Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 25, 1995 TAG: 9503270064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DARLINGTON, S.C. LENGTH: Medium
Gordon, meanwhile, was in a class by himself. His record-shattering lap of 170.833 mph was almost a mile per hour quicker than that of teammate Terry Labonte, who was second fastest, at 169.854 mph.
Ken Schrader completed the Hendrick hat trick by qualifying third at 169.766 mph.
``The track had been fast, and the car had been fast all day long,'' Gordon said after winning his second consecutive pole. ``That lap was just a little faster than what we had run in practice. But I didn't think going out as early as we did that we would be able to hold them off.''
He need not have worried. Although every one of the top 20 qualifiers broke Geoff Bodine's track record of 166.998 mph set in September, Gordon was more than a tenth of a second quicker than everyone else. And he was more than sixth-tenths of a second quicker than Bodine was in the fall.
Meanwhile, in a seemingly endless qualifying session to fill the 42-car field for today's 200-mile Grand National race, Tim Fedewa won the pole at 162.905 mph in a Ford. Chad Little, in another Ford, won the second starting spot at 162.651 mph.
It was another Chevrolet day in the Winston Cup series. Only Ricky Rudd (169.567 mph), who qualified fourth, and Rusty Wallace (168.250), who qualified eighth, were able to put Fords in the top 10.
Rudd was followed by Sterling Marlin (169.426 mph) in fifth. Darrell Waltrip (168.469) qualified sixth, followed by Ward Burton (168.307), Wallace, Robert Pressley (168.169) and Joe Nemechek (167.980).
If you were a Chevy driver here Friday and you failed to make the top 20, you had to be wondering what went wrong. The most notable of the four who failed to qualify during the first round was Dale Earnhardt, who nearly hit the third-turn wall during his run and was 23rd fastest. The others were Steve Grissom, who was 32nd fastest; Dave Marcis, who was 39th; and Chuck Bown, who was 42nd.
This was Bown's first day back in the series since suffering a concussion that caused double vision in a crash in June at Pocono. Bown said he wasn't having any problem with his eyes Friday. His trouble was under the hood of his car. He broke an oil line during the morning practice session, prompting an engine change that limited his practice time.
But he was thankful his problems were mechanical. ``I think I've finally healed,'' he said.
Besides Bown, those in danger of missing the race included Brad Teague, who was 40th fastest after replacing Gary Bradberry in Jimmy Means' car; Billy Standridge, who was 41st; Loy Allen, who was 43rd; and Davy Jones, who smacked the wall during his qualifying run and failed to finish.
Crash victims during practice included Ford drivers Rick Mast of Rockbridge Baths, Va., and Ted Musgrave, but Musgrave qualified 18th in his patched-up car and Mast was 33rd in his backup.
Perhaps the merriest driver after qualifying was Fedewa.
``This is my first real pole,'' he said. ``I've been on the outside pole in my ASA days and in ARCA. I'm just happy to be here.''
The Grand National field takes the green flag at 1 p.m. today.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB