Robby Gordon Mailbag: Foyt a good teacher

A.J. Foyt has always had a reputation as being a fiery competitor on and off the race track. You basically started your Indy car career with him as your owner. How was he as an owner and do you think you have based your racing style after him?

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A.J. was very good for me my first year because he's so aggressive and he has so much experience at a lot of the tracks. He taught me the right and wrong ways to do things. I still use some of the pointers he taught me at Indy every time I show up there. I wish I had won as many races as A.J., but I wouldn't say that I've based my racing style after him. I just take his advice anytime I can get it.

Do you prefer Ford or Chevrolet? Also, if you could, would you race motorcycles for a lifestyle or just stick with auto racing?

I definitely prefer Chevrolets and lucky for me, that's what I'm driving with the Cingular Wireless team now. I love racing motorcycles but I just do it for fun now. My career is definitely in auto racing.

Do you think you'd be in Winston Cup racing now if you had been able to win the 1999 Indy 500?

Yes, I think I'd still be racing the Cingular Wireless Chevy in the Winston Cup series. Our plan at that time was to build our team strong enough that we could go Winston Cup racing. We just didn't have enough staying power in that situation, though. But I've been fortunate to land in the Cingular car with Richard Childress Racing and have learned a lot the past two years.

My brother and I are huge fans of yours and have been following your career for many years. We are fired up about your return to Indy this year. My questions is: Do you feel you have as good of a chance at winning Indy as in years past when you had more time to prepare?

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Yeah, I do think so. I think I learn more each year I race at Indy and my experience grows each time I get on the track. Andretti Green Racing has a great race team and knows how to win races. I think I can win the Indy 500 this year. I've never raced with Hondas in my entire Indy car career, even back to my motorcycle days. Honda will be something new for me but they've looked really strong all season.

NASCAR on Fox did a clip with you at Las Vegas driving some four-seater dune buggies. With the current schedule, do you still have time to do the off-road racing that you used to do?

Yeah, when I go to the West Coast, I try to do some fun stuff. When we went to Las Vegas for the race, I went sand buggy racing. At Fontana, I held my grand opening of Robby Gordon Off Road and we also tricked-out a Chevrolet Avalanche and took it four-wheeling. Unfortunately, the only time I can find to do stuff like that is when we're on the West Coast. It's such a far flight between North Carolina and California that it's important I'm based near Richard Childress Racing in North Carolina so I can give as much time as possible to the Cingular team whenever possible.

I was just wondering if you knew the schedule of when you will be in Indy running the "500" car?

I have a pretty good idea of my schedule at this point but a few ends still need to be tied up. I started practice Sunday during Opening Day at Indy and will practice all this week. Then I will qualify on Saturday, May 10, and hopefully will qualify well and not have to go back out on second-day qualifying. The track is closed Monday and Tuesday, May 12-13, and re-opens for practice Wednesday through Saturday. If we get this entire week of practice in without any rain, we may not practice the week of May 12. We'll just have to see how it goes.

I'll be back in North Carolina to run the Cingular Wireless Chevrolet in practice Friday, May 15 for Saturday's The Winston Open and then I will fly back to Indy. Then Sunday, May 18 is Bump Day and we all have to be there for that, even if we qualified really well on the first day. The track is again closed Monday and Tuesday, May 19-20. I'll go back to Indy Wednesday, May 21 for Thursday's Carburetion Day and will then jump right onto an airplane to North Carolina for Thursday afternoon's practice and then qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. I'll probably stay in Charlotte until the end of Happy Hour for the Coca-Cola 600 on Saturday afternoon and then fly back to Indy that night.

I race in the Indy 500 on Sunday morning and then will helicopter out of the track to the Indy airport and jump on an airplane for Concord, North Carolina. A helicopter will be waiting for me at that airport and I'll chopper over to Lowe's Motor Speedway and land in the infield before the race starts. That's my 1,100-mile day.

Robby Gordon drives the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Before arriving in NASCAR's top division, Gordon enjoyed success in the CART Series and off-road racing.

Throughout the 2003 Winston Cup season, Gordon will answer questions from SI.com users in a weekly Mailbag.