The 33-year-old Gordon Monday was introduced at Talladega Speedway as a driver for the full 25-race NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule in 2003 for Tina Gordon Racing and RDS Motorsports.
Gordon’s goal is to secure a full-time ride on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit.
Under the direction of RDS Motorsports managing partner Tony Branson, Gordon will become the first female driver ever to compete full-time on the Craftsman Truck circuit.
“I’m really exciting and looking forward to this season,” Gordon said. “I’m very appreciative of the opportunity Tony and Mary Branson are giving me to compete full-time in a series such as the NASCAR Craftsman Trucks.”
Branson, long a successful engine builder in NHRA and NASCAR, assumes the management role of his own team for the first time in his long career in auto racing.
“We have every confidence that this is the beginning of the realization of a life-long dream to compete in the top levels of NASCAR,” Branson said. “We believe our effort this year in the Craftsman Truck Series is just the first step in reaching that goal. What will make it even more meaningful for me is to accomplish this goal with a tremendous female talent such as Tina Gordon.”
Along with Gordon, the team will also feature a new number on its Dodge Ram truck. The team will switch to the No. 66 from the No. 79 it ran in 2002.
The RDS Motorsports entry competed in all 22 races last season and finished 21st in the Craftsman Truck Series point standings. Its best finish was fourth in the season opener at Daytona.
While the team continues a search for primary sponsorship, associate sponsors already committed for the 2003 season include Sticks N Stuff, Mesco Metal Buildings, Schaeffer’s Oil, MicroTel Inns & Suites, Total Race Babe and 3M Post-It-Note Division.
In just seven years, Gordon has climbed from the short tracks of east central Alabama to the fast tracks at Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta and Charlotte and been successful at every stop along the way.
Gordon first came to the full attention of the national racing community in October 2001 when she drove a Ford Thunderbird prepared by Mark Thompson and his Midway Phoenix Racing team for the Food World 300 ARCA/Remax Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Her first time out on the 2.66-mile superspeedway, Gordon qualified fifth with a speed of 182.947 mph, finished 10th and impressed many on both the ARCA and NASCAR circuits with her driving ability.
Gordon was equally impressive her second time out at Talladega in October 2002.
While still recovering from severe leg and foot injuries suffered in a wreck at Charlotte in May, Gordon climbed back into a car for Midway Phoenix Racing and qualified 15th for the ARCA/Remax Series Food World 300. Gordon ran in the Top 5 for much of the day before finishing 12th.
The 2002 season began with a strong run in the 39th Annual Discount Auto Parts 3000 ARCA/Remax race at Daytona International Speedway in February.
Gordon qualified ninth for her first race on the storied track (182.043 mph) and ran as high as second before a bad break left her in 26th place. Tina pitted on lap 52 and was making her way back through the field when heavy rain hit and eventually shortened the race to 54 laps.
Next, it was on to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Pork, The Other White Meat 400 and another strong showing on the ARCA circuit. Gordon qualified 10th on the 1.5-mile superspeedway (184.591 mph), ran as high as third on the day before blowing and engine and finishing eighth when the race was red flagged because of rain.
Next, Gordon traveled to Charlotte for the EasyCare 100 ARCA/Remax race, a prelude to NASCAR’s “The Winston” All-Star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 18, 2002.
Gordon qualified 16th for the race (174.115 mph), but piston problems forced her crew to change engines on Friday and dropped her to the rear of the field where she started 41st. She was working her way through the pack when misfortune struck on the 41st lap of the 67-lap event.
Having climbed to 13th spot, Gordon was trying to make a pass for 12th position when she was involved in a crash and was injured.
A rapid recovery put Gordon back in the car at Talladega in October 2002.
Gordon began pursuing racing as a career after driving for fun in five powder puff races at Green Valley Speedway in Gadsden, Ala., in 1995 and 1996. Driving her husband Gary’s short-track car, she won all five of those races and she was hooked.
In the winter of 1996, the Gordons bought a car so she could compete in the Men’s Hobby Division at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Fyffe, Ala., and it would prove to be a wise decision. In 18 starts in her rookie season of 1997, Tina had six top 5 finishes, 11 top 10 finishes and finished 10th in points.
In 1998, Gordon became a full-time competitor in the Hobby Division at Green Valley Raceway and was tearing up the circuit – three wins, a second and a third in six races – when she made a monumental decision to turn her attention to asphalt racing.
The Gordons bought a Pontiac Grand Prix super late-model car and moved to Birmingham International Speed-way where she competed in her first asphalt race on June 12, 1998, on the same track where racing legends Bobby, Donnie and Davey Allison and Neil Bonnett began their racing careers.
Gordon ran the NASCAR All-Pro Series full-time in 1999 and 2000 and raced on tracks in Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Florida, including Homestead-Miami Speedway. She finished 20th in points both seasons.
In 2001, Gordon ran a Southern All-Star race, made one lap in a Busch Series race at Darlington and ran the ARCA race at Talladega.
Gordon also has experience driving for the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the Talladega Superspeedway.
Gordon’s family includes 11-year-old son Seth, a rising star in his own right on the youth baseball circuit. She is the daughter of Virginia and the late Eugene Walsh of Centre, Ala. She has two brothers and two sisters, including a twin sister, Rena.
She is a 1987 graduate of Armuchee, Ga., High School and before turning to racing full-time, owned her own All-State Insurance agency for three years.
The team will continue to base its operations in Burlington, N.C
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