Gordon on pole at Darlington
Jeff Gordon took the 31st pole position of his NASCAR career in first-round qualifying at Darlington
The triple Winston Cup champion was the last driver to set a time on the 1.36-mile oval, edging out Kevin Lepage, who had held the position for most of qualifying.
'We knew we were very fast in practice but we also knew we had to pick it up just a little bit,' said Gordon, who has won at Darlington on four occasions in the past.
'The whole team needed this. They have been working hard. This was a great thing for us, it's a real confidence builder.
As ever, the top 25 positions are now set. The rest of the field will have to run again in second-round qualifying to determine their starting slots.
First-round qualifying times from Darlington:
|
1 |
Jeff Gordon |
Chevrolet |
28.481s |
|
2 |
Kevin Lepage |
Ford |
28.552s |
|
3 |
Ward Burton |
Pontiac |
28.557s |
|
4 |
Dale Earnhardt |
Chevrolet |
28.685s |
|
5 |
Mark Martin |
Ford |
28.729s |
|
6 |
Elliott Sadler |
Ford |
28.739s |
|
7 |
Bobby Labonte |
Pontiac |
28.792s |
|
8 |
Bill Elliott |
Ford |
28.798s |
|
9 |
Tony Stewart |
Pontiac |
28.832s |
|
10 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr |
Chevrolet |
28.839s |
|
11 |
John Andretti |
Pontiac |
28.855s |
|
12 |
Dick Trickle |
Pontiac |
28.863s |
|
13 |
Robert Pressley |
Ford |
28.866s |
|
14 |
Jeff Fuller |
Pontiac |
28.867s |
|
15 |
Dave Blaney |
Pontiac |
28.874s |
|
16 |
Matt Kenseth |
Ford |
28.891s |
|
17 |
Dale Jarrett |
Ford |
28.899s |
|
18 |
Kenny Irwin |
Chevrolet |
28.902s |
|
19 |
Jerry Nadeau |
Chevrolet |
28.902s |
|
20 |
Rusty Wallace |
Ford |
28.915s |
|
21 |
Jeremy Mayfield |
Ford |
28.916s |
|
22 |
Ricky Rudd |
28.938s |
|
|
23 |
Mike Skinner |
Chevrolet |
28.949s |
|
24 |
Jimmy Spencer |
Ford |
28.950s |
|
25 |
Kenny Wallace |
Chevrolet |
28.964s |
|
26 |
Dave Marcis |
Chevrolet |
28.977s |
|
27 |
Jeff Burton |
Ford |
28.980s |
|
28 |
Sterling Marlin |
Chevrolet |
28.988s |
|
29 |
Johnny Benson |
Pontiac |
28.988s |
|
30 |
Joe Nemechek |
Chevrolet |
28.988s |
|
31 |
Steve Park |
Chevrolet |
28.996s |
|
32 |
Brett Bodine |
Ford |
29.000s |
|
33 |
Bobby Hamilton |
Chevrolet |
29.003s |
|
34 |
Terry Labonte |
Chevrolet |
29.008s |
|
35 |
Michael Waltrip |
Chevrolet |
29.020s |
|
36 |
Ken Schrader |
Pontiac |
29.053s |
|
37 |
Ted Musgrave |
Chevrolet |
29.065s |
|
38 |
Rick Mast |
Chevrolet |
29.131s |
|
39 |
Ricky Craven |
Chevrolet |
29.145s |
|
40 |
Kyle Petty |
Pontiac |
29.230s |
|
41 |
Darrell Waltrip |
Ford |
29.233s |
|
42 |
Robby Gordon |
Ford |
29.253s |
|
43 |
Wally Dallenbach |
Ford |
29.263s |
|
44 |
Ed Berrier |
Ford |
29.263s |
|
45 |
Chad Little |
Ford |
29.264s |
|
46 |
Stacy Compton |
Ford |
29.270s |
|
47 |
Derrike Cope |
Ford |
29.271s |
|
48 |
Scott Pruett |
Ford |
29.648s |
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