| | 
| | Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 22:50:10 -0700
From: Jason Hartzell
Subject: 1999
Robby,
Are you tired of everyone asking you about where you are going and whatyou are going to do in '99. Personally I am also I big Bobby Rahal fan,so that sounds like a great match to me.
Jason Hartzell
ps - I was lucky enough to be there and see your first win at Phoenix,and then later I got to meet you in 1996 at the same track, the nightbefore the Winston Cup race. I was pretty surprised when I saw yourunning to your rental car at about 8:00pm the night before the race,but it was still really cool that you stopped and took the time to givean autograph and shake hands.. What ever you decide to do next year Iwish you the best of luck, unless of course it involves the IRL. | Sorry to get back to you so late. By now you know that Rahal signed myteammate, Max Papis. In my mind, it's a great choice, just not an American asI would have hoped. Max will win a few races for sure. He is a very talenteddriver.
1999 is going to be very interesting. No words yet. Tons of speculationwhich I find ultimately amusing. I will keep you informed as soon as I can. |
| |  | Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 11:11:13 -0400
From: Carol Thompson
Subject: Robby's future
Greeting Robby
Great to see you in Toronto.You and your team wevery receptive towards all us "ROBBY GORDON" fans. You were veryaccessible and friendly. I enjoyed our conversations, about "SCORE,NASCAR, and CART'. Unfortunately, I did not get to see Toyota's firstvictory, maybe you will get it as a team owner. All Robby Gordon fanswant to see you stay in CART.(especially me) You have built a goodrelationship with Toyota. A TRD member spoke with me about their supportin SCORE, and the truck you and your father are building. Good luck inthe 1000. With the new phase V engine, could that be the engine ofchoice for your new team. If you do decide to be a team owner, how muchinput would your Dad have, being an experienced racer himself. Is itpossible for him to be part owner? Please what ever you decide to dostay away from IRL. NASCAR is another option, but in Canada we do nothave a track to see you race at. Explore all your options, and I knowyou will be successful in which ever you choose. | Thanks for the continued support. My parents have been a big part of mysupport network through my years in racing and for that I am extremelygrateful. As we move to the next steps in my career, I hope to have theminvolved, but as my parents.
We have built a great relationship with my current group of highly qualifiedteammates. Dave Forbes has been with me for over 10 years as my Off RoadManager, Sandra Carboni has been with me for 7 as my office manager and therest of my guys, Derek, Walt, Jason, Warren, Gary and Doug go to the ends ofthe earth for Team Gordon. And Mike Held, my business manager has outlined acareer path that is very exciting.See you at the races. |
| | | Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1998 15:41:12 +1000
From: "Aaron Irvine"
Subject: You BETTER Be Back!!!!
Robby!! Naturally everyone was sad when it became known that you agreed notto continue your association with Arceiro/Wells for 1999, including myself.Since that time though the thought has come to my mind that, as with thedeparture of "Mad Max", and with Carp last season from Bettenhausen, eachplayer has something bigger to go to. Arciero Wells have gotten Pruett, andanother driver on the horizon, which is good for them, and Max has got TeamRahal. The question is though, are you going to field your own team? Inoticed there is a Toyota contract up for grabs....your always keen to haveyour own team.....you're your own man, you HAVE TO do things your way forthe best results. You say what needs to be said, and the management wankersget all cut about it. It's wrong that you get punished for saying whatneeds to be said, and I admire you greatly for doing that. With your ownteam you'll have much more scope to do things your way, and I'm sure it willbecome a successful operation. No-one gets 4-wheel drift like Robby Gordon.
After all that, my question is.....with your supposed close relationshipwith Peter Burke and SpeedCenter, if you start your own team next seasonwill SpeedCenter in turn receive sponsorship from your primary sponsor? Isee it as a great plan! Everybody LOVES coming to SpeedNotes, its a way forus that "aren't there yet" to know what to expect (hahhah, I DREAM of beinga driver myself) SpeedCenter do such a fantastic job, and if ANYONE isworthy of a "front-wings" worth of sponsorship dollars its Peter Burke. Thecombination of you two make CART racing even more exciting and as a team,it'd be something special......so how about it?
I know this is a long one.....it doesn't bother me if it doesn't go on thenet, but PLEASE respond Robby as it is very important to me. I believe Ihave at least brought up an original idea anyway!
I really hope I get to see you at Surfers Paradise in mid-october.......andif you can hook me up with Fittipaldi, all that much better hahahah I planon telling him about the CFFC (as linked below...if your bored) when hecomes to Australia......maybe surprise him?
Thanx a lot for your time Sir Robby!
-Aaron Irvine
Gold Coast Australia
| Having my own team is an ultimate goal in my career. We need to be very clearhowever, that "my own" and "team" do not necessarily co-exist. The key is afocused effort with no misconceptions about the job to be done. No mismanagedexpectations. Plain and simple.
There are times in life when you have to take risks. This happens to be oneof those times for me. Remember however, that there are a lot of other peoplewho are taking risks, and in many cases much bigger than mine.
Whatever happens, there is one thing that you can count on. "Stand on thegas, Speed is a good thing." |
| | Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1998 16:48:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dusty Burwell
ROBBY you the man dude will you be racing the baja 1000 this year wesure miss you in the desert !!!!! | | See you at the 1000. Looking forward to being back in the dirt. |
| | Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1998 07:15:11 -0700
From: "Ron Daldoss"
Subject: Team Gordon
Robby,
I am glad to see you starting your own team and I wish you the best of lucknext season. I have one question. I'm curious why you chose the Toyotaengine over the other more proven ones? My guess is that the Toyota has alot more than what is being shown this year. As of lately I have seen itlead a race on a tight street course and I think Toyota is not letting itall out of the bag as of yet.
Sincerely and Good Luck the rest of the season,
Ron Daldoss | I believe in Toyota. I can see their commitment first hand but mostimportantly, they are great people. I enjoy working with every person in theToyota camp. There's also something to be said for supporting me when thingsweren't so rosy. All the Toyota teams are on a mission. And Toyota is rightbehind them pushing like.....
The question isn't if, the question is when? My guess is we are right aroundthe corner.
Race on. |
| | Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1998 22:01:54 -0600
From: Rick Cody
Subject: Bondurant Course
We took a four day Bondurant course together at Sears Point and I havefollowed your career with great interest. If you don't mind, I wouldlove to have our class picture autographed. Where can I send it?
Thanks. | | Send your picture to Team Gordon, 2980 Miraloma Anaheim, CA 92806 and to theattention of Sandra Carboni. She'll get it taken care of. |
| | Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 21:13:52 EDT
From: HNg9012720@aol.com
Subject: Robby Indy Team
Dear, Robby.
Rumor has it that you and Hiro are going to have a Indy race team. I hopethis true because I like to see you do good in the next season.
The first time you drove again was at Nazareth, PA. You came in 7th andrecently, you haven't been doing too well and I was just wondering what wentwrong. Is there a problem with the team or is there a motor problem?. Whatdo you think of the Toyota motor engine so far? In my opinion, it seems likeit still down on power. Is this the reason why you haven't been finishing inthe top ten position? Do you think the Toyota motor engine has the power todo well next season? I was also wondering if PPI was a good team to work for?
I hope to hear from you soon.
David Chu | | My first race was the best for me this season with regard to finishingposition only. Actually I felt my best race was Laguna Seca where I postedthe 5th fastest race lap and if it wasn't for a brief car fire should havefinished in the top 5. Max Papis is a very good race car driver. He isworking great with Ian his engineer. Their chemistry is solid. No excusesright now, he is just plain getting me. There are tons of reasons I'm sure,but for right now Max is doing the job. His finish at Houston was a greatdrive, rain or no rain. PPI is a great team. I would match my guys to anyteam in the paddock. Cal has given me everything that I asked for. He hasbeen great and will certainly win races in the future. The Arciero's Albert,Frank Jr. and Sr. are the nicest people in our business. They have supportedmy career all the way and I hope they continue to do that. |
| | Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 17:15:28 -0500
Subject: Racing advice
Hey Robby,
Again good colum. I have a rough outline of a plan to build and race a truckin SCORE. I am looking at building either a older Chevy for Stock Full or aolder Blazer for Class 3. Do you have any suggestions or advice on buildingthese or looking at starting in a different class? Any advice for an aspiringSCORE racer, like what event to try first or little known facts about offraodracing?
Matt Konners | My father and I started in buggies. You can learn alot about the way avehicle handles by running a buggy either one seat or two. Ultimately, youwant to build a real race truck, Trophy truck that is. One key is to havesomeone video when you run, that way you can see exactly how the vehicle takesthe bumps. You can then design accordingly. Remember, don't overengineer.Keep it simple. You have got to last. The 1000 is a long tough race.
See you in the dirt. |
| | Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 17:15:44 -0500
From: "Lisa Schwalbach"
Subject: Re: Toyota Engine
Why does it seem to be taking Toyota so long to develop a winning package?Now that you are on board, they can't blame it on a driver because you're aproven comodity. It didn't seem to take Honda as long to begin to winraces. | | The playing field is not stationary. It is moving at a rapid pace. We havemade big improvements specifically with horsepower and torque but mostly withreliability. Remember when Honda came in, not to discredit what theyaccomplished, but both Ilmor and Cosworth were in transition. Everyone hasdramatically stepped up their game since then. Hope to see you in victorycircle next year! |
| | Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 10:56:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Josey Wales
Subject: Getting a start on racing-your response
Robby,
Thanks for your response to my question on how to get started inracing (Aug. 25, 1998). Again, I have to say I amire your honestanswer to my question. Good luck in whatever you do! In the mean time,I have some Kart shopping to do!
Jeff Lawrence
Columbus, OH | | Stand on the gas my friend. If your right foot doesn't ache, you're obviouslydoing something wrong. Get after it. |
| | | Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 10:57:31 -0500
From : Philip Smurthwaite
Subject: Attitude
Hi Robby I ve been a fan of yours for awhile now and try to watch as muchof your races as possible, but I live in Auckland, New Zealand and untilrecently we only received a minor amount of motor racing.Anyway I just want to say that the reason why I am a big fan of yours isbecause of your attitude (Hope that doesn't offend you) and also you are agreat driver. Basically the way I see it you speak your mind and are honestwhich is very pleasing.
I also want to put in my views of Indy, it is an international race it isalso a big part of motor racing history and if they want it to stay thatway they had better get their act together and stop acting like 8 year oldswho dont want to share their new toys.I personally find it good how you are doing this column and interactingwith your fans, but it sounds like you are very busy, have you got more todo this year (being with Toyota) compared to other years????Well thats my two cents, I hope to see you in person in Australia, keep upthe good work and good racing, I hope that things work out for you.
| | I am leaving today for downunder. Can't wait. I am looking for a good runthere. Thanks for the support, certainly makes life easier with fans likeyou. Here's hoping we get a taste of victory in Surfers. Cheers. |
| | Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 14:45:33 EDT
From: DASHMN@aol.com
Subject: Future
Robby,
Since rumors abound, that Cal Wells has made a driver change, due todifferencesbetween you and himself, whats plans do you have for the 1999 season?
Thank You for your reply. | I have heard those rumors too. I exercised an option I had in my contract onAugust 1st which allowed my to pursue outside opportunities for the 1999season and beyond. This was for no other reason than we (my management group)felt that the time was right to pursue something different.
I am tired of people trying to make something out of nothing. Cal Wells is adear friend. He believed in me when most people didn't and more importantlygave me a chance to return to CART. For that and for his personal interest inRobby Gordon I will be forever thankful. As in life, sometimes young birdsleave the nest. Sometimes they eaten by cats and sometimes they grow up to beEagles.
Fly like an Eagle. |
| | | | "Stand on the gas my friend. If your right foot doesn't ache, you're obviouslydoing something wrong. Get after it." | |
©1998 SpeedCenter 