Charlotte, NC (June 8, 2011) - Robby Gordon started the Baja 500 with one goal in mind, to get a top 10 finish that would in turn lead to a top 10 starting position in the Baja 1000. He did just that. Finishing the 500 in 5th place, Gordon was penalized by SCORE officials for celebratory style donuts and added an hour time penalty. Despite Gordon's OFFICIAL 8th place finish, Gordon was pleased with the team's efforts.

The No. 77 team started the race weekend by making several stops in Ensenada and Soriana promoting Gordon's sponsor, SPEED Energy. The appearances drew massive lines of fans along with public awareness for SPEED and Toyo Tires, primary sponsors of Gordon's HUMMER. Staying for more than two hours at each location signing autographs and taking pictures, Gordon knows how important it is to connect with his Hispanic off-road fans.

The 2011 Baja 500 was the first time Robby Gordon had completed the race in its entirety driving his DAKAR HUMMER. Starting in the 26th position, the No. 77 SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires HUMMER began the race at a deficit. For the first 100 miles the HUMMER's windshield wipers didn't function, making it extremely difficult to maneuver around the competition. One by one, trucks would give way due to a roll over, flat tire or mechanical breakdown and Gordon would increase positions.

The SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires crew would perform two pit stops on the No. 77 HUMMER during the race, each time fueling the race vehicle with ten gallons of gas.

Gordon and his co-pilot, Kellon Walch, made up a considerable amount of time on the leaders toward the end of the race. After RM 360, Gordon was clocked at +00:21:28. Unofficially, Gordon finished the Baja 500 at +00:14:20, shaving +00:7:08 off his time in the final 80 miles of the race.

"All in all we had a pretty good race. We learned a lot about the trucks that we'll be able to apply to the 2012 Dakar Rally. I feel like if we had a better starting position we probably could have won the race because we certainly had the speed. The field is stacked...it's definitely not as easy as it used to be," says Gordon.