GORDON WINS BUSCH POLE -- 42-CAR FIELD SET FOR 38TH PEPSI 400

     DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Defending Pepsi 400 champion Jeff
Gordon took the first step toward his second straight victory when
he captured the Busch Pole Award for the 38th "Mid-Summer Classic"
Friday morning at Daytona International Speedway.
     Gordon, who actually made his run of 47.652 seconds, an
average speed of 188.869 mph, on Thursday afternoon before rain
interrupted the session, won his first pole at Daytona in the most
dominant run in the modern-day history of restrictor plate
qualifying at the "World Center of Racing."
     "It's pretty exciting," Gordon said. "We almost thought we
didn't know how to win a pole at Daytona! This is not the Daytona
500 but it's the next best thing."
     Gordon cut a lap that was .423 seconds faster than outside
polesitter Sterling Marlin's 48.075/187.207 lap. The widest
previous gap between the front row starters in 17 races since
restrictor plates came back to NASCAR Winston Cup races with the
1988 Daytona 500. The previous gap was between Busch Pole winner
Ken Schrader and outside man Darrell Waltrip in the '89 Daytona 500
-- 196.997 mph to 195.916.
     "We knew we had a good car yesterday, but I wish everybody
could've qualified so we could see how good it would've been,"
Gordon said. "I think some cars would've been breathing right down
our neck. We had a test here a few weeks ago and it was one of our
best tests ever. The guys really did a good job of hanging the body
on the car and doing everything else we needed."
     Gordon's lap was good for his fourth pole of the season and
his fourth in the last five races. It was also the fourth straight
Pepsi 400 pole that was won by a Chevrolet.  Dale Jarrett was the
fastest Ford in the field in third and Johnny Benson was the
fastest Pontiac in fifth.
     Dave Marcis prepared to make his 800th career start as he led
Busch Beer Second-Round Qualifying -- as the only driver to attempt
-- with the eighth-fastest lap, 186.389 mph. Marcis, who like Mark
Martin had his oil pump belt come off on his Busch Pole Qualifying
attempt, therefore qualified for the Busch Clash of '97 Wild Card
drawing.
     "Thanks to Richard Childress and his people, they came to our
rescue," said Marcis of the problem with his Prodigy Chevrolet.
"We've got the engine in our car right now that Dale Earnhardt
qualified with.
     "You don't see things like that in football, baseball and
other sports. We were in trouble and everyone in the garage knew it
-- they jumped in and gave us a hand. Richard (Childress) got that
engine out of Dale's car and got it right over there, and his guys
jumped right in and helped my guys.
     "When we went out and had that problem, it was like a mountain
falls on top of you. I guess the first thing you do is pray and the
next thing you do is start working.
     "I guess 800 is just a number that comes up. It wasn't a goal,
and we're going for more. The fans seem to know we work hard and
struggle at times, but they show their appreciation. It's great
from a driver's standpoint. I love racing and it's been my
livelihood.
     "It's been the hard way, but it's been my way. It's what I
want to do. I'm in NASCAR Winston Cup racing, and I want to stay
here. I enjoy it. It's a good sport, and that's all there is to
it."
     "We lost oil pressure," Martin said. "Before I noticed it, it
was losing the bearings. It was the best motor we've got -- we were
going to race that engine as well as qualify it.
     Steve Seligman suffered a blown engine prior to qualifying and
was the only entrant not to make the field.
     Earnhardt, a two-time winner of the Pepsi 400, said the race
begins a critical stretch of 14 straight races that will determine
the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup champion.
     "I think the stretch of 14 straight races coming up here is
going to be tough," Earnhardt said. "At the end of those races, you
look around and see where you're at. If you're in the same position
you're in now, you'll have a run at 'em until the end of the
season.
     "What's important is being the Winston Cup champion. We race
important races every race. The Daytona 500 -- everybody wants to
win it and I never have...the Indy race, the Charlotte races,
Darlington -- all are important at the time.
     "The most important thing to me is being the Winston Cup
champion. That's what it's all about. We go through the season
trying to win each and every race, but my goal is to be an eight-
time Winston Cup champion."
     PEPSI 400 RACE NOTE: Chevrolet drivers Dale Earnhardt, Terry
Labonte and Jeff Gordon are ranked 1-2-3 in the NASCAR Winston Cup
standings and are in the running for a $50,000 bonus from Gatorade
for the leading the standings after Saturday's race -- the halfway
point in the series. If one of those drivers wins and also leads
the standings he would also receive a $30,000 bonus from Winston.
     NOTES: Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse announced today that
it will sponsor the car driven by Mike Skinner and owned by Richard
Childress Racing beginning in 1997. Skinner is set to drive one of
two Chevrolet Monte Carlos for Childress -- the other is driven by
seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt.
     "We are very happy to announce a multi-year agreement between
Team Lowe's and Richard Childress Racing," said Dale Pond, senior
vice president of marketing for Lowe's. "This is an opportunity for
us to be affiliated with a championship organization, a
championship car owner and an up-and-coming driver with a bright
future."
     The announcement stated that the relationship between Lowe's
and Brett Bodine would conclude at the end of the 1996 season.
Lowe's has sponsored the No. 11 car since the 1995 season.
     NASCAR announced today that Hayes Microcomputer Products,
Inc., has signed as a corporate premium sponsor of NASCAR Online,
the sanctioning body's world wide web site on the Internet.

DAYTONA USA GRAND OPENING NOTES & QUOTES

     DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 5) -- No less than 55 NASCAR Winston
Cup drivers, owners and crew chiefs attended the Grand Opening Gala
Thursday night for DAYTONA USA, "The Ultimate Motorsports
Attraction," located outside turn four of Daytona International
Speedway. Some comments from the participants follow:

DALE JARRETT (No. 88 Quality Care/Ford Credit Ford) -- We had a
real good time at the opening of DAYTONA USA. It was very, very
interesting. I had no idea we'd ever see a place like that for
motorsports, and I'm glad to be a part of it (two No. 88
Thunderbirds are located in DAYTONA USA, Jarrett's car that won the
1996 Daytona 500 and the centerpiece of the "Ford/Ingersoll-Rand
16-Second Pit Stop Challenge" display). My personal highlight was
seeing the movie ("The Daytona 500") and then walking out and
seeing the race car that we won with in the Daytona 500 this year.
I think that was the best thing.

MICHAEL WALTRIP (No. 21 Citgo Ford) -- I think it's real neat. It's
exciting ("The Daytona 500" movie), and it's intense. It really
gives you a feeling of what it's like to get ready to run the
Daytona 500. Everybody's emotions seem like they're right there,
and it's pretty exciting -- the whole experience. It's not just
watching a film about the Daytona 500, it's experiencing the
Daytona 500, which is neat.

GEOFF BODINE (No. 7 QVC Ford) -- I'm not a race fan -- I'm a
competitor. I was impressed. It was really a lot of fun walking
through DAYTONA USA and seeing all the exhibits. I especially liked
the Goodyear Heritage of Daytona (historical walk-through). I kind
of got lost in there. It showed the old beach course, and I ran
into a gentleman who used to race there, Glen Wood (owner of No. 21
NASCAR Winston Cup car). They ought to hire him to narrate his
experiences on the old beach course for the fans that come in
there, because we stood there for at least 30 minutes, talking
about the races, and how much fun they were. I was too young and
never experienced a race on the beach course, and I enjoyed that
more than anything. Then we went to the movie theatre, and that
kind of reminded me of Disney World -- the way they set things up.
The movie was great -- real exciting -- and I know the race fans
are going to enjoy that. It sent chills through me, and heck, I go
out every week and do that stuff. I know the fans are really going
to enjoy that. It really gave you a feel of the Daytona 500 -- how
big it is, how important it is, how tough it can be.

DERRIKE COPE (No. 12 Badcock Ford) -- I thought the movie was
great. It's the first thing I've ever seen that made me feel like
I was really there. DAYTONA USA will be great for the sport.

BILL ELLIOTT (No. 94 McDonald's Ford) -- It's a real nice deal. I
really didn't get a chance to walk around and look at a lot of the
stuff due to the unfortunate way I walk now (walking with a cane
due to broken femur). I'll have to get back in there when I can get
around so I can look at everything. It was so busy last night I
didn't get to see everything. It's a pretty neat concept.

HUT STRICKLIN (No. 8 Circuit City Ford) -- I was really impressed
with it. It's a great family place. I was really shocked. I don't
really know what I was expecting, but I was shocked at all the
things there was to do in there and all the things to see. It
really brought back a lot of history, and brought back a lot of old
memories. I think it's going to open a lot of eyes to a lot of
things in racing that a lot of the average fans didn't know -- like
about Bill France Sr. and a lot of the pioneers in racing. Plus it
gives you a lot of feel for racing -- the pit stop competition and
the racing games -- it's really a true sensation of what it's like
in a race car. I think it will teach the average race fan a lot
more about our sport. The things they have there, like Jeff
Gordon's car coming apart piece by piece -- that's something the
average fan never gets to see. To see that is definitely going to
be a thrill for them.

RICKY CRAVEN (No. 41 Kodiak Chevrolet) -- It was phenomenal. It was
really great. I have a greater feeling for the France family. What
a great display that is. It's just another addition to this great
facility. It gives the fans an opportunity to see things they may
not have been able to see. That's how it was for me. You get
exposed to an entire view of NASCAR.

JOHNNY BENSON (No. 30 Pennzoil Pontiac) -- It was great. Man, what
a facility! It was pretty neat. I didn't get to spend as much time
as I wanted to. Man, there were a lot of people over there. What an
awesome facility! All of the attractions interested me. There are
so many neat things to see, I'd like to go over there some other
time when it's not as crowded -- but I think it's going to be
crowded for quite a while.

JEFF GORDON (No. 24 DuPont Refinishes Chevrolet) -- I loved it! It
was great! Obviously, I thought the DuPont display was pretty
exciting, but really everything was -- from the video games, to the
history, to the future of racing -- I thought there wasn't any
place in DAYTONA USA where somebody wasn't having a good time,
either learning something or just having a fun time. They did a
great job with the arcade -- I'd give them an "A" for that.

DARRELL WALTRIP (No. 17 Parts America Chevrolet) -- I'm telling
you, DAYTONA USA is awesome. The film ("The Daytona 500") was the
biggest thing for me. I've never been anywhere where they capture
that feeling -- the in the car stuff, in the pits, everything was
bigger than life. It's so loud, and the sounds and the pictures --
I was breathless! I've never seen anything like that. I've been
there and done that -- but I never saw it like that. I could go
back there and watch it over and over again, it's so exciting to
watch. It really makes you appreciate what all of us do a lot more.
I knew what we did was exciting, and I knew the fans really got a
thrill out of it, but I never realized, personally, what it was
like until I saw that.