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Tuesday, August 14
Freak malfunction ends Gordon's day
By Royce McGee
Special to ESPN.com
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Lowe's Racing had what was probably its lowest and most disappointing moment ever last weekend at Watkins Glen -- and the whole nation witnessed it. Robby Gordon and the No. 31 Lowe's Chevrolet team had been strong all weekend, qualified in the fourth position and led several laps of Sunday's race. Robby had just made his final pit stop and was leading the race on Lap 58 when a telemetry box blew up inside the Lowe's Chevy.
We've lost races under freak circumstances with Mike Skinner in the past that seemed to be in the bag, but this one takes the cake. We knew we had the car to beat as soon as the race started. We had gotten together with Robby on Sunday morning and decided that we'd only run the Lowe's Chevrolet at about 80 percent until the closing laps of the race rolled around in order to save our brakes, tires and such. Robby even had the field covered at only 80 percent.
Robby began passing cars as soon as the race started. He moved from fourth to third position on the first lap and then radioed into us that he was going to let the other guys go a little bit and not race them as hard so he could save his tires. The Lowe's Chevy claimed the lead on Lap 18 and led the next 10 laps. We pitted on Lap 30 for four tires and fuel but no chassis adjustments. In fact, we didn't turn a single wrench on the car all day long -- that's how well it handled. Making that pit stop knocked us out of the lead because some other cars had pitted a few laps earlier and thus remained on the track when we came down pit road. But we knew they had to make an additional pit stop we didn't because they pitted so early in the 90-lap event.
Lowe's Racing was back in the lead on Lap 55 and 56 and we came down pit road on Lap 58 for a green-flag pit stop. Once again, the Lowe's pit crew gave Robby an excellent pit stop with four fresh tires and fuel. He got back out on the track and immediately called into the pits that something was smoking inside the car. We told him the fenders on the car may have gotten pushed against the tires during the pit stop and the rubber would just burn off. But Robby yelled back a few seconds later that the inside of the Lowe's Chevrolet was on fire. He quickly raced back around the course and sped down pit road to the Lowe's pit. Robby brought the car to a quick stop and jumped out while some of our crew members grabbed fire extinguishers and began dousing the fire. They got it under control and started trying to figure out where the fire was coming from. We initially thought it was an oil line, but soon learned NASCAR's telemetry box was on fire inside our car. NASCAR mandates all 43 cars in the field carry this telemetry box near the floorboard on the passenger side of the cars. The telemetry box is provided to NASCAR by Sportsvision and placed in the cars in order to provide telemetry for the telecasts. The battery pack in the box had exploded while Robby was out on the course, and our chances of winning the race exploded right along with it.
We got the flames somewhat under control and pushed the car behind the wall on pit road. The guys worked frantically to try to unbolt the telemetry box from the car because if we got it out, we were going to send Robby back onto the track to complete the race. But the box kept blowing up -- not once or twice, but many times. Flames kept shooting out of the Lowe's Chevy and emergency workers had trouble putting out the fire because it was electrical. With all the damage inside the car and thick cloud of black smoke that hung inside, we were forced to accept that our day was done. NASCAR removed the telemetry box and shipped it to the company to check it out and determine what happened.
Nothing that Sportvision says or does about the faulty box will bring back our shot at Victory Lane. We definitely had the car to beat. Robby could pull out in front of the field, then drop back and let them back in front, then pass them again just to see what our car was capable of. Jeff Gordon even said in his post-race interview that he couldn't have caught the No. 31 car. It was supposed to be our day and something totally out of our control, something we're forced to use, messed up and stole victory right from under our noses.
It's kind of hard to regroup after something like that and look ahead to the next weekend. But we're heading to Michigan this week and we've got Mike Skinner back for the first time in four races. Mike has been healing up from his ankle surgery after he fractured his left ankle in the race at Chicagoland Speedway. We were running in the top five when the right-front tire went down at Chicago. Mike is going to run the Busch car at Michigan, also, and get as many laps on the track as possible to get him back into the groove again. I know that he's going to be in some pain, but Mike is one of the toughest guys I've ever met and if anyone can come back and get the job done, you can bet that he can.
On a personal note, I have some very good news. My wife Mary gave birth to our second child, a little girl, Monday evening. Montgomery Lee McGee weighed seven pounds, four ounces and is 20½ inches long. Mary and Montgomery are doing just fine -- but a little tired, not unlike Dad. I'm really grateful to have been there when Mary had the baby because it's hard to plan around things like this in the racing business. We're on the road so often you never can take anything for granted when it comes to spending time with your family -- especially witnessing the birth of your child.
Royce McGee is the crew chief for the No. 31 Lowe's Chevrolet on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He is providing a weekly diary to ESPN.com throughout the season. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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