Robby Gordon and the # 7 Jim Beam team scored one of the season’s best comebacks this weekend at Watkins Glen International. After starting in 39th place, Gordon, with guidance from crew chief Greg Erwin, hustled through the glen’s twists and turns to score a runner-up finish. His second-place run in the Sirius Satellite at the Glen marked his fifth top-10 in seven races at the 2.45 mile road course and his first top-10 of the 2005 season. For bringing Gordon through the pack, Erwin was voted the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
“It took everybody at Robby Gordon Motorsports working to give Robby the best car on the track this weekend to bring him from the back to the front,” said Erwin after the race. “Robby showed what a great race car driver he really is coming from the back today. We had a plan we stuck to it and didn’t panic. Thankfully for us, things worked out the way they did. We were able to run right there with (Tony Stewart) at the end of the race, two great road course drivers in two pretty cool road course cars.”
“We didn’t know what kind of fuel mileage we were going to get, so our first pit stop we stayed out longer than we should have to calculate our mileage and see if we could make it to the end on one more stop. That bit us a little bit. We basically had to restart in 30th again. Robby drove through field and our fuel mileage was good enough to get us on cycle and allow us to pit with the leaders. Robby took it from there.”
The panel of voters, including a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser, gave their vote to Erwin as the Crew Chief of the Race for his tactful comeback. Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson, Bob Osborne, Greg Zipadelli and Robbie Loomis are tied for second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Jimmy Fennig, Greg Erwin and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(8-15-2005)
