Gordon and His Pit Crew Pass Test at Watkins Glen

Robby Gordon of Orange passed 37 cars on the way to matching his career-best NASCAR Winston Cup finish Sunday in Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Gordon also made up plenty of ground while sitting in neutral.

Gordon’s crew averaged the fastest pit stops at the Global Crossing at The Glen at Watkins Glen International, helping the first-year team finish fourth in the 43-car field. Gordon, who started 42nd, equaled his previous best NASCAR result, which came on the same 2.45-mile road course in 1997.

“This weekend we had the best pit stops in the field,” said Gordon, who spent Monday water skiing on Lake Norman outside Charlotte, N.C. “At Michigan [two months ago], we were in the top 10 every time I came in the pits, but we’d be 25th when I came out. We had to do something about those pit stops.”

Gordon’s answer came shortly after the Michigan race. He and team co-owner Mike Held were shooting baskets in a gym near their North Carolina shop, when they met John Slusher, a sturdy 6-foot-6, 250-pound athlete who didn’t know much about stock car racing but knew how to train for competition.

Gordon asked Slusher if he could volunteer his time to help his crew get in better shape--and hopefully a little quicker at their jobs. Slusher obliged and soon Gordon’s crew was mixing protein shakes, practicing hand-eye coordination techniques and running around the car with blindfolds on.

“Just like basketball players always know where their teammates are on the court, that’s the way we look at it,” Gordon said. “He’s on the team about training, eating correctly, how to run around the car faster with a jack in their hand. John doesn’t have any racing experience but he’s a great motivator.”

Two weeks ago, Gordon didn’t qualify for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Speedway. The difference between his qualifying time and pole-sitter Ricky Rudd’s was less than a second.

“And I go home,” said Gordon, currently 41st in the point standings. “How can you afford to lose three or four seconds in the pits?”

Gordon said Slusher was excited about the team’s chances last weekend, especially since Gordon has produced his best NASCAR results on road courses. But Slusher’s sister passed away last week and he didn’t attend the race. Gordon dedicated the race to Slusher during a post-race interview on ESPN.

“He was pumped about this weekend and then his sister passed away,” Gordon said. “I know he’s as excited as anybody with our result.”

Gordon, who is also co-owner of the team, hopes to bring Slusher to Sunday’s race at Michigan and next week’s event at Bristol. After that, he’ll evaluate the team’s progress and map out the rest of the year.

Gordon’s comfort with road courses dates back to his early days in the SCORE off-road series and later in open-wheel racing. He enjoyed a successful season in 1999 as the only owner/driver in the CART Championship Series, then took his act to NASCAR, along with owners John Menard and Held. Gordon had marginal success during his only other season in NASCAR, winning the Bud Pole in Atlanta in 1997 and producing the fourth-place finish at Watkins Glen.

Gordon finished sixth at the Indy 500 this year, but struggled during the first 12 NASCAR races. He failed to qualify three times and finished no better than 13th in the races he did run. He finished 28th or worse seven times during that stretch. After failing to make the coveted Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in late May, Gordon announced he would run a selected schedule the remainder of the 2000 season.

He finished 28th at Michigan, skipped Pocono and New Hampshire and failed to qualify at Daytona and Indianapolis. Gordon’s best finish came on the only other road course on the NASCAR schedule, finishing ninth at Sears Point Raceway.

Although Gordon said he hit a season low when he missed qualifying at the Brickyard 400 two weeks ago, he showed how easy it is to rebound in this sport.

“When you’re competing at this level, we’re happy about last weekend,” Gordon said. “I think I finally showed I could get by the other guys without wrecking. Our little team is building momentum.”

MORE NASCAR

Both days of qualifying at Watkins Glen were canceled due to rain. So the first 35 spots in the starting grid were assigned according to the current owner points, the 36th went to defending champion Darrell Waltrip and the remaining seven slots were determined by a qualifying draw.

That left out several worthy drivers, including Scott Pruett, who came over from the CART series this season with Orange County owner Cal Wells III’s Winston Cup program. Pruett is also an accomplished road racer, having led at Sears Point earlier this season before he crashed after being bumped by Jeff Gordon.

INDY LIGHTS

Rookie Townsend Bell of Costa Mesa became the first American driver in more than a year to win a Dayton Indy Lights Championship race last Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where he led every lap for his first series victory in just his seventh race start.

Bell is the first driver from the United States to win in Dayton Indy Lights competition since Geoff Boss at Toronto in July of 1999.

Townsend Bell passed teammate and pole-sitter Jason Bright at the start and held off points leader Scott Dixon by .381 for the victory.

“I’m elated,” Bell said. “I knew from testing that we had a good car. I just needed to be in position to prove it in the race. Qualifying on the front row was a big advantage and then I had a good start.

“I sneaked up on Jason and surprised him. I had high hopes coming to Indy Lights but you never really know what to expect until you get on the race track with all the other drivers. It takes a while to get a feel for how everybody else drives.”

While Dixon retains his championship lead with 93 points, Bell has moved to second in the standings with 80 points.

If you have an item or idea for the motor racing report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at: martin.henderson @latimes.com

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

ON TRACK

Orange County Speedway

Through Aug. 13

Speedway motorcycles

1. Charlie Venegas, San Bernardino: 414

2. Brad Oxley, San Juan Capistrano: 317

3. Chris Manchester, Upland: 306

4. Shawn McConnell, Brea: 303

5. Dukie Ermolenko, Cypress: 300

6. Bobby Schwartz, Costa Mesa: 283

7. Randy DiFrancesco, Bakersfield: 276

8. Andy Northrup, Alta Loma: 256

9. Eddie Castro, Ojai: 218

10. Jim Estes, Winnetka: 207

Schedule

Saturday--Harley-Davidson Night (speedway, sidecars, Harley races and show); 26--Dan Nay Night (championship speedway, peewee 50s, Jr. speedway).

Sept. 9--Freestyle Motorcycle Jumping (speedway); 16--Skirt Night (speedway, sidecars, peewee 50s, Jr. speedway); 23--North vs. South (speedway, sidecars), 30--Sidecar State Championship (speedway, sidecars).

Oct. 7--Farewell (speedway, sidecars); 14--Coors Light U.S. National Championship (speedway).

Irwindale Speedway

Through Aug. 13

Super Late Model

1. Greg Voigt, Goleta: 590

2. Ben Walker, North Hills: 542

3. Tim Woods, Chino: 494

4. Tommy Fry, Simi Valley: 474

5. David Brandon, Palmdale: 456

6. Shawn Brink, Lancaster: 410

7. Brian Kelley, Arleta: 354

8. James Bruncati, Glendora: 350

9. Rod Johnson, Saugus: 344

10. A.J. DiMarzo, Saugus: 322

Late Model

1. James Weston, Goleta: 676

2. Todd Burns, Riverside: 608

3. Tony Green, Oak Hills : 566

4. Steve Nickolai, Simi Valley: 550

5. David Hessing, Canyon Country: 544

6. Deryk Ward, Palm Springs: 524

7. Richard Hooper, Palmdale: 500

8. Guy Goldstein, Cathedral City: 456

9. Dan DiGiammarino, Highland: 364

10. Nick Conti, Palm Desert: 336

Grand American

1. Rip Michels, Mission Hills: 432

2. Dean Kuhn, Oceanside: 368

3. Robert Rice, Hawthorne: 322

4. John Watkinson, Canyon Country: 308

5. Tom Topping, Los Angeles: 278

6. Steve Luecht, Chula Vista: 274

7. Jimmy White, Covina: 274

8. Henry Ford Jr., Alta Loma: 270

9. Travis Thirkettle, Newhall: 270

10. Roger Carufel Jr., Saugus: 258

Super Stock

1. Jeff Green, Long Beach: 528

2. Mike Price, San Pedro: 482

3. Yagel Berkovitz, Burbank: 468

4. T.K. Karvasek, North Hills: 460

5. Tom Siebuhr, Canyon Country: 450

6. Kevin Wood, Saugus: 410

7. Greg Benner, Whittier: 344

8. Henry Miles, Palmdale: 320

9. Doug McComb, Thousand Oaks: 308

10. Dean Cato, Fullerton: 306

Mini Stocks

1. Bob Reed, Riverside: 318

2. Terry Limberopoulos, Bellflower: 284

3. Lee Ladd, Thousand Oaks: 270

4. Randy Colling, Santa Ana: 204

5. Rod Bornhop, Orange: 166

6. Gil Gillis, Simi Valley: 150

7. Fred Adams, Covina: 150

8. Greg Tucker, Ojai: 144

9. Danny Rowe, Lake Elizabeth: 126

10. Pat Ackley, Huntington Beach: 126

Schedule

Saturday--NASCAR Home Depot Winston West 250, Late Models; 26--NASCAR Super Late Models, Super Stocks, Grand American Modifieds, T.Q. Midgets, American Race Trucks.

Sept. 2--NASCAR Super Late Models Twin 50s, Super Stocks, Speed Trucks, Mini Stocks; 9--NASCAR Super Late Models, Late Models, Grand American Modifieds, Legends Cars; 16--NASCAR Late Models, Super Stocks, MSRA Pro 4 Modifieds, Mini Stock cars, Figure 8s, American Race Trucks; 23--USAC Midgets, Sprint Cars, CAM 360, T.Q. Midgets; 30--NASCAR Super Late Models 100, Grand American Modifieds, Mini Stocks, Legends Cars.

Oct. 7--NASCAR Southwest Series, Super Stocks, Legends Cars; 14--USAC Silver Crown Cars, Sprint Cars, Grand American Modifieds; 21--NASCAR Late Models 75, ARCA Trucks, Super Stocks 50, T.Q. Midgets, Mini Stocks 25, Supermodified; 28--NASCAR Super Late Models 100, USF3 VW FORMULA 3, Speed Trucks, Legends Cars.

Nov. 3--American Race Truck practice, qualifying; 4--American Race Trucks National Finals, Speed Trucks, MSRA Pro 4 Modifieds, Mini Stock cars, Legends Cars; 11--NASCAR Home Depot Winston West 300 season finale, Spec Trucks 100; 18--Speed Trucks 100, MSRA Pro 4 Modifieds, T.Q. Midgets, Legends Cars; 23--60th Annual Home Depot Turkey Night Grand Prix for USAC Midgets, and T.Q. Midgets.

Perris Auto Speedway

Through Aug. 13

SCRA Sprint Cars

1. Richard Griffin, Silver City, N.M.: 1541

2. Rip Williams, Yorba Linda: 1328

3. Ricky Gaunt, Torrance: 1196

4. Jeremy Sherman, Phoenix: 1111

5. Tony Jones, Corona: 1044

6. Mike Kirby, Lomita: 1043

7. Steve Ostling, Corona: 1037

8. Mike English, Norwalk: 1036

9. Cory Kruseman, Ventura: 1035

10. Troy Rutherford, Ojai: 988

PASSCAR Street Stocks

1. Luke Dodd, Riverside: 279

2. Henry Wesolowski Sr., Temecula: 251

3. Ron Warkington, Riverside: 210

4. Rick Arringdale, Victorville: 205

5. Steve Stewart, Long Beach: 189

6. Tim Shadduck, Hemet: 182

7. Jeff Dunham, Murrieta: 179

8. Ken Searcy, Nuevo: 176

9. Eddie Lagor, Nuevo: 175

10. Rusty Stewart, Lakewood: 171

Champ Trucks

1. Todd Cunningham, Corona: 309

2. Dino Napier, Corona: 308

3. David Schuyler, Lompoc: 298

4. Jack Dodd, Riverside: 289

5. James Gonzalez, Canyon Lake: 241

6. Cap Pidgeon, Signal Hill: 259

7. Gary Cecil, Corona: 233

8. Art Peterson, Cathedral City: 233

9. David Jackson, Victorville: 232

10. Mark Anderson, Sky Valley: 221

Schedule

Saturday--SCRA Sprints; 26--Trains, TBA.

Sept. 2--Stocks, Trucks, Cruisers; 9--SCRA Sprints; 16--Stocks, Trucks, Dwarfs; 23--SCRA Sprints; 30--SCRA Sprints, Lightning Sprints.

Oct. 7--Stocks, Lightning Sprints; 14--Stocks (Fair); 27--SCRA Sprints, USAC Midgets; 28--SCRA Sprints, USAC Midgets.

Nov. 4--Triple Crown Championship, Stocks, Trucks, Lightning Sprints; 10--Oval Nationals, SCRA Sprints; 11--Oval Nationals, SCRA Sprints; 18--SCRA Kindoll Classic, Sprints, 50 laps.