Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: THURSDAY, May 25, 1995 TAG: 9505250087 SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER DATELINE: CONCORD, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Gordon needed only the first of the two laps he was entitled to run on this 1.5-mile track to post the pole-winning speed of 183.861 mph in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
While Gordon's speed fell short of Ward Burton's track record of of 185.759 set in the fall, it broke his own 1-year-old Coca-Cola 600 qualifying record.
But the more significant comparison, at least for Sunday's race, was that Gordon was more than 1 mph faster than the man who joined him on the front row, Bobby Labonte, who had a lap of 182.741 in his Chevy.
And Gordon, who has won three of the past four pole positions for points races here, was more than 1.5 mph faster than the third-fastest qualifier, Ricky Craven, who was at 182.285 in another Chevy.
This does not bode well for twi-night excitement Sunday. The track here tends to accentuate the differences in cars, which leads to runaways. Gordon dominated The Winston Select on Saturday night, and he's the defending champion in the 600.
``That was really a good lap,'' Gordon said. ``I drove that thing about as hard as you could down into turn 1. [Turns] 1 and 2 is really where I won the pole. We were a rocket through 1 and 2. I drove in real deep and it stuck. I jumped right back in [the throttle] harder than I did all day long in practice.
``That's the chance you've got to take. You've got to take it right to the edge.''
Brett Bodine, in the fastest Ford during qualifying, was fourth at 181.941, followed by Michael Waltrip (181.622) in the fastest Pontiac Grand Prix.
Also in the top 10 were Ken Schrader (181.519) in a Chevy, Sterling Marlin (181.421) in a Chevy, Elton Sawyer (180.935) in a Ford, Joe Nemechek (180.862) in a Chevy and Morgan Shepherd (180.844) in a Ford.
There were a number of surprises in the top 10, particularly Craven in third and Sawyer in eighth. Both are rookies, and Sawyer will be starting only his fourth Cup race.
``That was all I had - one lap,'' Sawyer said. ``I had to lift more than I wanted to and I had to suck it in to get through [turns] 3 and 4. That's pretty good.''
Pole qualifying for the 600 begins in late-evening sunshine (it starts at 7 p.m.) and ends after dark, so the drivers who have to run early are at a disadvantage with a hotter, slower track.
But there was no real pattern to the times. Gordon, for instance, ran about halfway through the session. And Dale Earnhardt, who had a near-perfect draw and ran in the darkness as the next-to-last driver to attempt to qualify, was 34th fastest.
He was having the same problem he had in The Winston Select.
``I about wrecked, really,'' he said. ``The car was real loose. We were OK in practice, and I thought we would pick up tonight.
The second round of qualifying has been moved from the heat of the day to 6 p.m., so drivers at the back of the pack have a better chance to improve on their speeds.
In other action Wednesday night, Lester Lesneski beat Marty Ward by about a car-length in the Goody's Sportsman 100.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB