THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 3, 1995 TAG: 9504030123
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BRISTOL, TENN. LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
Rick Hendrick has been a car owner in NASCAR's Winston Cup series since 1984, so he's ridden the ups and downs in racing.
So after Jeff Gordon ran away with another race Sunday, winning the Food City 500 at Bristol International Raceway to go 3 for 6 in 1995, Hendrick sounded a note of caution.
``We'll just enjoy it while we can, because there will be another drought,'' Hendrick said.
That may be so. But Gordon is running so well right now, no storm clouds whatsoever are visible on his horizon.
Gordon led 205 of the 500 laps in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo to win by 5.74 seconds over the Ford Thunderbird of Rusty Wallace. Darrell Waltrip was third in another Chevy, followed by Bobby Hamilton in a Pontiac and Ricky Rudd in a Ford.
Dale Jarrett, in the No. 28 Havoline Ford, finished sixth, the only other car on the lead lap.
This was Gordon's fifth career victory but his first on a NASCAR short track. And it was the first time he has finished a race at Bristol.
``We're very excited about having a short-track victory,'' he said. ``I think there's a lot of new surprises for me happening this whole year. I don't know what to say. It seems like everything is coming together right now.
``I never dreamed in a million years I was going to be in Victory Lane at Bristol. I'd never come away from here with a car in one piece, let alone (getting in) VicTory Lane.''
Gordon moved from eighth to fourth in the Winston Cup points race. Dale Earnhardt maintained the points lead despite crashing early. He finished 25th and saw his lead shrink from 67 to 17 points over Marlin.
But the points race, and its emphasis on consistency, masks the fact that Gordon is clobbering almost everyone almost every week.
Let's take stock.
Gordon has won three of the six races thus far in 1995. He has won three poles and has started no lower than fourth.
Of the 2,213 laps run this year, Gordon has led 1,002. Next on the list, with 206, is Earnhardt, who hasn't won. In two of the three races Gordon didn't win, he was a major force until trouble struck. And in the third, he sat on the pole.
``I don't believe it's any one thing doing it for us,'' Gordon said. ``It doesn't matter whether you have a Chevy or whether you have a great chassis. It's a combination of things.''
Sunday's race saw the return of Ford and two of its top drivers, Wallace and Martin, to the front of the field. Wallace led 101 laps; Martin led 155 and was running second until he had to make an emergency pit stop with only 10 laps to go.
``I wore the rubber off the tires and then the cords off the tires trying to keep up, right up until the air came out,'' Martin said. ``We gave 'em all we had, but when it came to nut-cracking time, they whipped it on us.''
Just because he led a bunch of laps doesn't mean the Fords are equal to the Chevys on the short tracks, Martin said.
``The only way we'll win is to catch 'em on an off day,'' he said. ``People who say (downforce) doesn't matter on short tracks are fools.''
Gordon said he was having his own troubles when Martin and Wallace were leading.
``This car was not this good all day long,'' he said. ``It was very tight, but the longer we ran, the better we got. Rusty and Mark would jump out on new tires, but as the race got longer and longer, our car got better and better.''
Gordon said he was happy to let others lead anyway: ``We led a lot of laps today, but there were a lot of times when I wanted somebody else to lead and make the holes for us.''
He had a few close calls (``I was on full alert the whole time''), but perhaps the most worrisome time for Gordon was right at the end, when his tires were worn out, too.
``With three or four laps to go, I probably lost at least two seconds a lap'' because of the worn tires, he said. ``When you run that many laps under green at this place, it's going to eat them up. I'm glad I didn't have to race anybody at the end.''
And one of the first things Gordon told his crew on the radio after taking the checkered flag was, ``I betcha there ain't nothin' left on that right rear. I almost lost it.''
Later, in the media center, he reflected on his first NASCAR hot streak.
``Right now, nothing is surprising me,'' he said. ``Right now, I have so much confidence in the cars and the team, I feel we're going to be good wherever we go. This is a big jump for us - a major confidence-builder.'' ILLUSTRATION: Associated Press color photo
Jeff Gordon hugs his wife, Brook, in Bristol's Victory Lane. ``It
seems like everything is coming together right now,'' he said.
by CNB