rpm.espn.com: Robby Gordon

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Thursday, January 2
Updated: January 6, 4:24 PM ET

Robby Gordon
By Rupen Fofaria
ESPN.com

Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car/sponsor/make: No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet

Robby Gordon
Gordon

STATS

Year
Rank
Wins
Top 5
Top 10
Best finish

2002 20 0 1 4 Third, Watkins Glen

Career 1 5 11 First, New Hampshire

2002 recap
The good: The best part of Gordon's season was that he drove for one team owner the entire year. That's the first time he's ever driven a full schedule for one team owner. And he showed a lot of consistency in doing so, even after his actual race team was switched midway through the season. Gordon's 20th-place points finish was second-best among Childress' crew, and pretty much par for the down season the entire RCR team experienced.

Season highlight: Another dominant road course performance where he started seventh and finished third at Watkins Glen.

The bad: Eight times last year Gordon finished outside the top 30, with seven of those coming in the first half of the year. That put him in a very big hole to start out the year. In fact, at one point he was as low in the points standings as 31st.

Season lowlight: Gordon maintained his reputations for having too short a fuse when he kept ramming Jimmie Johnson in the rear during a restart late in the year. Gordon and Johnson were both trying to get a lap back, but Gordon thought Johnson's car was slower so the rookie should have gotten out of the way. The incident caused a wreck just as the yellow flag was being lifted.

Robby Gordon

Key stat: 36. Last year was the first in Gordon's career that he competed in a full schedule. His performance was good enough for him to come into 2003 with that same guarantee.

2003 outlook
What needs to be done: Gordon spent half the year getting used to one race team and, after he and teammate Kevin Harvick swapped crews, spent the other half getting used to another race team. He starts this year with the adjustment period over, which provides him the opportunity to get out of the gates quickly -- unlike last season.

Prediction: Gordon, and the entire RCR crew, will likely improve their finishes -- but if he's looking for a top-10, top-five points finish, he'll need to keep a cool head throughout races.

Your take
Can Robby Gordon improve upon last season's performance and finish in the top 10 or top 15 overall? Here are your thoughts.

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