ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 21, 1997 TAG: 9701210098
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Rookie Robby Gordon continued his domination of General Motors testing at Daytona International Speedway, but his top speed still is a mile per hour shy of the best Ford Thunderbird speed of the month.
Gordon opened the final three-day GM test with a top lap of 188.182 mph, a fraction faster than his previous best lap of 188.107 mph Jan.8.
``It's the same car we had here last time,'' Gordon said. ``We ran a second car, but it wasn't as quick. That's all she'll go - until we bring our good motor. But then again, sometimes that old motor is hard to beat.''
Gordon said he'll work on qualifying setups today and Wednesday and may not practice any drafting. ``We've got one car that is quite a bit better than the other one, so we hate to jeopardize it,'' he said.
Two-time Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin, who is something of a performance gauge for Daytona, topped 188 mph for the first time this month with a lap of 188.088 mph just before the track closed.
Dale Earnhardt edged closer to the top of the GM pack Monday, but he still was behind teammate Mike Skinner, who was third fastest Monday with a lap of 187.492 mph. Steve Grissom (187.406 mph) was fourth fastest, followed by Earnhardt (187.126).
After climbing from his car for the final time Monday, Earnhardt described his performance in two words: ``All right.''
It could have been worse. He could have been driving a Pontiac Grand Prix. Derrike Cope had the fastest Pontiac Grand Prix, at 186.575 mph, which ranked 10th overall.
Behind the scenes among the GM teams, there was grumbling about the speed of the Fords. John Andretti has the fastest lap of the month in a Thunderbird, reaching 189.458 mph Jan. 15. But the average overall speed for the Ford and GM cars was almost precisely the same as of Monday afternoon.
RELIEF FOR BURTON: Tracy Leslie was behind the wheel of Bill Davis' MBNA Pontiac Grand Prix, substituting for Ward Burton, who still is recovering from sinus surgery.
``I think it was a bigger deal than he thought it was going to be,'' said Davis.
Burton's surgery occurred around the time of the first test and he was not expected to attend this session, either.
``It's certainly not the ideal situation,'' Davis said. ``Everybody is supposed to be getting their race face on now and be getting ready to go.''
Davis said he is confident the team can come back from a dismal 1996 season.
``We proved what we could do as a team at the end of 1995,'' Davis said, referring to Burton's victory in the fall Rockingham race. ``Everybody just has to keep their confidence and that will happen again.''
STRUGGLING: There were 23 GM teams here Monday, and someone had to go slowly.
Among those struggling are Kyle Petty (22nd, at 184.892 mph), Bobby Hamilton (27th, 184.526), Darrell Waltrip (28th, 184.136,) and rookie David Green (36th, 181.759).
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB