Gordon

I used to think we make our own luck in racing. But after last weekend at Talladega, I'm not so sure anymore. Recent history at Talladega has been all about waiting for "The Big One." The result of NASCAR's rules for both Talladega and Daytona is that all 43 cars race nose-to-tail and door-to-door at more than 185 mph and, eventually, something is going to give. Unfortunately, that something was the Cingular Wireless Chevrolet and about 20 other cars in Sunday's Aaron's 499.

The No. 31 Chevrolet was pretty good right off the truck Friday at Talladega and during practice. My crew chief, Gil Martin, made a few changes to the car and we went out for qualifying. We busted off a great lap and ended up on the outside pole for the second time this season. It was the same car we raced at Daytona and tore up in Daytona. We qualified the same car sixth in Daytona and were able to put it back and put it in a position where we qualified second. You look at it and say, 'Oh, man, where can I find four hundredths of a second?' -- the difference between first and second.

The guys just did a great job this season. Unfortunately, we haven't had the final result to show for it, but we've been qualifying good and it's important to qualify good at Talladega, but we knew the most important thing is to be around the full 500 miles to have a shot for the win.

The running order at Talladega is constantly changing. Just when you think you know what position you're in, it changes again. Though I dropped as far back as 23rd on Sunday, I was able to fight my way back toward the front and was running in the top 10 just laps before "The Big One" that broke out on lap 164.

A car pinched another into the outside wall, taking out the No. 31 Chevrolet and about 20 other cars. It happened so fast that I didn't see what happened. Somebody got underneath me and turned me hard nose-first into the wall. I was just holding on after that. Our front-row qualifying position, a strong run and a possibly great finish all went up in smoke and there was nothing we could do about it.

The Cingular team worked quickly to repair the major damage to the car, including replacing the radiator and left-rear trailing arm, as well as pounding out dented sheet metal. I returned to the track and completed the race without missing a green-flag lap though numerous laps under caution were spent behind the wall.

It's really too bad because the Cingular Wireless Chevy was really running well. I'm not sure we had enough for Dale Earnhardt Jr., but I know we had enough for a top-10 finish. Racing at Talladega is really just a crap shoot.

Maybe we'll be a little more in control of our own destiny this weekend at California Speedway. I'm really looking forward to Fontana because it's in my backyard. My family still lives in Orange, Calif., which is only about 45 minutes from the track. I've still got a house out there which is next door to my father's house and his race shop. My father's shop was actually my first shop where he and I built a lot of my cars. He still races his off-road cars out of there. So, Fontana is a pretty good trip for me. I'll go out there a little early and stay for a few days after the race is over. I don't get to see my parents and sisters very often and I take every chance I can get.

	Robby Gordon, left, is in his first full season driving for car owner Richard Childress, right.

Fontana is the first two-mile track we've been to this season besides Daytona and Talladega. It's a really large, flat track that's similar to Las Vegas. The Cingular Wireless team plans to attack Fontana the same way we attacked Las Vegas. The banking at the two tracks is similar, but Fontana is just a larger track. Passing hasn't ever been easy at Fontana but it's tended to be a one-groove track over the years, but has gotten a bit better as rubber has been laid down on the track.

The Cingular Wireless Chevrolet has to have good horsepower to be able to pass the other guys and I've got a lot of confidence in Spenny Clendenen and the guys in the RCR engine shop. They've been doing an excellent job with the new one-engine rule and we haven't really skipped a beat in that department. Yes, we're a little more conservative than we would have been last year when we could change the motor before the race, but we really haven't had any problems.

I've only run one Winston Cup race at Fontana, although I've raced a few CART and IROC races there. A lot of people think that since I've raced Indy cars there, I can take what I learned and apply it to the Cingular team. Not true. There is really not much between Indy and Winston Cup cars that I can compare and apply at Fontana. There is a huge weight difference in the two cars and in an Indy car, you can pretty much run wide open around the whole track and I don't think you can do that in a Cup car. I haven't been able to do that at Fontana in a Winston Cup car -- I don't know if anyone else can.

We've been saying all year that this season is definitely a learning process for us. The Cingular team has worked hard on our qualifying package and we're qualifying a lot better than we did last season. I still don't have much experience on several of the tracks we race on but I've learned a lot this year. One of the most important things I've found recently is that I need to barely lift off the throttle getting into the corners and get back into the throttle as soon as I can. That's what helps you pick up speed and helps you gain track position. Our cars have been aerodynamically tight lately, so we've been setting them up on the loose side, and that's been making for a loose entry into the corners. That's one thing we're working on -- not having a loose entry when I have to roll out of the gas.

It will be interesting to see how the Chevrolets run at Fontana since they haven't done very well on the flat tracks this season. NASCAR gave us an inch in the nose that we raced with at Texas but I don't really know how much that has helped us. I'm afraid you won't see too many Chevrolets up front at Fontana until something else changes.

Robby Gordon drives the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. He will be providing a diary to ESPN.com throughout the Winston Cup season.