J. Gordon among fastest in Las Vegas testing

LAS VEGAS -- Four-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon was among the fastest on the track Monday in the first of four days of testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in preparation for the 2003 season.

	Jeff Gordon Credit: Don Bok/ISC Photo

"So far, so good," Gordon said. "We're trying to get an idea of what it (the car) wants. I think it's really interesting that this is the first time I can ever remember where all the manufacturers were this close, as far as wind tunnel numbers, templates, all that.

Gordon and the rest of the "bowtie brigade" are trying to adjust to the newly remodeled Monte Carlo.

"We had a lot of trouble with the old Monte Carlo when we first came out with it because it had so much rear downforce and so little front downforce. We struggled quite a bit with that car at first but we massaged on it, worked with it, moved the bodies around and NASCAR helped us in some areas. All of a sudden we got that car pretty well balanced by the end of it. This car definitely has a much better balance from the beginning."

Since NASCAR has restricted testing, why did his team choose to come to Las Vegas?

Fastest Winston Cup car in qualifying trim:  Todd Bodine, No. 54 Chevrolet, 31.81 sec./169.800 mph    Fastest Winston Cup cars in racing trim:  1. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, 32.112 sec./168.202 mph  2. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, 32.304 sec./167.175 mph  3. Ken Schrader, No. 49 Dodge, 32.420 sec./166.572 mph  4. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, 32.440 sec./166.401 mph  5. Kurt Busch, No. 97 Ford, 32.550 sec./165.812 mph    Fastest Busch Series car:  Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Ford, 33.273 sec./162.247 mph

"This is a great track. You need a lot of downforce and your car goes through a lot of the same transitions and characteristics that you find at a lot of these mile-and-a-half racetracks. And the weather -- I mean, I think most of us would rather be in Kentucky -- testing at a non-Winston Cup track, so we won't be charged with a test -- if the weather was good. And with all the snow and ice going on back east, you can't do it.

"Going back to the mile-and-a-half tracks, the speeds are about the same. You've got one end of the track that's tighter, a little bit flatter -- the car gets a lot of travel in that end of the racetrack and that could be similar to a Chicago, a Kansas or a lot of these new racetracks we go to. There's a lot of things you can learn here that applies to a lot of tracks."

Gordon was asked how serving as co-owner of Jimmie Johnson's team while also driving the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet:

"It's still not a lot different for me. My role was when we were negotiating with the sponsors and bringing Jimmie on board. Once we got everything in place, my role was just to be the best teammate that I could be to Jimmie -- just like I would Joe (Nemechek) or Terry (Labonte) -- and just be the best driver of the 24 car I could be. The two teams have jelled together very well. I like the way it works. That's mainly just from a driver-teammate standpoint. From an owner's standpoint, obviously it's been a good experience for me because he's fifth in points his first year out. Sponsors are extremely happy. They're renegotiating already to extend the contracts, so we're having a good time with it."

Testing continues through Thursday at LVMS. Grandstand admission is free to the public.