toledoblade.com --

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - While most of his NASCAR cohorts were playing golf, lounging in the hot tub or making music videos during their brief off-season, Robby Gordon chose an alternate form of relaxation.

Gordon decided to put a little more excitement in his life by racing in the Dakar Rally - a 5,500-mile torture of man and machine that runs through some of the most exotic and forbidding terrain on the African continent.

Call it off-road racing suitable for viewing on the Discovery Channel.

"The obstacles you race against in Africa are amazing," Gordon said yesterday after making an early qualifying run for Sunday's Daytona 500. "In Mali, we came around a corner and out of nowhere these baboons ran right onto the road. And these were big baboons, too - big enough to take the wheels off of the car if you hit them."

Gordon left the U.S. on Christmas Eve, then showed up in Daytona a couple of weeks ago to start testing for the 500. In between, he spent 26 days jumping sand dunes, negotiating rocky crevices and plowing through the mud.

"I spent most of the winter in Africa, and although it is some of the hardest racing you will ever do, it was a great experience," Gordon said. "So many things happened - there were always surprises. I really enjoy a lot of different kinds of racing, and that couldn't be more different than what we are doing here."

Gordon won the opening leg of the Dakar Rally, the first American to capture a stage in the car division of what is generally referred to as the world's most grueling road race. The marathon event actually covers two continents, beginning in Spain and ending in Dakar, Senegal, with a course that runs through Morocco, Mauritania and Mali.

"You battle the elements and the obstacles and the unexpected stuff all of the time," Gordon said. "Here, if you have a problem, we go over to NAPA and get a part. In Africa, you fix it yourself or you are out of the race."

Driving a Volkswagen Touareg, Gordon held the overall lead for the first two days, lost it, then got it back on the fourth stage. On the sixth day, Gordon and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz rolled their car and dropped to 101st place after losing almost eight hours while spending most of the night making repairs. Gordon worked his way back to finish 12th.

"We ran into about 100 miles of slate rock that day, and that was very challenging - something I hadn't seen since the off-road races I used to run in around Las Vegas," Gordon said.

Gordon has a history of playing in the sand. The California native started his career driving in off-road events, and was a five-time off-road champion before he moved to circuit racing. He won the Baja 1000 off-road race in 1987 and 1989.

Gordon has found a way to challenge in every racing format. He finished fifth in the Indy 500 in both 1994 and 1995, and was a two-time winner in seven years racing in the CART open-wheel series. He has completed auto racing's most demanding double - running the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 in the same day - twice.

Besides Dakar, the new frontier for Gordon this year is team ownership, since he parted ways with team owner Richard Childress at the end of the 2004 season. Robby Gordon Motorsports is on its own now, but strengthened by the significant support of sponsorship deals Gordon was able to strike with Jim Beam and Fruit of the Loom.

Gordon made more than $4 million last year without winning a race - his top finish was fourth in the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400. He had six finishes in the top 10 in 36 starts. Of Gordon's three career wins in Cup races, two came in 2003 - both on road courses where he could tap into his diverse driving background.

Gordon started his own Cup team in 2000, but disbanded it before hooking up with Childress. He also sponsored his own Busch Series team last year. Childress said the split was a respectful one.

"Robby is a true racer, and I've always said that Robby is one of the most talented drivers out there," Childress said. "I'm sure Robby will do just fine on his own."

When not racing at Daytona or Indy or in the deserts of Mexico and Africa, Gordon likes to mountain bike, go fast on motorcycles, or show off his skills on the water as an accomplished trick skier.

"I'm fortunate enough that I love what I am doing," Gordon said.

He was a disappointing 35th in last year's Daytona 500 after getting tangled up in an accident, and is optimistic about performing much better this year. And when the end of 2005 rolls around, Gordon expects to be back in Africa to run another Dakar Rally.

"That race - it was like running 16 Daytona 500s in a row, only the races are each eight hours long," Gordon said. "But I loved it. It was fun - fun enough that I've got to go again."

Contact Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6510.

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