Gordon Wins Despite Changes

Maybe it doesn’t matter who’s on the headset, as long as Jeff Gordon is behind the wheel.

With Brian Whitesell, who replaced master crew chief Ray Evernham last Wednesday on the Hendrick Motorsports team, making the calls, Gordon gambled and won Sunday’s NASCAR NAPA AutoCare 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.

Fifteen laps from the end of the 500-mile race on the tight half-mile oval, all of the leaders except Gordon pitted for fresh tires under the last of eight caution flags.

Asked why he made that decision, Whitesell, who had been the team’s engineer and was Evernham’s handpicked successor, responded: “Track position. That’s always important.”

Gordon, who now has a series-high six victories this season, made the gamble work, pulling away on the restart on lap 482 and holding off hard-charging Dale Earnhardt by less than two car-lengths at the end.

“That answers a lot of questions, doesn’t it?” Gordon said as he celebrated the 48th victory of his career. “Brian Whitesell did a great job. I’m proud of him.”

Gordon, who averaged 72.624 mph, led only twice for a total of 29 laps. Geoff Bodine finished third, followed by Rusty Wallace.

Bobby Labonte made the biggest gain in the series championship, vaulting past Mark Martin into second, although he trails leader Dale Jarrett, who finished 10th, by 251 points with six races remaining.

Early excitement came when Tony Stewart spun Kenny Irwin out twice, bringing out the first two caution flags. On the ensuing restart, Irwin retaliated, slamming into Stewart and also taking out Brett Bodine. Stewart threw the heat shields from his race shoes at Irwin’s windshield and reached into the car to take a swipe at his rival as Irwin went by under caution the next time around.

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Cold weather forced officials to postpone competition at Topeka, Kan., during eliminations of the Advance Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Heartland Park, the 18th of 22 events in the $40-million NHRA Winston drag racing series, until this morning.

Miscellany

Alberto Martin of Spain defeated Karim Alami of Morocco, 6-3, 6-2, to win the $325,000 Gelsor Open at Bucharest, Romania. . . . France’s Nicolas Escude defeated Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic, 7-5, 6-1, in his first ATP Tour final to win the $400,000 Toulouse Open in France.

Kenya’s Benson Lorkawa, runner-up the past two years, won the Cologne Marathon in Germany in 2 hours 11 minutes 51 seconds, five seconds ahead of defending champion Carsten Eich. Poland’s Elsbieta Jarosz won the women’s division in 2:34:22, with Germany’s Iris Biba-Poschl second in 2:36:38. . . . Paul Tergat overcame a collision and used a strong kick to pass Hendrick Ramaala in the final stages and narrowly win the World Half-Marathon Championship at Palermo, Sicily, for the first time. Tergat was timed in 1:01:50 for the 13.1 miles. Ramaala, who led until 100 yards remained, had the same time.

The Utah Jazz signed forward Pete Chilcutt to a one-year contract, expected to be worth the NBA minimum for an eight-year veteran, $760,000. Chilcutt averaged 3.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 15 minutes per game in 46 games for the Vancouver Grizzlies last season. . . . Toby Jorgensen, a 17-year-old motorcycle racer from Stockton, died Friday night of kidney failure and other injuries he suffered in a Sept. 11 crash at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Two-time European champion Alina Kabaeva of Russia, already winner of the all-around individual championship, scored a perfect 10.0 in winning the ribbon event and added the ball title in the individual apparatus final at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships at Osaka, Japan. . . . European champion Hungary defeated Italy, 5-3, to win the World Cup water polo gold medal at Sydney, Australia. . . . The International Cycling Union awarded its road-race World Championships for 2002 to Zolder, Belgium, and for 2003 to Hamilton, Ontario.

IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch says he can’t testify this month at a congressional hearing into Olympic bidding scandals, but he is willing to do so later in the year. Samaranch said he can testify in December after the IOC votes on a series of reform measures. Samaranch sent a letter to Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who had requested that he appear at an Oct. 14 hearing into excesses related to Atlanta’s winning bid for the 1996 Summer Games. Upton has threatened to subpoena Samaranch if he declines to appear at the hearing.

Also, Salt Lake City organizers received IOC approval for their proposal to set aside for Utah residents 20% of the tickets for the 2002 Winter Games. SLOC has 887,000 tickets available for the public. It hopes to generate $180 million in ticket sales.

Richard “Duke” Llewellyn, longtime athletic director at the Los Angeles Athletic Club and the founder of the John Wooden Award sponsored by the LAAC, was honored Saurday night in a surprise ceremony. Llewellyn, a former USC football player, was inducted into the LAAC’s Hall of Fame during the dinner and ceremony that followed.