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.