Gordon Close Enough to Win Busch Clash

It looked as if Daytona International Speedway had a 2 1/2-mile no-passing zone in the Busch Clash at Daytona Beach, Fla.

Fortunately for Jeff Gordon, he was close enough to the front at the critical moment Sunday to win the mostly lifeless race, a 20-lap, 50-mile event for the previous year’s NASCAR Winston Cup pole winners.

Gordon, 22nd on Saturday in pole qualifying for the Daytona 500, averaged 185.376 mph for the 20 green-flag laps of the the Clash. He beat Rusty Wallace’s Ford Thunderbird to the finish line by 0.130 seconds--about two car-lengths.

The 1995 Winston Cup champion and 1996 runner-up started last in the 14-car Clash field. His Chevrolet Monte Carlo got off to a terrible start and stayed near the rear throughout the first 10-lap segment on the high-banked Daytona oval.

But the Clash, which Gordon also won in 1994, has a unique format. The field inverted for the last 10 laps.

So when the second segment began, Gordon found himself third, just behind Bobby Labonte and Dale Earnhardt, the only drivers behind him in the first 10 laps. He took the lead on the second lap and no cars in the front group passed each other on the final eight laps.

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Polesitter Andy Hillenburg opened the ARCA season by winning the Daytona 200 for the second time in three years.

The 33-year-old driver from Charlotte, N.C., led the final 46 laps in his Chevrolet. It was the third career victory for Hillenburg, who used his victory in this race as a springboard to the 1995 ARCA championship.

Baseball

The San Diego Padres have called a news conference for today to announce that they’ve agreed to a three-year, $15-million contract with slugger Greg Vaughn.

By agreeing to the deal, the two sides will avoid an arbitration hearing scheduled for Friday. Vaughn had filed for a $5,675,000 salary while the Padres offered $5 million. He made $5,825,000 last year.

Tony Batista hit a three-run homer in the first inning and the Aguilas of the Dominican Republic beat Culiacan of Mexico, 4-3, for the Caribbean Series championship at Hermosillo, Mexico.

Jesus Tavarez began the first with a walk and Jose Offerman followed with a single before Batista homered.

The team from Cibao won its first title in 11 tries in the four-team tournament.

Earlier, Nicaragua won informal membership in the Caribbean Series but not the full acceptance it was seeking in order to play in the annual international competition next year.

Directors of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation, which runs the series, decided to admit Nicaragua as an informal member of the confederation, but without a vote, for two years.

Catcher Joe Oliver returned to Cincinnati by accepting a non-guaranteed contract with an invitation to spring training.

Winter Sports

With horns blowing and thousands of Italians serenading her with chants, Deborah Compagnoni won the giant slalom at Sestriere, Italy for her second gold medal of the World Alpine Ski Championships. Italy’s best woman skier in history skied two excellent runs to finish in 2 minutes, 39.19 seconds. Switzerland’s Karin Roten was second in 2:39.99 and Leila Piccard of France was third in 2:40.95.

Nicolas Fontaine of Canada uncorked a big final jump to pass American Eric Bergoust and win the aerials gold medal with a record score of 254.98 points on the final day of the Freestyle Ski World Championships at Nagano, Japan.

Earlier in the day, Australian Kirstie Marshall set a record for women’s aerials points, earning 197.92, to break her own mark of 186.39 set two weeks ago at Breckenridge, Colo. . . . Todd Eldredge, the defending world champion, goes for his fourth U.S. Figure Skating Championships title this week at Memphis, Tenn.

Pro Football

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will reportedly hold his meeting with the New England Patriots and representatives of Bill Parcells today in New York, the New York Daily News reported.

Tagliabue will determine if Parcells’ agreement to work with the New York Jets as a consultant for the 1997 season violates his contractual link to the Patriots.

Miscellany

The Forum will stage its 67th world title fight tonight when International Boxing Federation flyweight champion Mark Johnson (30-1, 23 knockouts) faces challenger Alejandro Montiel (33-2, 22 KOs). Defending his title for the second time, Johnson will be seeking his 30th consecutive victory. Montiel has won eight in a row.

Muhammad Ali will be awarded the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage by actor Sidney Poitier at the ESPY Awards ceremony tonight at New York. . . . Russia’s Denis Pankratov broke his fourth short-course swimming world record in nine days, clocking 51.78 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly in a World Cup meet at Paris. He had the previous record of 51.93. . . . Four former football players at Grambling are no longer accused of raping a 15-year-old girl, but of having consensual sex with her. The four, plus another former Grambling student, are to be arraigned today on the charge of having sex with a juvenile. . . . Chanda Rubin defeated second-seeded Karina Habsudova of Slovakia in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, for her first WTA tour victory at Linz in the Austrian women’s open tennis tournament.