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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race - Florida
Dodge Dealers 250 1. (6) Carl Edwards, Ford, 100, $86,760. Average Speed of Race Winner: 112.570 mph. Lap Leaders: T. Cook 0; B. Hamilton 1; T. Cook
2-7; T. Kvapil 8; M. Skinner |
| Night
Ends in Disappointment for Gordon 02-14-2004 | Daytona Beach, FL Tina Gordon did not get the result she had hoped for in her first outing with ThorSport Racing. Bad luck seemed to find Gordon all evening starting with a spin on lap 25. Gordon was not able to re-fire the truck and also had a tire down. After being pulled behind the wall to change the tires, Gordon was left five laps down from the field. Gordon managed to avoid a lap 50 accident that collected sixteen trucks and moved back up to 21st position from 34th. On lap 82, Gordon cut a tire down and was sent into the wall bringing the night to an end for the No. 13 Vassarette/Microtel Chevy crew. Tina was taken to the infield care center per NASCAR rules, but was uninjured. She was released within a few minutes. With all of the bad luck of the evening, the team is happy to have come away with a 24th place finish. Tina on the radio right before the race: "Regardless of how this ends and how we finish, I'm proud of all of you guys and everything you have done for me this week. I'm so glad to be a part of this team. For a bunch of yankees, you guys can sure put a great truck together." Tina after the race: "I'm not going to let tonight put a damper on a great week. I definitely wish things would have turned out better. We just had some unfortunate things happen out there. I was so proud of my guys. I couldn't ask for a better crew than Jerry Cook and these ThorSport Racing guys." Superstitious??: "I'm not going to give up on the No. 13. I still think it is a lucky number. We will just get ready to go after it again in Atlanta." |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series Florida Dodge Dealers 250 | SpeedWeeks Happy Hour Final Practice Times | Thursday February 12, 2004 No. Driver Sponsor Make Lap Time Speed/MPH 1 4 Bobby Hamilton Square D Dodge 47.232 190.549 2 13 Tina Gordon Vassarette/Microtel Chevrolet 47.485 189.534 3 99 Carl Edwards Superchips Inc. Ford 47.607 189.048 4 50 Jon Wood Roush Racing Ford Ford 47.677 188.770 5 6 Matt Crafton GM Goodwrench Chevrolet 47.749 188.486 6 8 C. Montgomery Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge 47.784 188.348 7 75 David Starr Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet 47.791 188.320 8 17 David Reutimann NTN Bearings Chevrolet 47.805 188.265 9 46 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet Silverado Chevrolet 47.844 188.111 10 42 Mike Skinner Toyota Tundra Toyota 47.847 188.100 11 15 Shane Hmiel Earl Small Harley-Davidson Chevrolet 47.856 188.064 12 07 Shane Sieg Racing Finishes/Auto Air Chevrolet 47.947 187.707 13 16 Jack Sprague Chevy Trucks Chevrolet 47.959 187.660 14 67 Steadman Marlin Foreed Ignition Ford 48.006 187.477 15 1 Ted Musgrave Mopar Performance Dodge 48.089 187.153 16 10 Terry Cook Power Stroke Diesel Ford 48.175 186.819 17 22 Bill Lester LidRock Toyota 48.191 186.757 18 24 Travis Kvapil LINE-X Toyota 48.216 186.660 19 21 Hank Parker Jr. Daytona USA/TRD Racing Toyota 48.263 186.478 20 38 Brandon Whitt Cure Autism Now Ford 48.407 185.924 21 52 Mike Wallace Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet 48.423 185.862 22 14 Rick Crawford Circle Bar Motel & RV Park Ford 48.515 185.510 23 23 Shelby Howard TRD Motorsports Toyota 48.574 185.284 24 59 Randy LaJoie Melling Engine Parts/Harris Dodge 48.603 185.174 25 40 Joey Clanton Key Motorsports Chevrolet 48.835 184.294 26 29 Frank Kimmel Advance Auto Parts Ford 48.859 184.204 27 18 Chad Chaffin Dickies Dodge 49.080 183.374 28 72 R. MacDonald Drill Doctor Chevrolet 49.428 182.083 29 31 Joe Aramendia Aramendia Plumbing Ford 49.846 180.556 30 62 Steve Park The Orleans Hotel/Dodge Dodge 48.234 186.590 31 2 Andy Houston Team ASE Racing/Carquest Dodge No Time 32 03 Geoffrey Bodine Team EJP Chevrolet No Time 33 08 Ken Weaver Phoneco/1-800-4-A-Phone Chevrolet No Time 34 12 Robert Huffman Toyota Tundra Toyota No Time 35 88 Tracy Hines Menards Chevrolet No Time 36 93 Wayne Edwards NRG Cases Ford No Time |
| Gordon gets in the
Top 2 02-12-2004 - 7:18 pm ET 189.534 mph for Tina Gordon in the #13. |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series Florida Dodge Dealers 250 | SpeedWeeks Practice 3 Times | Thursday February 12, 2004 # Driver Team Lap MPH Lap# #Laps -Fst -Next 1 59 Randy LaJoie Melling Engine/Harris Dodge 47.233 190.545 6 13 2 18 Chad Chaffin Dickies Racing Dodge 47.263 190.424 4 7 -0.030 -0.030 3 4 Bobby Hamilton Square D Dodge 47.373 189.982 5 8 -0.140 -0.110 4 12 Robert Huffman # Toyota Tundra Toyota 47.654 188.861 7 19 -0.421 -0.281 5 38 Brandon Whitt # Cure Autism Now Ford 47.678 188.766 7 13 -0.445 -0.024 6 23 Shelby Howard # TRD Toyota 47.804 188.269 5 15 -0.571 -0.126 7 46 Dennis Setzer Chevy Silverado Trucks Chev 47.874 187.993 9 17 -0.641 -0.070 8 2 Andy Houston Team ASE /Carquest Dodge 47.887 187.942 5 14 -0.654 -0.013 9 17 David Reutimann # NTN Bearings Toyota 47.889 187.935 7 12 -0.656 -0.002 10 99 Carl Edwards Superchips Ford 47.926 187.790 4 17 -0.693 -0.037 11 22 Bill Lester LidRock Toyota 47.986 187.555 4 10 -0.753 -0.060 12 42 Mike Skinner Toyota Tundra Toyota 48.146 186.931 12 15 -0.913 -0.160 13 07 Shane Sieg # Racing Finishes/Auto Air Colors Chev 48.191 186.757 10 13 -0.958 -0.045 14 15 Shane Hmiel Earl Small Harley Chevrolet 48.253 186.517 8 12 -1.020 -0.062 15 24 Travis Kvapil Line-X Bedliners Toyota 48.272 186.443 3 12 -1.039 -0.019 16 50 Jon Wood Roush Racing Ford 48.275 186.432 8 12 -1.042 -0.003 17 16 Jack Sprague Chevrolet Trucks Chevrolet 48.328 186.227 6 21 -1.095 -0.053 18 29 Frank Kimmel K Automotive Ford 48.328 186.227 11 14 -1.095 0.000 19 1 Ted Musgrave Mopar Dodge 48.333 186.208 3 11 -1.100 -0.005 20 13 Tina Gordon Vassarette/Microtel Chevrolet 48.356 186.120 4 9 -1.123 -0.023 21 10 Terry Cook Power Stroke Diesel Ford 48.357 186.116 6 12 -1.124 -0.001 22 88 Tracy Hines # Menards Chevrolet 48.360 186.104 5 16 -1.127 -0.003 23 08 Ken Weaver # Phoneco/1-800-4-A-Phone Chevrolet 48.444 185.782 3 6 -1.211 -0.084 24 62 Steve Park The Orleans Hotel Dodge 48.478 185.651 2 9 -1.245 -0.034 25 14 Rick Crawford Circle Bar Motel & RV Ford 48.487 185.617 3 15 -1.254 -0.009 26 6 Matt Crafton GM Goodwrench Chevrolet 48.638 185.041 3 5 -1.405 -0.151 27 03 Geoffrey Bodine Team EJP Racing Chevrolet 48.754 184.600 12 15 -1.521 -0.116 28 21 Hank Parker Jr. Daytona USA/TRD Toyota 48.799 184.430 15 15 -1.566 -0.045 29 52 Mike Wallace Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet 48.898 184.057 2 2 -1.665 -0.099 30 67 Steadman Marlin # Forced Ignition/Fiddleback Ford 48.911 184.008 3 11 -1.678 -0.013 31 31 Joe Aramendia # Aramendia Plumbing Dodge 49.047 183.497 6 7 -1.814 -0.136 32 8 C. Montgomery # Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge 49.150 183.113 7 7 -1.917 -0.103 33 40 Joey Clanton # Key Motorsports Chevrolet 49.180 183.001 2 2 -1.947 -0.030 34 75 David Starr Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet 49.207 182.901 3 6 -1.974 -0.027 35 72 Randy MacDonald Drill Doctor Chevrolet 49.735 180.959 4 4 -2.502 -0.528 36 93 Wayne Edwards NRG Cases/Truckmoxie.com Ford 51.429 174.999 2 3 -4.196 -1.694 |
| Lucky #13 Daytona Beach, FL (February 11, 2004)-When Darrell Waltrip won the Daytona 500 in 1989, seventeen was his magic number. Waltrip started 17th, in the No. 17, on February 17th. Tina Gordon is hoping that thirteen will be her magic number this Friday when she starts 13th, on Friday the 13th, in her No. 13 Vassarette/Microtel Chevy Silverado for ThorSport Racing. Gordon started the day with her best practice session to date in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series posting the seventh and fourth fastest times in the first two practice sessions. Her thirteenth place qualifying effort is also the best yet of her career in this series. Her qualifying lap was turned in at a speed of 181.712 mph. "I am very excited," said Gordon. "Jerry Cook (crew chief) and the rest of my ThorSport Racing crew gave me a great truck that felt good out there." The truck Gordon is using this week has quite a history with the ThorSport team. Nicknamed Miss Piggy by the crew, this is the same truck that Terry Cook finished fourth in for the 2000 inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event here at Daytona, and also the same truck that Matt Crafton crashed during the big backstretch pileup of the 2002 event. Miss Piggy was completely rebuilt by the team after that and is proving to be worth her weight for Tina Gordon so far this week. The Florida Dodge Dealers 250 is set to begin on Friday at 8:00 p.m. |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series Qualifying - Florida Dodge Dealers 250 Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Fla. Wednesday, February 11, 2004 1. (10) Terry Cook, Ford, 183.643 mph. 2. (8) Chase Montgomery #, Dodge, 183.113 mph. 3. (24) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 182.830 mph. 4. (46) Dennis Setzer, Chevrolet, 182.819 mph. 5. (6) Matt Crafton, Chevrolet, 182.545 mph. 6. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 182.500 mph. 7. (2) Andy Houston, Dodge, 182.467 mph. 8. (12) Robert Huffman #, Toyota, 182.264 mph. 9. (59) Randy LaJoie, Dodge, 182.153 mph. 10. (4) Bobby Hamilton, Dodge, 182.105 mph. 11. (21) Hank Parker Jr., Toyota, 181.851 mph. 12. (17) David Reutimann #, Toyota, 181.719 mph. 13. (13) Tina Gordon, Chevrolet, 181.712 mph. 14. (42) Mike Skinner, Toyota, 181.441 mph. 15. (23) Shelby Howard #, Toyota, 181.419 mph. 16. (1) Ted Musgrave, Dodge, 181.265 mph. 17. (22) Bill Lester, Dodge, 181.167 mph. 18. (38) Brandon Whitt #, Ford, 181.145 mph. 19. (16) Jack Sprague, Chevrolet, 180.981 mph. 20. (50) Jon Wood, Ford, 180.919 mph. 21. (88) Tracy Hines #, Chevrolet, 180.875 mph. 22. (62) Steve Park, Dodge, 180.796 mph. 23. (75) David Starr, Chevrolet, 180.610 mph. 24. (18) Chad Chaffin, Dodge, 180.574 mph. 25. (67) Steadman Marlin #, Ford, 180.393 mph. 26. (52) Mike Wallace, Ford, 179.881 mph. 27. (07) Shane Sieg #, Chevrolet, 179.512 mph. 28. (29) Frank Kimmel, Ford, 179.483 mph. 29. (15) Shane Hmiel, Chevrolet, 179.422 mph. 30. (40) Joey Clanton #, Chevrolet, 179.244 mph. 31. (14) Rick Crawford, Ford, 179.033 mph. 32. (03) Geoffrey Bodine, Chevrolet, 178.798 mph. 33. (72) Randy MacDonald, Chevrolet, Provisional. 34. (31) Joe Aramendia #, Dodge, Provisional. 35. (08) Ken Weaver #, Chevrolet, Provisional. 36. (93) Wayne Edwards, Ford, 178.571 mph. 5 drivers failed to qualify. 37. (02) Kelly Sutton #, Chevrolet, 178.416 mph. 38. (25) Phil Bonifield, Chevrolet, 176.457 mph. 39. (28) L.W. Miller, Chevrolet, 175.847 mph. 40. (48) Greg Sacks, Dodge, 174.686 mph. 41. (0) Loni Richardson, Chevrolet, |
| Getting it all in
place... 02-11-2004 - 4:00 pm ET As practice played out, several cars were looking for speed and several had found it. Tina Gordon is excited, David Starr is frustrated, and Jack Sprague is not happy without the pole. Musgrave is angry, Houston is fast, and LaJoie can feel the joy in his own seat for the Harris/Melling group. |
| Second Practice Speeds
RankCarDriverMakeSponsorSpeedTimeBehind |
| Give it to the Lady
in the #13 02-11-2004 - 1:20 pm ET Tina Gordon posted a fast lap of 182.131 mph on her 5th lap out for the second session putting her at the top of the speed chart. |
| Great Run Daytona Beach, Fl (February 11, 2004)- Tina Gordon completed her first practice session in Daytona with her new team, ThorSport Racing. From the times she has posted thus far, it looks to be a very good weekend for Tina and the crew of her No. 13 Vassarette/Microtel Chevrolet Silverado. Gordon ran the eighth fastest lap of the morning practice session with a time of 49.682 seconds and a speed of 181.152mph. Gordon was also the second fastest Chevrolet behind Dennis Setzer who also posted the top speed of the morning at 182.301mph. "Everything was great," said Gordon of the morning practice session. "The truck felt really good. Jerry Cook and the rest of my ThorSport crew have really done a great job. This practice was a good start to what I know will be a great season for all of us." A second practice session for the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 is set for noon today with qualifying scheduled for 6:30 p.m. this evening. Gordon is hoping that racing the number thirteen on Friday the 13th will be her lucky numbers on Friday evening. |
| First Practice Speeds RankCarDriverMakeSponsorSpeedTimeBehind |
| Gordon unveils Vassarette
Chevy 02-10-2004 - 3:10 pm ET Thorsport Racing driver, Tina Gordon gave female fans some product boosting with the unveiling of the Vassarette Chevrolet today. The female undergarment manufacturer will dress up the #13 Chevrolet in 2004. |
| What's
under your firesuit? Lingerie maker sponsors truck By KEN WILLIS MY TWO CENTS Last update: 11 February 2004 There was really nothing strange about it. Racers are famous for touting the virtues of their sponsor's product. In that regard, Tina Gordon was no different than Jeff Gordon. With one glaring exception, that is. Jeff Gordon's favorite prop is a Pepsi bottle. Tuesday, before a press gathering to show off her truck's new paint job and tout her new benefactor, Tina Gordon was showing something off the Vassarette shelf. Now, for those of you who rarely travel past the auto parts aisle or relaxed-fit jeans rack at the neighborhood department store, Vassarette is in the women's undergarment business. Yep, right on cue, Gordon, a full-timer on NASCAR's Truck Series, pulled a bra from her uniform pocket and launched into the type of sales spiel you've heard from her regarding "Sticks and Stuff" furniture -- you know the ads, which she begins with "H'a, I'm Tina Gordon," sounding so much like one of the old "Hee Haw" girls. "There are some days that women want a little bit of extra help there," said the personable Alabaman, showing off something Vassarette calls the "Hands Up" bra. Need any more proof that times are a-changin' in the racin' world? Well, just in case you were still in the dark, Gordon kept right on going. "I would always cringe about wearing a push-up bra, because they're so uncomfortable," she said, receiving, amazingly, a few nods of agreement from the male-dominated media gathering. "But this bra, after I had tried it on and wore it, I wear it a lot now. It's very flattering. And it makes you feel very confident." What happened? When did we go from "Treat your car to some STP . . ." to this? POSTERS YES, HOODS NO Well, you can bet NASCAR is wondering the same thing. And you can bet the Boys in Marketing are keeping an eye on things. If you get a look at Gordon's No. 13 Truck Series ride, you'll see the name Vassarette, along with the unique logo, plastered in the usual places. But that's likely all you'll see. Accompanying Gordon on stage Tuesday were several posters of models posing in Vassarette-wear. Don't look for them on sheetmetal. As recently as last November, NASCAR told car owner Jim Smith to add some paint to his No. 7's hood. Seems a promotional shot of Pam Anderson was missing a little something -- like clothes. "I haven't heard of any controversy, but I would imagine that we're gonna be pretty conservative," said Andrew Giangola, NASCAR's director of consumer communications. These are, after all, conservative times in the entertainment industry. Janet Jackson served to turn all forms of show biz into the Disney Channel, at least temporarily. The ripple affect will especially be felt by the tracks along the NASCAR circuit. Word is, tracks within the International Speedway Corporation family have been warned "not to let something like that happen" on their watch. But as for undergarments, NASCAR is gung-ho -- to a point. "Ironically, when we started talking with NASCAR, they were all over it," said Miles Bohannan, marketing director for Vassarette. "They thought it was just awesome. They loved the idea that it was a female brand." Add the fact that it's being hyped by a female driver, and the Boys in Marketing might just double over in some sort of demographic shock. "There are very few females in the sport," said Gordon, "so it's not like they can take this product to a male driver and have him promote the product for them." No? Just wait a few years. At this point, Lord knows what's next. |
| Truck Driver
Sells Lingerie Gordon delivers a new market Tina Gordon will start her first full season in the Craftsman Truck Series at Daytona Friday. She ran 11 races last year. By MATT MARKEY BLADE SPORTS WRITER DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - NASCAR knows what sells, to the tune of more than $2 billion per year in merchandising, and hundreds of millions more in tickets, concessions and so on. Well, gentlemen, start your cash registers - again. Tina Gordon starts a full season of racing in the Craftsman Truck Series with a run at Daytona International Speedway on Friday night. In a sport where 40 percent of the fans are female, the market just got expanded, exponentially. Gordon, who got her start on the short tracks of east central Alabama just seven years ago, is not the first woman behind the wheel at Daytona. But she is one of a number of rising stars in NASCAR, and she is well aware that her gender makes her one of its most valuable commodities. "This is a male-dominated sport, and I’m a woman, so that makes my situation out of the ordinary before we even start the race," Gordon said. "I’m fine with all of that, and the attention it brings. But when I climb in the truck and put my helmet on, it’s all about racing, and gender doesn’t matter." But it doesn’t hurt that Gordon is pretty, blond and has a good racing name. She can run with the big boys, turn a few heads, and she can sell things the guys won’t touch. Yesterday, Gordon announced a major sponsorship deal with Vassarette. It’s not a beer maker, a smokeless tobacco, a cell phone company or an automotive parts supplier. That market is thoroughly saturated. Vassarette makes women’s undergarments - bras and panties - and sells millions of them through its three principal retail partners - Wal-Mart, Kmart and Target. "Their product line is sexy, fun and fashionable, so why not take that directly to the women all across the country who are fans of racing," said Gordon, who is not related to Nextel Cup drivers Jeff or Robby Gordon. "The potential market out there with our female fans is tremendous. "In a sport where sponsorship is so critical, what better fit is there than a woman driver with a lingerie company as her main sponsor? Realistically, it would be real tough for this sponsor to hook up with a male driver. But now they have an important place in racing that is comfortable for the driver, and the sponsor." Gordon, who ran in 11 races in the truck series last year, finished 13th at Nashville and is the only female driver to ever lead the Raybestos Rookie points race in the truck series. She burst onto the scene in 2001 when she drove a Thunderbird in the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway, qualifying fifth at 182.947 mph and finishing 10th. Gordon had her first top-10 finish in the Busch Series last year at Talladega. "I’ve been fortunate enough to be very competitive the last few years, and I really feel like it is all coming together for us now as a race team. I got used to all of the bumping and banging from my dirt-track days, and you still have that at this level. I’ve just always liked the competition out on the race track, and down here at Daytona, this is great competition." Gordon, who said her long-term goal is to race on the Nextel Cup Series in the next few years, got her first taste of racing at a place called Green Valley Speedway in Gadsden, Ala. She entered five "powder puff" races, driving her husband’s short-track car, and won all five. "I get asked all the time what it is like for a woman out there, and how hard it must be for a woman to do this. But realistically, that truck doesn’t know if it’s me or Dale Earnhardt, Jr., sitting at the wheel. Once you get here, there is no disadvantage to being a woman." Gordon said the men working in her garage and manning her pit crew have no hangups whatsoever about working for a woman, or about having an intimate apparel manufacturer as their main sponsor. "In this business, unless you are one of the really major players, sponsorship is something you worry about all of the time," Gordon said. "If you don’t get the dollars, it doesn’t matter how good you are, you can’t race. A sponsor puts life in the team, and we are thrilled to have one like Vassarette. I was wearing one of their bras when they first came to talk with me about this, so I was a customer before I became their spokesperson." Gordon said she has made a number of friendships in her time on the racing circuit, and is always looking for information and expertise that will help her improve. "I’ve been fortunate to get to know a lot of drivers out there and learn things from all of them. In every level I’ve ever raced at, I’ve always had a lot of support from all of the other drivers, and their respect. I don’t think that will change, even when I start winning." |
| VASSARETTE TO SPONSOR TINA GORDON VASSARETTE SIGNS ENDORSEMENT DEAL WITH NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK DRIVER TINA GORDON AND ThorSport RACING
Daytona Beach, FL , February 10, 2004 --- Vassarette
a brand of VF Intimates, Inc., a division of VF Corporation, will
be announcing today that it has signed a sponsorship agreement with
ThorSport racing and Tina Gordon. |
| A New Sponsor and Endorsement
Deal for Gordon ThorSport Racing and Tina Gordon, driver of their No. 13 Chevy Silverado in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, will be holding a press conference in Daytona Beach on Tuesday, February 10 at 10:00 a.m. A new sponsor and endorsement deal for Gordon will be announced, and the truck will be unveiled at the media center at Daytona International Speedway. Everyone at ThorSport Racing including Tina Gordon is looking forward to making this exciting new sponsor known to the media and race fans alike. "I'm really excited about unveiling a sponsor that has never been involved in our sport before," said Gordon. "This is someone that I think all of the female NASCAR fans can get excited about." Gordon is set to begin her second year in the Craftsman Truck Series on February 13th in the Florida Dodge Dealers 250. This will be Tina Gordon's first race with her new team, ThorSport Racing. Press kits with detailed information on the new sponsor will be on hand at the event as well. |