AUTO RACING: Sore Gordon back from last week's crash

HAMPTON, Ga. - Jeff Gordon, bouncing back from a hard crash in Las Vegas, felt a whole lot better Friday night after winning the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

On Sunday, Gordon walked away without injury after bouncing off the car driven by Matt Kenseth and slamming into the wall in a hit that tore apart the front of his car, leaving his radiator sitting steaming on the track.

"I was sore, but none of the soreness affected me in the race car," Gordon said after posting a fast lap of 185.251 mph onthe 1.5-mile Atlanta oval, easily faster than the 184.852 of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

After what he called "one of the nastiest wrecks I've ever had," Gordon was able to take part in the Cup test Monday and Tuesday in Phoenix, so he knew he'd be OK heading into this weekend.

"My stomach was sore and my elbow was banged up, but I was able to put that aside in the race car," he said after earning his second Atlanta pole and the 64th of his Cup career. "This makes me feel just fine.

"You know what, this is a tough place to sit on the pole and I'm extremely excited by this. This is a very fast race track and it's very tough to get around here quick. Today, we got out there in practice and I thought something was wrong with the car, it was so out of control."

Gordon said he worked with crew chief Steve Letarte to make the car better and the team madesteady progress in practice.

"To go out there and put down that kind of lap, it feels great and I'm impressed with this team." TRUCKS Busch wins again

HAMPTON, Ga. - The NASCAR Craftsman Truck series has been Kyle Busch's playground.

The 23-year-old Sprint Cup star, moonlighting in trucks and the Nationwide Series in the early part of the season, grabbed his second truck victory in three tries this year, winning the American Commercial Lines 200 on Friday night.

Sports, Pages 27 on 03/08/2008

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