Gordon, Harvick Endure as Teammates

When Robby Gordon and Kevin Harvick got involved in controversial incidents that led to name-calling and finger-pointing after a Winston Cup race two weeks ago in Sonoma, it did not surprise their car owner, Richard Childress, who likens them to “high-bred racehorses.”

Gordon, 34, and Harvick, 27, are products of two fiercely competitive segments of Southern California racing -- Gordon, from Orange, the free-spirited, individualistic Baja off-road marathons; Harvick, from Bakersfield, the rough-and-tumble short-track fender-banging of San Joaquin valley stock car wars.

Despite the differences in their racing upbringings, they are a matched set on the rich playground of NASCAR’s premier racing circuit.

Childress, who owns the Chevrolet Monte Carlos they drive, asks only that they don’t wreck each other’s car. They could have done that two weeks ago in a race that Gordon won -- and Childress knows it.

“I told them that neither one of them can let one race dictate their careers, and that they have to work as teammates,” he said Thursday from Daytona Beach, Fla., where his Richard Childress Racing team will compete Saturday night in the Pepsi 400.

“We meet every Monday or Tuesday as a group, all the drivers, crew chiefs and staff. We sit down together and share everything. That includes not only for the 31 [Gordon] and the 29 [Harvick] cars, but also for the 30 [Steve Park]. If we have a common problem, we work it out together.

“The fire that Gordon and Harvick have is what made me hire them in the first place. Both are good racers and good guys, but I don’t want them beating on each other.”

Which is what occurred twice during the race at Infineon Raceway.

The first incident involved Harvick trying to pass his teammate for the lead, only to cause a situation that allowed Ron Fellows to sweep past both of them.

The second was the move that won the race, Gordon legally passing Harvick during a late caution period. It wasn’t for the lead, but it was apparent at the time that either of them could run down the leaders.

The moves resulted in bitter comments from both drivers, both in post-race interviews and later in the week.

Said Harvick, “This isn’t about anyone breaking a NASCAR rule, because it was made clear in the drivers’ meeting that you could pass under the yellow. But, it was a cheap move on Robby’s part. I had my hand out the window to let him know I was checking up. Then I saw him coming, and coming fast.

“This isn’t about the 29 team or the 31 team, and it’s not about RCR. It’s about me and Robby. I promise him, I’m going to race him like he wants it from now on -- teammates or not.”

Said Gordon during an autograph-signing session last Saturday night at Irwindale Speedway, “What is he whining about? What about that attempt he made to pass me earlier in the race? To be honest, when he got by me, he wasn’t going to make the corner if I didn’t move out of the way. He would have wrecked me. He’s tried that three or four times before this year. This time I paid him back under the caution.

“If you can’t trust your teammate, who can you trust?”

Gordon still hasn’t forgotten two years ago at Sears Point when Harvick, down a lap, tried to pass him and in the melee allowed Tony Stewart to take the lead and win.

Childress, who learned what it was like to handle a high-bred racehorse when he signed young Dale Earnhardt in 1984, and got six Winston Cup championships from Earnhardt, emphasized that Gordon and Harvick must set aside their feelings and work as teammates if RCR expects to win under the lights Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

“They worked together at Daytona in the 500 and they worked together at Talladega and we could have won both of them,” Childress said. “If they do the same thing this time, we have as good a chance of winning as anyone, but they’ve got to work together.”

In the 500, Harvick finished fourth and Gordon sixth when the race was stopped after only 109 of the 200 scheduled laps. At Talladega, Harvick was second to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Gordon was 10th.

Southland Scene

Perris Auto Speedway will be busy this Fourth of July weekend. Tonight, the Sprint Car Racing Assn. will hold a 50-lap main event, the Sprint Car Firecracker 50. Saturday night there will six varied divisions of racing machines, including U.S. Auto Club Ford Focus midgets, IMCA modifieds, trucks, lightning sprint cars, street stocks and hornets.

Tonight’s race, featuring series champion Richard Griffin and challengers Troy Rutherford and Damion Gardner, will be the second 50-lapper of the season. Gardner won the first on Memorial Day weekend.

Irwindale Speedway will run the Villa Roma Firecracker 100 for late-model stock cars of the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series on Saturday night. Filling out a busy program will be super trucks, super stocks and the crowd-pleasing Figure 8s.

Canadian limousine driver Michael Hughes will attempt to better his record by jumping a six-passenger limo off a six-foot high ramp Saturday night at Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino. His record of 103 feet was set in a Lincoln Town Car last year.

Orange Show will also hold a Fourth of July program tonight, featuring six classes of stock cars.

Most other tracks will be dark this weekend, including Ventura Raceway, Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Willow Springs Speedway and both speedway motorcycle ovals in Costa Mesa and San Bernardino.

Last Laps

Three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip and 17-time World of Outlaws sprint car champion Steve Kinser head a group of six inductees into Legends of Racing, the hall of fame of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Assn. Others include Chris Economaki, publisher emeritus of National Speed Sport News; Art Arfons, one-time land-speed record holder; Arthur Chevrolet, pioneer driver and manufacturer, and Floyd “Pop” Dreyer, legendary World War II era sprint car builder.

Dan Gurney will be at the Festival of Speed at Goodwood, England, July 11-13 -- but on a motorcycle. He will ride his own Alligator, the first time the limited-edition bike has appeared in Europe. Also at Goodwood will be the IMSA GTP Toyota Eagle that dominated sports car racing 10 years ago. It will driven by Juan Manuel Fangio II, who is making the trip from Argentina for the event.

Penske Racing will start its 1,000th open-wheel race Sunday in the Kansas Indy 500 at Kansas Speedway. Roger Penske’s legacy as a team owner started June 15, 1968, when the late Mark Donohue drove to fifth place at Mosport, Canada. Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves will help him reach the 1,000 mark. Penske racing has won 115 races, 11 national championships and 11 Indianapolis 500s. Patrick Racing is second in number of starts with 777.