Qualifying was held yesterday for the Busch Grand National race at Charlotte. Positions from 1 to 35 were locked in. The race will be televised live on TBS at 1:05 PM, EDT. The top five positions:
- 1. B. Labonte (subbing for Tony Stewart)
- 2. K. Lepage
- 3. J. Bown
- 4. D. Fischlein
- 5. M. Kenseth
A 50 lap qualifying race will be held today at 2:30 PM to determine the rest of the positions of those who failed to qualify.
Jeff Gordon didn't run out of gas yesterday evening when he edged out Ward Burton for the pole position in Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600.
- 1. Jeff Gordon 182.976
- 2. Ward Burton 182.624
- 3. John Andretti 182.217
- 4. Rusty Wallace 181.947
- 5. Mark Martin 181.635
- 6. Bobby Labonte 181.458
- 7. Dick Trickle 181.318
- 8. Gary Bradberry 181.178
- 9. Rick Mast 181.087
- 10. Dale Jarrett 180.989
Among the drivers that failed to qualify were: Earnhardt, Elliott, Marlin, T. Labonte, J. Burton, and J.Nemecheck.
Five drivers will be elligible for the "Winston No Bull 5" million dollar prize Sunday night from their top 5 finish at the Daytona 500. Earnhardt, B. Labonte, Mayfield, Schrader, and Rusty Wallace, will be racing for the extra million. The race will be televised on TBS Sunday night, starting at 5:35 PM.
The all star festivities began at Charlotte last Friday with two qualifying races to determine the starting spots in the Winston Open. Winner of the first race was Jeremy Mayfield, with Jimmy Spencer taking the second, rounding out the front row for the Open that was held before the Winston Select. Jeremy Mayfield won the 50-lap Open, giving him the 20th position for the Select. The other 19 all star's positions were determined by their standings in Winston Cup.
The Winston Select consists of three segments, two for 30 laps, and the last, a 10-lap "dash for cash." In previous years the field was inverted after the first segment, making the last place driver first for the second segment. This year the rules were changed to quell the urge for drivers to "sand bag," by holding back in the first segment to get a better position for the second. This year, they brought out a huge roulette wheel containing numbers from 3 to 12. The wheel was spun, and the number 4 came up, meaning that only the first four positions would be inverted. Jeff Gordon, the $50,000 winner of the first segment, would start fourth in the second segment, and fourth place driver Sterling Marlin started first in the second segment.
