It’s a brilliant moment of courage and insanity when Don Quixote mounts his tired steed and charges into what his fevered mind believes is the maw of a dragon. In reality it’s an old man in burnished armor charging a windmill, but in his mind it was a dragon, and it takes uncommon courage to do so.
I’ve always loved underdogs. My very first hero was Alan Kulwicki, a slightly odd ball engineer from Wisconsin who decided he could win championships in NASCAR as an owner/driver. He was the first to do it in almost 50 years and he is the only one to do it in the 13 years since.
There are people who say damned the odds, I can do it, watch me. Right now Robby Gordon is attempting the very same thing.
Gordon, the only competitive owner driver in NASCAR, is right now racing in the Dakar rally raid. The 16-day event races from Portugal to Senegal on the African coast. It is the longest, most grueling automotive endurance race in the world. An American has never won it and very few have finished it.
Until last year no American had even won a stage of the Dakar. Robby Gordon changed that, winning two stages as the rabbit for the Red Bull Volkswagen team. The powerhouse Volkswagen team invited Robby back again this year, but he turned them down. He didn’t get a better offer, or figure that his chances were better with another established team. No, Robby decided to build his own.
No American team has ever done well in Dakar — I don’t know if any have even finished. It seems like such a stupid move. Why go and put all that pressure and stress on your shoulders when you’re coming of a very rough NASCAR year and really have to perform this year to keep your sponsors?
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Race car drivers never lose their competitive edge. They will race all sorts of vehicles in all sorts of venues. It's what I love about Ken Schrader.