Charlotte, NC (March 14, 2011) - San Felipe is known for tearing up equipment for the unlimited Trophy Truck class in the SCORE International Series, but for Robby Gordon and his SPEED Energy/Toyo Tires Off-Road team it has always been a "win or bust" mentality approaching the race. The past two years of the event Gordon had finished in 2nd place; last year he made it all the way to the finish with a broken shock. Without any problems the team knows they have their sights on victory to make it "third times a charm."

Leading up to the start of the race, Gordon and his crew had been pre-running the course, using different lines and comparing the difference between this year's course and the previous ones. "The course layout hasn't changed much over the last couple of years, but it has definitely gotten a lot rougher with how much rain that has fallen here as it dramatically changes the terrain through the washes," Gordon said prior to race day. With a successful pre-run, Gordon was ready to end his Cinderella story at the 2011 San Felipe 250.

Starting off the line in 9th place, Gordon would have to fight this way through dust to hold off some very competitive trucks. The race quickly started off with a blistering pace. By race mile 70, Gordon had already passed two trucks. Pacing through the early stages of the race Gordon would end up having to change a tire that let the eventual winning truck of Rob MacCachren get by him. By race mile 90, the team would make a crucial pit stop for rear tires and fuel. Coming up to check point number 2, Gordon would stop for a brief moment while timing and scoring got a visual on where he was in the race. Once on his way to the next section of the course, Matome Wash, there was a problem; Gordon felt as if he lost rear gear. He would end up having a terrible vibration, but carried on his way. Twenty seconds ahead of him were three trucks stacked up behind Jesse Jones who got a flat tire and then stuck himself right between a rock and the racecourse. This would help Gordon make up valuable time on the leaders. By the time Jones had gotten unstuck, Gordon was right there to make the pass. The two battled together for a few miles until Gordon truck seemed to be off the pace. "I got a flat, I got a left rear flat!" Gordon replied over the radio. Once Gordon and navigator, Kellon Walch jumped out of the truck to change the flat, they realized they had bigger problems.

Unfortunately, the duo could do nothing more then called it a day due to the damage the driveshaft has sustained. The failure was the driveline carrier bearing, which was caused the vibration on the truck. They had also discovered a broken left rear shock that was most likely in result of the tire failure.

"It's very unfortunate that we have had such bad luck this year in off-road and missed an opportunity to get a good starting position for the Baja 500. We'll get back to the drawing board and be prepared for the Baja 500."

Up next is the 2011 Tecate SCORE Baja 500 in Ensenada Mexico on June 2 -5. The team will be back in California working hard on changing their luck for one of off-road's biggest events.