
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 13, 1992                   TAG: 9203130125
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

AUTO RACING-GORDON GRABS POLE

In Hampton, Ga., 20-year-old Jeff Gordon nabbed his third straight pole, leading qualifying for Saturday's Atlanta Motor Speedway 300 with a lap of 173.821 mph.

That stands as a record on the 1.522-mile oval since this is the first time NASCAR's Busch Grand National series has visited the track 30 miles south of Atlanta.

Gordon, a former midget racing star and considered one of the rising stars of stock car racing, won poles at at Richmond, Va., last week and Rockingham, N.C., the previous week. That tied the Grand National record of three straight poles set by Sam Ard in 1983 and equaled in 1987 by Mark Martin and in 1989 by Michael Waltrip.

Tracy Leslie was a close second at 173.190 in an Oldsmobile, followed by the Ford of NASCAR Winston Cup star Mark Martin at 173.162.

by CNB