THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 15, 1996 TAG: 9606150450
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LONG POND, PA. LENGTH: 54 lines
Jeff Gordon zoomed past the halfway point toward tying the Winston Cup record for consecutive pole positions with his third in a row Friday at Pocono International Raceway.
It was a different story for Dale Jarrett, who broke a rib and suffered a slight fracture of his right leg in a crash in turn 3 during the warmup lap for his qualifying run. Jarrett plans to requalify today despite the injuries.
Gordon won the top starting spot for Sunday's UAW-GM 500 with a lap of 169.725 mph in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
Jarrett, however, spun and hit the wall hard with the left front and left rear quarter panels of his car. He walked away from the crash but was taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center for X-rays.
Jarrett, who is fourth in Winston Cup points, was found to have a broken sixth left rib and slight fracture of the right tibia just below the knee. But he was cleared to drive by Dr. William Krywicki, who treated Jarrett's leg injury.
Jarrett also reportedly had severe swelling of the knee but was to have that drained. He was released from the hospital shortly after 6 p.m. Friday and had every intention of driving today. He told team spokesman Randy Laney that it was easier for him to sit anyway, since he has to have crutches to walk and the left crutch hurts his broken rib.
Gordon demolished the Pocono track record. But with new pavement on this 2.5-mile tri-oval, it was a foregone conclusion that the mark would fall.
The old track record - 164.558 mph, set by Rusty Wallace in June 1994 - was broken by 37 of the 40 drivers who completed qualifying runs Friday. Gordon was more than 5 mph faster than the previous record.
If Gordon can win pole positions at the upcoming races at Michigan and Daytona, he would have five straight, which would tie him with Cale Yarborough (1980) and Darrell Waltrip (1980 and 1981).
``I don't know if we're peaking too fast or not, but I certainly don't think so,'' Gordon said. ``I believe we're starting to show we're an even better team than we were last year.''
With the new pavement, Gordon said, ``You picked up speed everywhere. The cars are riding smoother, even down the straightaways, and you can drive so deep in turn 1 it's unbelievable. Just when you think you've driven too far, the track grabs you and pulls you to the bottom.''
Derrike Cope was a surprise winner of the outside pole with a speed of 169.208 mph. Hut Stricklin was third-fastest in a Ford at 169.173 mph, followed by Ricky Craven in a Chevy at 168.941 and Ken Schrader, also in a Chevy, at 168.675.
Also in the top 10 are Mark Martin (168.669), Bobby Labonte (168.451), Joe Nemechek (168.369), Ricky Rudd (168.168) and Dale Earnhardt (168.136).
The second round of qualifying is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. today. Jarrett will requalify, as will Darrell Waltrip, who was unable to complete his run, apparently because of a loose spark-plug wire. But only 42 cars are here this weekend, so none of the regulars should have any trouble making the field. by CNB