ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 21, 1997 TAG: 9704220021
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER THE ROANOKE TIMES
Jeff Gordon sets a race record by leading 432 laps, despite some trouble with lapped cars, to win the Goody's Headache Powder 500 at Martinsville.
Jeff Gordon didn't have any trouble passing anyone to win the Goody's Headache Powder 500 on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, but things got mighty interesting when he started putting cars a lap down.
Gordon had to fight, scratch and claw his way past lapped cars, and he was spun once when he got too close to the man they call ``Mr.Excitement,'' Jimmy Spencer.
But that didn't change the bottom line. Nothing stopped Gordon from winning his fourth race of the year and his second in a row as he swept the brief NASCAR Winston Cup spring short-track swing.
``I'm glad to hear it was entertaining,'' Gordon said. ``It certainly was for me. It wasn't smooth sailing. I got a few love taps myself today.''
Bobby Hamilton finished second, 1.047 seconds behind Gordon, after leading 48 laps. Mark Martin had a remarkable run to finish third, followed by Terry Labonte, Rusty Wallace and pole-winner Kenny Wallace, who never led a lap.
The top 15 cars finished on the lead lap, but it was a runaway by Gordon. He led a race-record 432 of 500 laps. Joe Nemechek led the first 20 laps, and Hamilton led his 48 after Gordon was spun, and that was it.
It wasn't quite as big a rout as Tiger Woods' 12-shot victory in the Masters, but in Woods' final round his opponents were not allowed to scream and yell during his backswing. In effect, that's what Gordon had to overcome.
The runaway started to get interesting shortly after the halfway point as Gordon prepared to put a lap on some of the toughest and most skillful drivers in the Winston Cup series.
Winston Cup points leader Dale Jarrett went down quietly on lap 279. (Jarrett, by the way, finished 16th, the first car one lap down, after having ``just a bad day.'')
John Andretti also went quietly, but the next driver, Ken Schrader, didn't. Schrader, a former teammate and a driver who took a tumble down the backstretch at Talladega two years ago courtesy of a tap by Gordon, fought furiously to keep the race leader behind him.
At one point, crew chief Ray Evernham asked that Schrader be told that ``he needs to pick a lane.'' But Schrader made his car wide and battled side-by-side with Gordon for several laps until he, too, succumbed.
``He didn't want to go a lap down,'' Gordon said of Jarrett. ``I don't blame him. We had some fun racing.''
But he also heated up his right-rear tire during the battle, and his car became loose. Still, he kept charging.
Dale Earnhardt was the next target. On lap 326, Gordon began racing side by side with Earnhardt. Then, he came into Spencer's view.
Spencer hasn't forgotten a collision with Gordon at Texas that sent him into the wall in turn 1. As Gordon went around Spencer on the outside in turn 4 on Sunday, Spencer's car drifted up, caught the left rear of Gordon's car and they both did 360-degree spins, came to a stop facing forward, then continued driving.
Gordon at first thought Hamilton had gotten him, as did Hamilton. But by the time Gordon was rolling again, he knew it was Spencer.
``I guess that's Jimmy Spencer's way of payback,'' Evernham said on the radio. ``That was a real class act for the [No.]23 car.''
Gordon was as cool as anyone about it, telling Evernham, ``Don't worry about it. What's done is done. He got out of the way.'' And a few moments later: ``It's getting wild. Better get that TV on.''
After winning the race, Gordon said he saw no foul on Spencer's part.
Asked if Spencer hit him intentionally, Gordon said, ``I have no idea. I certainly hope not. I felt like I gave him more than enough room. I saw his front end sliding out in the turns, so I thought I gave him plenty of room. But the next thing I know I was spinning around.''
The spin, which occurred on lap 327, allowed Hamilton to take the lead. But on lap 375, Gordon pulled under Hamilton and battled with him side by side for 11/2 laps before making the race-winning pass going into turn 1 on lap 376.
Said Hamilton: ``We needed 100 laps of solid green''-flag racing. ``We were better than anybody then. We never got that chance but once, and we got to the front that way.''
But it is doubtful Hamilton could have done anything with Gordon on Sunday under any circumstances.
``I really thought that things went a lot better than they did at Bristol considering the number of cars on the track,'' Gordon said.
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN THE ROANOKE TIMES. 1. Jeff Gordon (24)by CNBspins in turn 4 after tangling with Jimmy Spencer (23) as Ken
Schrader (left), Bobby Hamilton (43) and Sterling Marlin (4) try to
avoid trouble during Sunday's NASCAR Winston Cup race at
Martinsville Speedway. Hamilton took the lead after Gordon's spin,
but Gordon went on to win the Goody's Headache Powder 500. 2. Jeff
Gordon was on top again (above left) at Martinsville Speedway on
Sunday 3. after celebrating with his wife, Brooke (above right).
``I'm glad to hear it was entertaining,'' Gordon said of his second
short-track victory in as many weeks. ``It certainly was for me. It
wasn't smooth sailing. I got a few love taps myself today.'' color. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING