Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 19, 1995 TAG: 9508210056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BROOKLYN, MICH. LENGTH: Medium
While Gordon crashed during a rain shower, Labonte showed some more of the steady, quick pace that carried him to victory lane here in June and took the top starting spot for Sunday's GM 400 with a lap of 184.403 miles per hour in his Joe Gibbs-owned Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
The speed was more than two mph short of the track record Gordon set here in June (186.611), but it was enough on a quirky weather day that saw alternating periods of sun and humidity, overcast skies and brief rain showers.
``We might have gone out at the right time, I guess you might say,'' Labonte said.
Right after Labonte ran, a shower doused the track, snared Gordon and prompted a delay of 44 minutes. After the delay, Labonte said, it seemed more humid, and the track may have been slower.
The second fastest qualifier, Ricky Rudd, was one of those who ran after the delay. He reached 184.063 mph in his Ford Thunderbird.
``We'd run a little quicker in practice, and sitting and waiting, you never know what's going on on the race track,'' Rudd said. ``We got what we could, but we know that there was a little more there.''
Starting behind Rudd's Ford will be five more Thunderbirds. Mark Martin was third at 183.622 mph, followed by John Andretti at 183.402 and Brett Bodine at 182.843.
Bill Elliott was sixth fastest at 182.820 mph, Dick Trickle was seventh at 182.723 and Dale Earnhardt was eighth in the next fastest Chevy at 182.463. The Fords of Jeremy Mayfield (182.399) and Kenny Wallace (182.348) rounded out the top 10.
While Labonte's timing on the track was just right, Gordon's couldn't have been worse. He went out two drivers after Labonte, who felt sprinkles, and drove into a mini-downpour on the backstretch.
He tried to slow up going into the third turn, but the speed he was carrying took him out of the groove and he went into the wall first with the right rear, then the right front. Then he spun all the way around and hit the right rear again.
Gordon was furious as he got out of his car, holding his hands out as if to ask NASCAR why they let him run the lap. But when he returned to the garage, after taking a few moments to compose himself in the back of his transporter, he said it was his fault.
``I'm not blaming anybody else but myself,'' he said. ``I took the green. I could have made the call to come down pit road instead. It was sprinkling in one and two, but it was pouring down when I got down the backstretch. We needed those rain tires they had at Watkins Glen last week.''
Gordon's team rolled out a backup car and he'll try to qualify during the second round of time trials at 10:30 a.m. today. The last time he crashed during pole qualifying, at New Hampshire, he won the race.
Of his backup car, Gordon said, ``I don't know if it was as good as what we had, but we don't have too many bad ones.''
At the bottom of the lineup, and in danger of failing to qualify for Sunday's race are: Todd Bodine in 38th, followed by Derrike Cope, Jimmy Spencer, Tracy Leslie, Tim Steele, Loy Allen, Gary Bradberry, Rich Bickle and Gordon.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB