mileage ended the hopes of winning, and Gordon finished the race in the 36^th position.

Gordon’s hard-charging style has earned him a reputation as one of the best road racers in the world. By lap nine, he had already passed five cars and was in third place and radioed to his crew that he was “just cruising.”

From the beginning of the weekend, the team’s race strategy was to make two pit stops for tires and fuel during the 110-lap race. To ensure that the No. 7 would not run out of gas before the checkered flag, Gordon had to be cautious to conserve fuel.

When the first caution fell on lap 30, the team decided to pit with the leaders for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, thus revising the team’s original strategy of pitting on lap 34.

Since many cars pitted before the caution, Gordon restarted in the 13^th position. Battling back through the field, Gordon quickly found himself in sixth place. The team was scheduled to pit on lap 69, but Gordon’s hopes of a win began unraveling when the No. 7 Dodge ran out of fuel with just forty laps to go. Consequently, Gordon was rear ended by the No. 2 when trying to make his way back around the track to pit road. Right front fender damage and a long refueling sent Gordon back on the track in 39^th position, one lap down.

Struggling throughout the remainder of the event, team’s problems seemed to get worse when Gordon got a left rear flat tire soon after returning to the track. A dismayed Gordon crossed the finish line in 36^th position, two laps down.

“It’s really disappointing for us to leave this event with a 36^th place finish, especially since it is such a good track for us.” Gordon stated. “Fuel mileage was a big concern for us today and where we were focusing most of our attention. The crew gave me a great car, and we just ran one lap short of making our second pit stop for fuel, which would have definitely set us up for at least top-10 finish and a good points day.”

The No. 7 Dodge Charger will return to action this weekend at the New Hampshire International Raceway, a track which gave Gordon his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in 2001.