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| | Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 16:51:01 -0500
From: DlorahMB@aol.com
Subject: motorcycle ride
Hi Robby,
You are one of my favorite drivers. I love Cart racing. I know that you havemuch passion for the sport and a strong determination to win.
During the Houston race on ABC, they showed a snipette of the motorcycle rideto Santa Monica from Laguna-Seca. This ride was a charity event, I gather.Not much has been said about this event. Did you go on this ride?If so, can you tell us about it? It looked like alot of fun.
Best of luck,
Dlorah | | Dlorah.The charity ride this year was fantastic. This year was the second annual.Unfortantely, I couldn't ride this year but I did donate one of mychampionship Off-Road racing uniforms for the "live" auction. Annie Walker isthe Chairman and she is the best. Her number is 303 699-8114. She can sendyou all the info.I will be riding next year for sure. |
| | Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 16:51:08 -0500
From: TeamORT@aol.com
Subject: Punting Papis
I was watching the TV broadcast of the Surfer's Paradise race on ESPN andheard the announcer say that on the radio, you were talking about "puntingPapis." At first I was quite turned off at the fact you would say such athing, but wanted to make sure that it was not another example ofsensationalism by TV. If this is true, why?! You know that your reputation isalready tarnished, why keep adding straw to the camel's back? If its not ture,dont let people give you a hard time. I think you have some talent.
-Chris Ortenburger | | Chris.During the heat of the battle you say a lot of things. I won't lie to you, Iwas steamed when Max was holding me up, but I don't recall saying I was goingto "punt him". I was faster than Max the whole race. I went from 24th toright behind Max within the first 20 laps. I had a great race car. I askedfor him to let me by but unfortunately he felt like he didn't owe me anything,even if I was the faster car. The long and the short of it is, as the fastercar, it is your responsibility to get by safely without endangering yourteammate. However, as a teammate, it is also your responsibility to move overif your teammate has a faster car. The bottom line was that I did not getpast Max until the late part of the race when he had some problems.Collectively, however we did move up to as high as 7th and 8th respectively. |
| | Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 16:51:25 -0500
From: DUGAY WONDERS
Subject: S/H/F
Have you heard of any team considering a move to Swift powered Honda onFirestones(and if you start your own team would you consider that package?), thanks.
dugay | | Dugay.Haven't heard of any Swift Hondas yet. It looks like it's going to be SwiftFords and Swift Toyotas. Probably won't be too long before we see that. Lookfor a Swift Honda in 2000. |
| |  | Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 01:42:56 EDT
From: Brodie211@aol.com
Subject: Wishing you luck
Robby I have been following you sense you were with A.J Foyt. from there untilpresent in everything you've done.Whether its been Cart,IRL, Nascar,Baja andetc. You amaze me with your heart and pure skill. I use to talk to yourmother Marlene all the time at Milwaukee and Elkhart Lake. I had my picturetaken with you at Elkhart Lake back in 96' when you were with walker racing. Idon't have a question just wanted to wish you the best on what ever type ofracing you do and I will follow you which ever direction to go. Just onething after a few years go by open another seat on your team; because after Ifinish going through the ranks of Skip barber racing I would not imagine agreater dream then having my Idol be my boss. No matter what anyones opinionis state your thought because thats also makes you such a great person. Takecare and see you in Milwaukee in 99". Could you also tell your mom that Jasonfrom Milwaukee says hello. She will know exactly who I am. Marlene is great.Lets bring home the championship soon.
Thanks for your time
Jason from WI | | Jason.Thanks for the moral support. As you can see from the range of questions inthis session only, views of me can range from "spoiled brat" to "a god".Personally, I love the latter.Keep the faith. We'll get there soon. |
| | Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 16:51:36 -0500
From: Robert Irvin
Subject: 1998 season and beyond
Hello Robby,
It's great to have you back in CART! I was looking for a R. Gordon souvenier trailer at Cleveland and Mid-Ohio but couldn't find one. Where can I get merchandise? Yes, I've tried e-mail to robbygordon.com but no one answers. I heard that someone drove off with the souvenier trailer at Long Beach. Is this true?
I was watching Road America qualifying and Bob Varsha said the team anounced that you will not return for 1999 with them. It sounded like a team decision - not yours. I don't understand why they would want to replace you. The ex-Hiro car never ran better! The big question is: where will you drive for 1999? I had a feeling you'd be with Cal Wells for a while. O'well....I hope you continue your CART career....Best of Luck.
Bob Irvin
P.S. I too would like to see a CART race at ROAD ATLANTA because I now live in Charlotte, NC but NASCAR doesn't do it for me! | | Bob Irvin.Souveniers have been in short supply, mainly because it was a short season forme this year. I missed four races at the beginning of the season. Hopefullynext year we'll have some good stuff. |
| | | Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 16:51:17 -0500
From: illy
Subject: media image and perceptions.
hey robbie in regard to your last column{media} i have a fewobservations. i am an avid racing fan[and kart racer] here in gold coastqueensland aust.
i remember when you first came here [or maybe the second],i was aformula one fan and didn't know much about indy cars[champ cars] thenexcept through the t.v.
anyway i remember you driving a black copenhagen car[i think?]and youseemed to stand out in a crowd of drivers i hadnt really heard about.now before you think this is one of those suck up to the driver letters,let me state that the media, in seasons to come seemed to at first loveyou and then quite suddenly seemed to bag you..and of course my opinionsof you went along those lines. i remember thinking that you weren't asgood as your image portrayed and you came across as over confident and abit of a spoilt brat! Now i have read your recent column i actuallyrealize i was basically just going along with the flow![from the media} these days i am a champ series fan and know all about you guys[or atleast what the media tells us] .What i can see for myself though is atthe recent surfers paradise event you drove the wheels off that toyotapowered car and certainly gave old max a bit of a hurry up. i considermyself a true racing fan and not a spoon fed media pawn, and can nowmake up my own mind about drivers. i also have noted,mostly through thiscolumn that you are quite a decent sort of dude!
any way heres a question. how come you seem to be a little victimized bythe media but a new guy like dario comes along and he's the darling? ido like dario by the way but he seems to come across perfect all thetime. is it because he has learnt to say all the "right things" and youtend to tell the truth?
sorry it's so long but i am curious[i actually know what the media cando as i am in the music business and some of my projects have beencrucified in the media!]
p.s.: i DO remember when you seemed to fade away from being up the topof the indy scene..it was a race when you were driving[i think thevalvoline car and you blew yet another ford engine and you told thebasic truth that the engine was basically a piece of crap{but we knowyou cant say that!}..danny sullivan commentated something along thelines of".....hear that noise in the background behind robby..thats thesound of bridges burning!!" next year you weren't there!
regards.
colin hill | | Colin Hill.I made some mistakes early in my career. No question about it. It takes anextra long time to rebuild those bridges. We don't make them out of woodanymore. We make ours out of stainless. The rebuilding process is the mosthumbling thing I've ever done in my life. Regarding the "other" drivers you mentioned. Hey, we are all different. Youwould want me to vanilla and milk toast would you? Lots of people wrote off Doug Flutie too. He spent 7-8 years in the CFL causepeople said he was too short for the NFL. He only passed for some 41,000yards and won three championships and mvp honors. Last time I checked he haswon the last two games straight for Buffalo at age 36. It's easy to rise to the top. The difficult part is to stay there. |
| | | Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 18:45:59 -0500
From: "Matt Haiduk"
Subject: Maybe it wasn't all the media...
Sir,
In light of your recent article about how the media has shaped peoplesperspective of "stars" I have some brief comments, and important questions: From your days in IMSA up until just prior to your departure for NASCAR,I was, in my opinion, the biggest Robby Gordon fan. The reason for mychange of heart was not the media, or what somebody else told me about you,but it was what I witnessed on the race track. I've been going to CARTevents since 1982, and this past year I watched professional races atvirtually every venue from Sebring to Vancouver. Not only do I attend CARTevents, but I also go to AMA, SCCA Pro Rally, Drag racing, Sportscar, andeven CORR (off-road) races. In short, although I don't know what it's liketo race in the professional ranks first hand, I've seen enough events (6CART races alone, this year) to formulate my own opinion independant of themedia.
Aside from some of the "minor" things that you've done to turn me away(take, for example, your classless ramming of Michael Andretti after theflag had flown at Cleveland), you really turned me away with your last raceat Road America prior to you departure to Winston Cup. You began byspending a good part of the early stages of the race berating your teambecause your car was a "pig" down the straights (I heard it all with my owntwo ears, on my scanner). Then, after electrical problems forced you to pitevery few laps, you and Derek disagreed as to whether or not you should callit quits for the day. Paying heed to your owners words, you headed backout- but in a fit of driving madness you spun off (at least once that I canremember) trying to break the car. In your "post race" interview on ESPNyou polished that performance off by throwing stones at one of your biggestsupporters, in noting what a poor engine the boys at Ford had developed. I do not mean to be overly adversarial. I point these things out onlyto show that the media isn't necessarily the evil villian. I've seen yourace. I've heard you on the scanner. I've spoken with you in the paddocks.The media does not set my agenda. And, accordingly, my question is simple:Why should I give Robby Gordon another chance? Why should I dust off allthe old "Robby" gear and wear it to the races? How have you changed to makeme want to be a fan again?
There is not doubt that you are an incredibly gifted driver, but racing(more than any other sport) is less about talent than about relationships.Relationships with sponsors, fans, owners, manufacturers, fellow racers,etc. In my opinion it is how you treated these relationships- not your ontrack performance- that lead to me being turned away. I hope that in yournew found maturity your future is good. I only ask these questions becauseI want to be a Gordon fan once again.
Thanks,
Matt Haiduk |  | Matt Haiduk.I just love the reference to the Michael incident. Did you happened to seeMichael run into the back of Paul Tracy at Surfers. Did you see how he hitTracy, with his front wings to the rear tires of Paul. Do you know what thatdoes? Can you say flat tire? Visions of Cleveland a few years ago? Do youreally know what happened or did you just see the last punch thrown?The interest part about being a fan, is exactly that. You are a fan. I canassure you the heat of the battle is quite different. You can't possibly seeor know everything. You can see some things and read much more from otherswho "claim" to be in the know.Regarding Elkhart, have you read any of my other columns either on SpeedNet orSpeedCenter? Obviously not. I have stated and I'll state it once more forcolor, I made the biggest mistake of my life that weekend. No excuses, nonothing. I just plain screwed up.Look Matt, the message in the last column was to give you a perspective thatmaybe you hadn't thought about. I have been my own "evil villian" as you putit. Noone else but me.We have all got to "learn our lessons" in life. I love the recent quote byJimmy Vasser when he says " Hey we race cars for a living, we just can't takeourselves too seriously."And with that, hopefully, I'll have the chance to earn you back as a fan. |
| | Date: 23 Oct 98 17:21:18 PDT
From: Allison Arthur
Subject: racecars
Hey Robby!
I think you are one of the most exciting drivers to watch: I absolutely loveyou determination and desire to win. I've seen you (although unfortunatelynot in person) drive champ cars, winston cup cars,indy cars and off road cars;I was curious how have you become so talented in completely different types ofracecars? Which is your favorite to race?> I personally think you kick butt inchamp cars. And another question--sorry there are a ton of things I would loveto talk to you about, so be happy I'm only asking these few!--I just foundthis speedcenter website and love your articles, most of all I love the littlewords of wisdom or encouragement you write..can you email me with a list ofthem? They are awesome! If it's too much to ask to email me could you add apage of them on your website? Thank you..Good Luck! You are a God!
| | Allison Arthur.Wow! Now I know I've come full circle. Now I am a God! Wew. I knew therewere some RG fans still out there.Seriously, racing is just one of those things in my life that came easy.Maybe, just maybe, it came too easy. I was good from the start. I just seemto have a knack for vehicle control, especially in the dirt. But there was avery nice carryover to pavement.My favorite CART race is Cleveland and I just love the Baja 1000.Allison. Thanks for hangin with me. |
| | | | "Views of me can range from spoiled brat to a god. Personally, I love the latter." | |
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