Robby Gordon completes 100th career Dakar stage - MotorSportsTalk

Former NASCAR and IndyCar racer Robby Gordon finished his 100th career stage in the Dakar Rally in yesterday’s Stage 8 of the 2014 running.

Gordon had a strong result to go along with his personal milestone, taking the No. 305 HST Gordini to a 10th-place finish; he was in 24th position in the overall car category going into today’s Stage 9, ten spots ahead of fellow American B.J. Baldwin in his No. 318 Chevrolet.

Stage 8 marks Gordon’s second Top-10 so far in this year’s Dakar (he logged a sixth in Stage 3), which has seen him and co-driver Kellon Walch endure some tough times. A one-hour penalty for missing a waypoint robbed Gordon of a podium finish in Stage 5.

Prior to that point, the team had started the Dakar poorly with multiple hours lost in Stage 1 due to vapor lock and overheating on the No. 305, and then a mechanical failure in Stage 2 that caused Gordon, Walch, and the Gordini to be towed back to the bivouac by a fellow competitor.

Gordon now looks to finish the Dakar with a flourish as he did last year, when he took two victories in the final five stages en route to a 14th place overall class finish.

Follow @estradawriting

Lewis Hamilton is a fan of the new NASCAR Cup Series team formed by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan to field a car for Bubba Wallace.

Will the six-time Formula One champion also be a fan in person at a NASCAR race in the near future?

Wallace is hoping so.

After Hamilton tweeted his support Tuesday morning about the news of a Hamlin-Jordan-Wallace team making its debut with the 2021 season, Wallace responded with a sly invitation to the Daytona 500.

Thank you Bro!!!! Guess we will see you at the #daytona500 next year?!!👀👊🏾 https://t.co/YuHw1Ok3Vi

— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) September 22, 2020

Much would need to be worked out, starting with how much garage and grandstand access would be afforded for a 2021 season opener that likely would occur during a still ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

But it would seem fitting given that Hamilton and Wallace have been two of the world’s most outspoken Black athletes about the quest for diversity and racial justice. Hamilton recently reaffirmed his commitment to activism after his donning a Breonna Taylor shirt sparked an FIA inquiry.

The idea of Hamilton attending the season opener already had legs, too. The Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 driver has expressed a desire to race the Daytona 500 after he has retired from Formula One.

He was a spectator (with racing legend Mario Andretti) at four-time champion Jeff Gordon’s final Cup race as a full-time in the 2015 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In 2011, Hamilton swapped cars with three-time champion Tony Stewart at Watkins Glen International.

Having rubbed shoulders with other racing greats so often, it only would be fitting if Hamilton — who is one victory from tying Michael Schumacher’s career record and also could tie the F1 record with a seventh championship this season — spent some time with the greatest basketball player of all time.