Darlington, S.C. — Jeff Gordon is so good at Darlington Raceway, he doesn't even need to run it to finish in front.
Gordon gained his third consecutive pole in Darlington's spring race after qualifying was canceled because of fog Saturday. It was his fourth career pole here and had him anxious for his sixth career Darlington victory the first since the 1998 Southern 500 at the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 today.
"We won here today," he told fans outside his hauler. "Now, we've got to go win Sunday."
When the thick fog hit the track, it delayed the first Winston Cup practice of the shortened NASCAR weekend nearly three hours.
When it appeared the weather would not brighten until after 10 a.m., Darlington president Jim Hunter told NASCAR it had to choose "on qualifying or practice."
"They chose practice," he said.
Three of Darlington's previous four races were delayed and shortened by rain.
The cars were lined up according to owners points from this season. Jeff Burton and Jeremy Mayfield, starting 36th and 37th, got in because of 2000 owner victories. Veterans Rick Mast and Dave Marcis, and rookie Andy Houston were squeezed out of the 43-car field.
Dale Jarrett, who won this race in 1997 and 1998 and was second to Ward Burton in 2000, will start alongside Gordon.
Green SunCom champ
Darlington, S.C. Busch series champion Jeff Green finally found the winning touch this year, holding off Matt Kenseth the final 25 laps to win the SunCom 200 at Darlington Raceway Saturday. Green beat Kenseth out of the pits on lap 123 and finished less than a second in front.
Ray takes Indy 200 pole
Avondale, Ariz. Team Penske made its much-anticipated appearance, and Greg Ray won another pole Saturday. The speedy Texan turned a lap of 177.663 mph on the one-mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway to earn the series-high 10th pole of his career, putting himself at the front for the season-opening Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200.
Audi team wins at Sebring
Sebring, Fla. The Audi team of Rinaldo Capello, Michele Alboreto and Laurent Aiello won Saturday in the closest finish in the 49-year history of the 12 Hours of Sebring sports car endurance race. The race was run from start to finish without a caution period in front of a crowd estimated at 168,000, the largest sports car race attendance ever in the United States.
Musgrave wins truck race
Bakersfield, Calif. Ted Musgrave backed up his pole position with a trip to victory circle Saturday at Mesa Marin Raceway, becoming the first two-time winner this season in the NASCAR truck series. Musgrave, who led a race-high 119 of 250 laps in a Dodge, passed Brendan Gaughan on the 218th lap around the half-mile track.
Schumacher edges brother
Sepang, Malaysia Michael Schumacher won his sixth straight pole, and this time he nearly had his younger brother right beside him. The three-time world champion led all qualifiers for the Malaysian Grand Prix and was going for his sixth consecutive victory today. Ralf Schumacher, in a Williams-BMW, led much of the way but finished third.
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