Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 7, 1993 TAG: 9310070131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Gordon couldn't have picked a more distinctive time and place to do it.
The estimated 60,000 fans who packed the frontstretch grandstand of this brightly lit 1.5-mile speedway went crazy when Gordon's lap speed was announced, and the young driver was mobbed by reporters and cameramen when he wheeled his Chevrolet Lumina back into the garage.
The noise in the driver's seat usually is too loud for drivers to hear the crowd, but not at Charlotte on pole night.
"I was looking all over the track to see if I see any reaction," Gordon said. "And when I got over here in the fourth turn, I the engine off and I heard the roar and I said, `Man, I can't believe it! I did it!'
"This is something. It's on live TV, and this is Charlotte, and where else do we get 50,000 people here for qualifying?"
Ernie Irvan won the outside pole in a Ford Thunderbird with a speed of 177.491 mph, and Geoff Bodine, who blew his engine at the start-finish line, took the third starting spot in another Ford with a speed of 177.474 mph. Ken Schrader was fourth fastest in a Chevy at 177.003 mph, and Bill Elliott was fifth in a Ford at 176.644 mph.
Gordon, who had one of the fastest cars in practice, said he put everything he had into the lap.
"This is probably one of the biggest moments in my career," he said. "It was a heck of a lap. The last time I went out in practice, I told the guys it was really good.
During the qualifying lap, the car "wasn't loose and it wasn't tight, but I drove it so hard, I was on the edge the whole time."
Gordon's lap knocked Irvan off the pole, and when it was confirmed by the roar of the crowd, Irvan was standing against his car with owner Robert Yates. Yates slapped the side of the car in disappointment.
Irvan, who had run early in the session, said, "We knew [the end of qualifying] was a long time away. Oh well, it was good for the top five at least."
Rusty Wallace, who was 21st, was among those who failed to qualify in Wednesday night's session, where the first 20 positions were filled.
Fifty-one cars made runs, beginning shortly before dusk under a spectacular orange-and-blue sunset. A second round of time trials to fill the 40-car field for Sunday's race will begin at 1:30 p.m. today.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB