May 17, 2008
Gordon rebounds
Driver takes pole for Kobalt Tools 500 a week after vicious crash
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HAMPTON, Ga. - Jeff Gordon, bouncing back from a hard crash in Las Vegas, felt a whole lot better last night after winning the pole for tomorrow's NASCAR Sprint Cup Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
On Sunday, Gordon walked away without injury after his Chevrolet bounced off the car driven by Matt Kenseth and slammed into the wall in a hit that tore apart the front of his car, leaving his steaming radiator sitting on the track.
"I was sore, but none of the soreness affected me in the racecar," Gordon said after posting a fast lap of 185.251 mph on the 1.5-mile Atlanta oval, easily faster than the 184.862 of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
After what he called "one of the nastiest wrecks I've ever had," Gordon was able to take part in the Cup test Monday and Tuesday in Phoenix, so he knew he'd be OK heading into this weekend.
"My stomach was sore and my elbow was banged up, but I was able to put that aside in the racecar," he said after earning his second Atlanta pole and the 64th of his Cup career. "This makes me feel just fine."
Gordon said he worked with crew chief Steve Letarte to make the car better and that the team made steady progress in practice.
"To go out there and put down that kind of lap, it feels great, and I'm impressed with this team."
Martin Truex Jr. made it a sweep of the top three places for Chevrolet with a lap of 183.807.
Carl Edwards, coming off two wins in a row, did not seem bothered by a NASCAR penalty that knocked him out of the points lead as his Ford qualified fourth at 183.297, just ahead of the 183.248 by six-time Atlanta winner Bobby Labonte in a Dodge.
Edwards fell from first to seventh in the standings after NASCAR docked him 100 points and suspended crew chief Bob Osborne after a post-race inspection in Las Vegas found there was no lid on his car's oil tank.
Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun
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