Race Reports
Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Review
By
Jun 29, 2008, 21:28

Robby Gordon

No. 7 Camping World Dodge Charger

Lenox Industrial Tools 301

Post Race Report

LOUDON, NH (June 29, 2008) – When pluvial weather brought out the red flag and shortened the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, Robby Gordon and the No. 7 Camping World Dodge finished 26^th.  

Following two days of promising on-track activity for the Robby Gordon Motorsports team, an air of optimism was present for the start of the race. As soon as the green flag fell, Gordon broke into the top-20 and was battling for the 18^th position. However, it wasn’t long before he radioed to his crew that he was “a little too loose.”

With no cautions during the first 60 laps of the race, the majority of competitors were required to pit under green, including Gordon who brought his No. 7 Dodge in for tires and fuel on lap 65.

Gordon continued to comment on the handling of his car; he reported that it felt extremely different from Saturday’s practice sessions. In the pits, the team speculated that the 31-degree warmer track temperature possibly played a part in the loose-handling of the Camping World Dodge around the 1.058 mile oval track.

It wasn’t long after the green flag stops that the cautions started to wave. A single car incident on lap 86 resulted in the first one of the day, and it was apparent that the track was significantly looser than most of the teams had planned for, not just the No. 7 team.

“For some reason, I’m really, really loose in,” Gordon reported to crew chief, Walter Giles, upon being asked about the current condition of his race car. These comments provided Giles the information that he needed to adjust the car.

“We will go one round down on the track bar and make an air pressure adjustment,” Giles declared prior to the team’s second pit stop on lap 88. While most of the teams only took two tires on their stop, Gordon took four in efforts to help the car turn better during the next run. 

The attempts to tighten up the car were not adequate, and Gordon still felt that his car was ill-handling. “I’m loose on the brakes,” Gordon stated. “I have to turn the wheel to the right when I’m going into the corner. This is not the car I had yesterday.”

Thinking on how to fix the car on the next stop, Gordon suggested a wedge adjustment to tighten the loose condition. The opportunity to continue adjusting on the No. 7 came after the second caution flag was thrown on lap 138 for debris. The crew made a wedge, air pressure, and track bar adjustment.

Rain clouds were looming in the distance by now, posing a threat to the remainder of the race. Gordon would need as many laps of racing as possible in order to gain more positions. But just fourteen laps later, the third caution of the day came out. Most of the leaders did not pit, but the Camping World Dodge came to pit lane for four tires, a wedge adjustment in the right rear and a half-round up on the track bar.

Moving up to the 25^th position, it was obvious that Gordon was gaining more control over his car and even reported that it was “way more driveable.” This allowed for some leeway during the next caution on lap 203, and the No.7 stayed out to try to earn the five bonus points for leading a lap.

Anxiety was high throughout the field with the rain in the distance. A tangle between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jamie McMurray brought out the sixth caution of the afternoon on lap 271. Gordon took only two tires during this pit stop opportunity. He was one lap down after the stop on lap 275, but was awarded the “lucky dog” and gained his lap back after the final caution on lap 280.

Just as the afternoon began to turn in favor of Gordon and his Camping World team, the rain began to fall, and the red flag was thrown on lap 284. The No.7 Dodge would finish the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 in the 26^th position.

“Something must have been changed since yesterday, because we were just not the same car as we were during practice,” Gordon stated. “I’m not sure what exactly happened, but a thorough assessment will be needed to determine where we were off. I was really happy with our car during the previous on-track activities this weekend, but we just couldn’t get it to turn today. Hopefully we will be able to come back in the fall and get the finish we should have had today.”

Next stop for the No. 7 Dodge Charger will be at Daytona International Speedway for the 4^th of July weekend Coke Zero 400 on Saturday. The Robby Gordon Motorsports crew hopes to mirror and improve on their successful finish they had in February at the Daytona 500.