THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505210189
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CONCORD, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Jeff Gordon probably would have won The Winston Select anyway, but it didn't hurt that half the field wrecked trying to catch him.
Gordon won all three segments of the all-star event at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night and sailed to victory by 1.07 seconds over Sterling Marlin.
``This Chevrolet Monte Carlo was bad to the bone,'' Gordon hollered as he took a victory lap. ``Ain't nobody was going to stop us tonight.''
And say goodbye to the short-lived silver-and-orange edition of Dale Earnhardt's Chevy.
During driver introductions, Earnhardt wore a silver leather jacket that looked more like a moon suit. His driving was unusually spacy, too.
First, Earnhardt was the unexpected victim in the wake of a crash involving Ken Schrader and Jimmy Spencer in the second segment.
Later in the same segment, he tapped Dale Jarrett in the back and sent him spinning into the wall. That crash also claimed Mark Martin and Todd Bodine.
On the first lap of the final segment, Earnhardt went three-wide on the backstretch and charged into the lead. But he lost control in the fourth turn while battling Darrell Waltrip for the lead.
``I got loose and lost it,'' said Earnhardt, nursing a twisted ankle. ``I got into Darrell. He was on the outside of me.''
That Marlin was the driver who inherited the opportunity to challenge Gordon in the final 10 laps was indicative of how badly the field had been depleted. Marlin wrecked his primary car in an afternoon practice session and was driving a backup.
No one was hurt in any of the accidents, although Earnhardt left the track with a sore ankle and Waltrip had the wind knocked out of him.
``It would have been tough if Earnhardt and Darrell hadn't wrecked,'' Gordon said. ``I would have liked to have raced them. But I think they both knew we had the car to beat.''
Gordon ran away from the field in the first segment, winning by 3.1 seconds over Ricky Rudd.
In the second segment, battling from the rear after the field was inverted, Gordon took the lead after 17 laps, passing Dick Trickle on the outside of turn two. It was a runaway from there. Gordon crossed the line 1.47 seconds ahead of Waltrip.
Chesapeake's Elton Sawyer finished 12th.
Earlier, Todd Bodine charged from eighth place with 13 laps to go to win the Winston Select Open and qualify for the main event. Bodine was followed by Ken Schrader, Robert Pressley, Mike Wallace and Lake Speed, who also qualified.
There were four crashes in the 50-lap event, including a six-car melee in turn four on the first lap when Ward Burton hit the outside wall in front of the rear portion of the field. Delma Cowart, Jeremy Mayfield, Chuck Bown, Pancho Carter and Jay Hedgecock couldn't avoid the ensuing trouble.
Bodine, who led 15 laps, was running away with the race but pitted for tires during the final caution, which started on lap 34, and fell to eighth. But once the race restarted, Bodine sliced through the field. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dale Earnhardt wrecks his brand-new silver Monte Carlo during the
Winston Select.
by CNB