Gordon takes pole
Jeff Gordon won’t have to pass Jimmie Johnson this time.
The points leader failed for 53 laps at the end of the Nextel Cup spring race Martinsville Speedway to get around his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, and wound up second as Johnson took the checkered flag on NASCAR’s shortest circuit.
This time, Johnson will have to get around his teammate after Gordon won the pole for the Subway 500 at 94.974 mph on the 0.526-mile circuit on a rainy Friday at Martinsville, Va.
The pole is the 63rd of Gordon’s career, his seventh this season and the sixth of his career at Martinsville. He’s also won seven times here, tops among active drivers, and he and his one-time protege have combined to win seven of the last nine events. It’s also bad news for the rest of the field, Gordon said.
“Qualifying, I think, throughout my career, but especially this year, too, it seems to really contribute greatly to our success,” said Gordon, the four-time series champion and points leader halfway through this year’s 10-race Chase.
Johnson, 68 points back in second, will start fourth Sunday.
“I love Martinsville,” Gordon said. “This is a track where … we just hit on some things early on in my career and as much as some guys struggle here, it’s quite the opposite for me. I just really like this track and when you like a track and you run well at a track, all you have to do is fine-tune your set-up and make it better.”
Chevrolet took the top four spots on the grid with Martin Truex Jr. earning the spot outside Gordon with a lap at 94.737 mph and Kevin Harvick third at 94.685 mph.
The top 10 includes Kasey Kahne in a Dodge, the Chevys of Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and J.J. Yeley, Jamie McMurray’s Ford and Tony Raines in a Chevrolet.
Formula One
Lewis Hamilton, fastest in practice for the decisive Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has been penalized for illegally using a set of tires.
The McLaren driver, who is trying to become the first rookie to win the title and the youngest F1 champion, was among three drivers facing penalties for using two sets of wet tires during the first practice session.
Hamilton was fifth in the morning session, which was conducted under light rain.
McLaren team chief Ron Dennis admitted it was a “mistake and clearly a breach” of regulations, but said the team did not gain any advantage from it.
Force will leave hospital
Through thousands of runs at 300-plus mph, drag-racing star John Force never spent more than a few hours laid up with injuries in the first 30 years of his career.
Today, he’s supposed to get out of a Dallas hospital 27 days after a horrific, replayed-around-the-world crash that broke an ankle, foot, hand and several fingers and badly damaged a knee and wrist – among other things.
“I’m a pretty proud guy,” Force said. “The hospital has humbled me in ways you can’t imagine.”
Champ Car
Team Australia’s Will Power, born two hours west of the track in Toowoomba, posted a qualifying lap record time of 1 minute, 30.054 seconds in the 30-minute qualifying session for Sunday’s Lexmark Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise, Australia.
Beside him will be Oriol Servia, who won the provisional qualifying session.