DATE: Monday, April 21, 1997                TAG: 9704210159

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE                      LENGTH:   86 lines

GORDON LEAVES MUCH OF FIELD IN HIS EXHAUST AT GOODY'S 500 HE CAPTURES HIS 4TH WINSTON CUP RACE OF YEAR AND 2ND IN A ROW.

Jeff Gordon didn't have any trouble passing anyone to win the Goody's 500 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 out 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 on his mission to win 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,'' he 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, in fact, a runaway by Gordon. He led a record 432 laps out of the 500. Joe Nemechek led the first 20 laps, and Hamilton led his 48 after Gordon was spun out, 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 deal with.

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, an ex-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 Gordon 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 afterwards. ``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 charged on.

Dale Earnhardt was the next target. On lap 326, Gordon began racing side-by-side with Earnhardt. Then came into Spencer's view.

Spencer, mind you, still has been nursing some irritation about that collision with Gordon at Texas that sent him into the first turn wall.

And as Gordon went around Spencer on the outside in turn four, Spencer's car drifted up, caught Gordon's left rear and they both did 360-degree spins, came to a stop facing forward and then continued driving.

Gordon at first thought Hamilton had got 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 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 then, a few moments later: ``It's getting wild. Better get that TV on.''

After the race, having won it, Gordon 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, battled with him side-by-side for a lap and a half and finally made the race-winning pass going into turn one 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 Sunday under any circumstances. Gordon was unbeatable, and even the cramming and bamming didn't phase him.

``I really thought that things went a lot better than they did at Bristol considering the number of cars on the track,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

ASSOCIATED PRESS

``It wasn't smooth sailing,'' said Jeff Gordon. ``I got a few love

taps myself today.'' He led a record 432 laps out of the 500 in

winning at Martinsville.

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