Gordon Fifth in ‘Dega Qualifying

TALLADEGA, Ala. (Oct. 1, 2004) – Jeff Gordon led Hendrick Motorsports in Friday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series time trials at Talladega Superspeedway, posting the fifth-best lap in his No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet. “We’re pretty pleased with that lap,” said Gordon, who was clocked at 189.763 mph (50.463 seconds) around the 2.66-mile tri-oval. “We backed up what we ran in practice and got a little bit more out of it. That’s what we were hoping for.” Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy, will start 16th in Sunday’s EA Sports 500. He will be followed by teammate Brian Vickers, who qualified 21st in the No. 25 GMAC Financial Services Monte Carlo. Terry Labonte will line up 38th in the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet. Joe Nemechek earned the pole position after a lap of 190.749 mph (50.202 seconds) in his No. 01 Chevy with Hendrick Motorsports power. “There is an art to building engines,” said Nemechek, whose MB2 Motorsports team leases motors from Hendrick. “Randy Dorton (HMS engine director) is a good friend of mine. I see how much money they spend and the efforts they put in to make all their motors the same. I’m proud to get them a pole today, too.” Three of Friday’s top-five qualifiers fielded entries with a Hendrick power plant under the hood. Sunday’s EA Sports 500 will be broadcast live from Talladega Superspeedway by NBC and MRN Radio beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.