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Friday, April 6
Gordon grabs third pole of 2001
Associated Press
MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Jeff Gordon won the pole position for Sunday's Virginia 500, his 35th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series top starting spot.
Gordon bumped fellow short-track specialist Rusty Wallace out of the top spot with a run at 94.087 mph around the .526-mile oval, then watched as track qualifying record-holder Tony Stewart and 11 others gave chase.
|  | | Jeff Gordon celebrates as he climbs out of his car after winning the pole for the Virginia 500 at Martinsville. |
None came close, giving Gordon his third pole of the season.
"I knew we had a good car all day, but I had no idea it was going to feel that good for qualifying," Gordon said. "The thing really stuck good, turned good. I really couldn't have asked for it to do much more."
Wallace, the active leader with six victories on the oldest, short track in NASCAR's premier series, will start second after a run at 93.994 mph, the first of five straight Fords behind Gordon's Chevrolet.
"This is a very difficult place to win poles at, and as far as I'm concerned, it's probably the most important place to win the pole because of that No. 1 pit stall over there," Gordon said. "There's just nothing like having that No. 1 pit stall at Martinsville. It's a huge thing."
The track this year widened pit road by 10 feet, but Gordon said pit road is still very tight, so having a clear shot out of the stall is key.
Wallace agreed, saying the No. 1 stall and No. 12, the first after a break in the pit road wall, is also good.
"I'm real happy to get second if I couldn't get first," Wallace said. "It gives us good pit selection out there. To me there's only two good pits that I like, and I got one of them for Sunday, so that's good."
Virginia natives Jeff Burton and Ricky Rudd make up the second row, followed by Robert Pressley and Jeremy Mayfield. The Chevys of Jerry Nadeau, Joe Nemechek, Bobby Hamilton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are next.
Series rookie Casey Atwood will start 14th as the first Dodge off the line, and Stewart will be the first Pontiac. He's starting 16th.
Gordon said the problems of qualifying at Martinsville, with its long straightaways and tight corners at both ends, are a constant concern.
"You're trying to be patient but be aggressive at the same time, and that's two things that don't mix too well," he said.
The pole was Gordon's first here. He's won here three times.
Defending race champion Mark Martin qualified 36th, and Stewart, who set a track record in qualifying here last October, was 16th.
Points leader Dale Jarrett will start 13th. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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