THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 3, 1995 TAG: 9508030621
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Picking up where he left off last year, Jeff Gordon was the quickest Wednesday in practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and established himself as the driver to beat in Saturday's Brickyard 400.
Gordon reached 171.894 mph in one of the 12 laps he ran in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo during a four-hour practice session.
While that's not as fast as the 172.414 mph Rick Mast ran to win last year's pole, Gordon said he and the other drivers probably still have something left for today's pole qualifying (TV: 3 p.m., ESPN).
``Today is just a shakedown,'' Gordon said Wednesday. ``But tomorrow is really when we're going to see the times go down and see guys really going for it. It's a whole new game tomorrow.''
Rusty Wallace only ran seven laps Wednesday but was second-fastest in his Ford Thunderbird at 170.843 mph. He called it a day with more than an hour left in the session.
``We really only ran two laps today - two qualifying runs,'' Wallace said.
The main reason for the limited practice Wednesday was a lack of tires. Teams have only three sets of new tires to use from the time the track opened at 2 p.m. Wednesday until qualifying is finished.
Bill Elliott was the third-fastest Wednesday in his Ford, reaching 170.558 mph on one of the 29 laps he ran. Elliott was among the busiest drivers Wednesday. Several drivers, including Ted Musgrave, Dick Trickle, Mike Wallace, A.J. Foyt and rookie Elton Sawyer, ran 30 to 35 laps.
Mast was fourth-fastest at 170.309 mph in his Ford, and Greg Sacks, who on Monday was named to replace Chuck Bown in the No. 32 Active Racing Chevrolet. Sacks had a lap at 170.161.
Also in the top 10 were Bobby Labonte in a Chevy at 170.129 mph, Martin in a Ford at 170.068, Joe Nemechek in a Chevy at 169.969, John Andretti in a Ford at 169.936 and Terry Labonte in a Chevy at 169.901.
CHILDRESS UNWORRIED: Richard Childress said he's 95 percent sure that he'll be able to sign another multiyear contract to keep Dale Earnhardt as his driver, despite rumors to the contrary.
``As far as Dale and I, we've got another year on our contract and we're negotiating to stay together through the year 2000,'' Childress said. ``Everything is good with us. I think it's just a matter of going through the formalities, just a matter of one attorney clearing the contract with another attorney.''
BUSY WEEK: Sawyer is one of several drivers who will have a real hectic time this week in Indianapolis.
Not only will Sawyer be trying to earn a starting spot in Saturday's Brickyard 400, he also will be racing Friday night in the Busch Grand National race at Indianapolis Raceway Park, about 5 miles from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Today ``will be a hectic day, with practice in the Winston Cup car and qualifying in the Busch car,'' Sawyer said. ``But on Friday the Busch cars don't do much until race time, so I'll practice all day with the Cup car and go over there at about 5 p.m. for the start of the Busch race.
``We've got a helicopter lined up if we need it. There's not much distance between the tracks, but there is a lot of traffic between the two.''
Last year, the traffic was so bad heading for Raceway Park on Friday night that some people just parked along the highway and walked several miles to the track, arriving as the race was ending. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Very early Wednesday, Jeff Gordon's car is broken out of the hauler
and pushed to Gasoline Alley. Later, it ran the day's fast lap.
by CNB