Gordon edges Labonte for Lowe’s pole

Gordon clicked off a lap around the 1.5-mile speedway in 29.101s at 185.561mph en route to his second Bud Pole of the 2000 season and his seventh at Charlotte.

Labonte's early fast lap of 29.108s (185.516 mph) was safe for a while, but Gordon came out after the lights came on at dusk and the track had cooled down. Neither driver, however, bested the track qualifying record set by Dale Earnhardt Jr in May of 29.027s (186.034 mph).

Gordon's teammate, Jerry Nadeau, was bumped to the third spot, followed by an ecstatic Jimmy Spencer and defending Winston Cup champion Dale Jarrett rounding out the top five.

Dale Earnhardt's lap looked to be a good one at first, but when the times were posted he was just 45th fastest. Kerry Earnhardt checked in with the 46th fastest time, while Dale Earnhardt Jr qualified 13th, locking in his starting spot for Sunday's event.

Ricky Rudd, Bill Elliott, Johnny Benson, Mark Martin and Jeremy Mayfield fill out the remaining top 10 spots on the grid.

Among those drivers who missed the mark during the Wednesday night session were Matt Kenseth, John Andretti, Darrell Waltrip, Scott Pruett, title-contender Jeff Burton, rising star Kurt Busch, Earnhardt and Steve Park.


Lowe's Motor Speedway


1 24 Jeff Gordon, Chev 29.101 185.561
2 18 Bobby Labonte, Pont 29.108 185.516
3 25 Jerry Nadeau, Chev 29.113 185.484
4 26 Jimmy Spencer, Ford 29.165 185.153
5 88 Dale Jarrett, Ford 29.173 185.103
6 28 Ricky Rudd, Ford 29.211 184.862
7 94 Bill Elliott, Ford 29.238 184.691
8 10 Johnny Benson, Pont 29.253 184.596
9 6 Mark Martin, Ford 29.253 184.596
10 12 Jeremy Mayfield, Ford 29.265 184.521
11 14 Rick Mast, Pont 29.268 184.502
12 22 Ward Burton, Pont 29.275 184.458
13 8 Dale Earnhardt, Jr Chev 29.276 184.451
14 7 Michael Waltrip, Chev 29.311 184.231
15 77 Robert Pressley, Ford 29.350 183.986
16 16 Kevin Lepage, Ford 29.365 183.892
17 20 Tony Stewart, Pont 29.385 183.767
18 4 Bobby Hamilton, Chev 29.389 183.742
19 31 Mike Skinner, Chev 29.389 183.742
20 36 Ken Schrader, Pont 29.396 183.698
21 33 Joe Nemechek, Chev 29.429 183.492
22 2 Rusty Wallace, Ford 29.431 183.480
23 21 Elliott Sadler, Ford 29.455 183.331
24 75 Wally Dallenbach, Ford 29.457 183.318
25 13 Robby Gordon Ford, 29.501 183.045


26 17 Matt Kenseth, Ford 29.516 182.952
27 98 Jeff Fuller, Ford 29.524 182.902
28 43 John Andretti, Pont 29.533 182.846
29 93 Dave Blaney, Pont 29.597 182.451
30 27 Mike Bliss, Pont 29.621 182.303
31 11 Brett Bodine, Ford 29.627 182.266
32 55 Kenny Wallace, Chev 29.635 182.217
33 96 Andy Houston, Ford 29.683 181.922
34 66 Darrell Waltrip, Ford 29.687 181.898
35 60 Dick Trickle, Chev 29.694 181.855
36 90 Hut Stricklin, Ford 29.699 181.824
37 01 Ted Musgrave, Chev 29.776 181.354
38 5 Terry Labonte, Chev 29.812 181.135
39 32 Scott Pruett, Ford 29.829 181.032
40 99 Jeff Burton, Ford 29.830 181.026
41 9 Stacy Compton, Ford 29.842 180.953
42 97 Kurt Busch, Ford 29.886 180.687
43 50 Ricky Craven, Chev 29.938 180.373
44 40 Sterling Marlin, Chev 29.941 180.355
45 3 Dale Earnhardt, Chev 30.149 179.110
46 71 Kerry Earnhardt, Chev 30.249 178.518
47 1 Steve Park, Chev 30.314 178.136
48 85 Carl Long, Ford 31.344 172.282