Gordon to Start Fifth at Darlington

DARLINGTON, S.C. (March 14, 2003) – Jeff Gordon drove his No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet to the fifth-fastest lap during NASCAR Winston Cup Series qualifying at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway on Friday, posting a speed of 169.071 mph. “I'm never satisfied until we're at the top of the board, but that was a real good run for us,” Gordon said. “We picked up from practice and you've got to be happy with that.” The four-time Winston Cup champion, who was fourth in pre-qualifying practice earlier in the day, was the quickest of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates at the Darlington time trials. He was the 17th driver to tour the 1.366-mile oval, one position behind pole-sitter Elliott Sadler. Driving the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy, Jimmie Johnson will start 14th overall, followed by Terry Labonte, who qualified 29th in the No. 5 Kellogg’s / got milk? Monte Carlo. Joe Nemechek will start 38th in the No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevy after posting the 15-quickest time in practice, second-best among the Hendrick contingent behind Gordon.