The Associated Press

MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Jeff Gordon finally beat Ryan Newman. After getting knocked off the pole by Newman in last year's fall Winston Cup race at Martinsville Speedway, then again last month at Bristol when Newman stunned even himself, Gordon turned the tables in impressive fashion Friday, winning the pole for Sunday's Virginia 500.

"It's just awesome when you show up and unload off the truck and you're close, and you've got guys that trust and believe in you," he said.

Gordon's lap of 94.307 mph easily beat Newman's 93.678 and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 93.863. It was the 43rd pole of Gordon's career, his fourth on the series' shortest, tightest oval and first this season.

The lap also avenged a pole Gordon lost to Newman earlier this season at Bristol, when Newman obliterated Gordon's year-old qualifying record.

"Now I know how Ryan Newman felt at Bristol," Gordon said after beating everyone by .095 seconds, a huge margin in short-track qualifying. "I was in the same boat there ... and he just blew us away."

Newman, who has qualified third or better in six of the last seven races, joked that Gordon is "trying to get back at us, I guess."

Earnhardt's time stood up for second, creating an all-Chevrolet front row. Newman will start third as the first of three consecutive Dodges, with Ken Schrader and Rusty Wallace following.

CART: Paul Tracy assured himself of another front-row start, taking the provisional pole for Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Tracy, winner of both CART races this season, nipped Bruno Junqueira for the top spot with a lap of 1 minute, 9.079 seconds - or 102.561 mph.

Junqueira's speed was 102.500 and his time was just 0.041 seconds slower than Tracy's.

CART rules specify that the first-day qualifying leader gets to start on the front row in the race, no matter what happens in following time trials. That didn't make Tracy less determined.

"We'll still need to improve the car tomorrow, if the weather holds off," Tracy said.

FORMULA ONE: Jordan driver Giancarlo Fisichella was declared the winner of the Brazilian Grand Prix after ruling that he was leading before the race was stopped due to numerous crashes and spinouts on the rain-soaked Interlagos track April 6. McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, previously declared winner, was dropped to second.

The race was stopped in what appeared to be the 55th lap, when Fernando Alonso crashed into wreckage left by Australian driver Mark Webber. Fisichella was leading, but Raikkonen was declared winner because he had been in front two laps before the race was halted. Fisichella was second.

But FIA ruled Friday that Fisichella was on his 56th lap when the race was stopped. Under F-1 rules, that meant the race officially was stopped on lap 54, and Fisichella was leading at that point.

This weekend

NASCAR WINSTON CUP

Virginia 500

Site: Martinsville, Va.

Schedule: Sunday, race (Ch. 19, 45 12:30 p.m.).

Track: Martinsville Speedway (oval, 0.526 miles, 12-degree banking in turns).

Race distance: 263 miles (500 laps).

Fast facts: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s win last week vaulted him into second place in the season standings, 129 points behind Matt Kenseth. ... There have been seven different winners in the last seven years of the event. ... Ten of the 47 races at Martinsville have been won from the pole. ... Dale Jarrett's victory in 2001 was his first in 30 career starts in Martinsville. ... The 1999 fall race at Martinsville was the first time there had been only one pit road. ... Lee Petty won the 1959 race from the 24th starting position. ... ... Rusty Wallace won five of the seven races at Martinsville from 1994-96.

Next race: Auto Club 500, April 27, Fontana, Calif.

BUSCH SERIES

Pepsi 300

Site: Gladeville, Tenn.

Schedule: Today, race (FX, 4 p.m.).

Track: Nashville Superspeedway (tri-oval 1.33 miles, 14-degree banking in turns).

Race distance: 300 miles (225 laps).

Fast facts: Earnhardt has won both of his Busch starts in 2003, including the season-opening event in Daytona. ... Shane Hmiel placed third for the second straight week at Talladega and has three straight top-10 finishes. ... Todd Bodine holds a 39-point lead over Jamie McMurray for first place in the standings.

Next race: Auto Club 300, April 26, Fontana, Calif.

CART

Toyota Grand Prix

Site: Long Beach, Calif.

Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 4:30 p.m.); Sunday, race (Speed Channel, 4 p.m.).

Track: Long Beach temporary road course (1.968 miles, 11 turns).

Race distance: 177.120 miles (90 laps).

Fast facts: No CART driver has ever won the first three races of the season. ... Paul Tracy made his CART debut in the 1991 race and recorded his first career victory in the 1993 event. ... Helio Castroneves won from the pole in 2001, the first driver to do so at Long Beach since Al Unser Jr. in 1990.

Next race: Brands Hatch, May 5, Kent, England.

CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

Advance Auto Parts 250

Site: Martinsville, Va.

Schedule: Today, race (Speed Channel, 1 p.m.).

Track: Martinsville Speedway (oval, 0.526 miles, 12-degree banking in turns).

Race distance: 131.50 miles (250 laps).

Fast facts: The track is one of the two facilities on the schedule since 1995 not to have a repeat winner. The other is Milwaukee, which has had eight winners in as many races. ... Rookie Tina Gordon recorded a top-10 finish in her Busch Series debut last weekend at Talladega after finishing 10th at Bakersfield the week before. Her 318 points leads all rookies and places her 16th in the overall standings. ... Four of the eight Martinsville winners have started from the front row, but only Rich Bickle did it from the pole. ... No series winner has won at Martinsville. ... Three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip came back from his 17-month retirement to compete in last year's race. ... Setzer made his Winston Cup debut at Martinsville in 1998. ... Martinsville is one of four tracks to host more than one truck race in a season.

Next race: Hardee's 200, May 16, Concord, N.C.

INDY RACING LEAGUE

Indy Japan 300

Site: Suzuka, Japan

Schedule: Race, 11:30 p.m. (Sunday, Ch. 9, 2, 1 p.m., tape).

Track: Twin Ring Motegi (oval, 1.5 miles, 10 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 300 miles (200 laps).

Fast facts: This is the first IRL race that will take place outside of the United States. ... Dario Franchitti suffered a slight fracture of the vertebra following a motorcycle accident last week and won't race this weekend. He will be replaced by Dan Wheldon ... Gil de Ferran has not been cleared to race after suffering a back injury March 23 at Phoenix and will be replaced by Alex Barron. ... Twin Ring Motegi opened in 1997 and features three types of racing courses. In addition to the oval, there is a 2.849-mile road course and a .634-mile short course. ... Michael Andretti (2000) and Kenny Brack (2001) both won CART events at Twin Ring Motegi.

Next race: Indianapolis 500, May 25.

NHRA

O'Reilly Nationals

Site: Houston

Schedule: Friday, qualifying, 4:15 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 11 a.m. (ESPN2, 10 p.m., tape); Sunday, eliminations, noon (ESPN2, 5 p.m., tape).

Track: Houston Raceway

Last event: Larry Dixon earned his second victory of the season and third-straight at Las Vegas by winning the Top Fuel division at the NHRA Summit Racing Nationals. Tony Pedregon moved into the Funny Car points lead with his win while Greg Anderson picked up his second straight Pro Stock victory.

Last year: John Force became the third driver in auto racing history to reach 100 victories by winning the Funny Car event at the O'Reilly Nationals, beating Tommy Johnson Jr. with a speed of 310.20 mph. Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Jim Yates (Pro Stock) also won in Houston.

Fast facts: Dixon's victory last week was the 27th of his career, moving him into fourth place on the all-time Top Fuel list. ... Whit Bazemore advanced to the Funny Car final last week but was disqualified after fouling at the start. ... Brandon Bernstein reached the Top Fuel final in each of the last three events, winning at Phoenix and Gainesville, Fla., before losing to Dixon last week. ... Records were set in four of the five professional classes at the 1999 event, including the sport's first 4.4 second run by Dixon. ... Top Fuel driver Doug Herbert became the first NHRA driver to win the $100,000 sponsor bonus at the event in 1999. ...

Next event: Mac Tools Nationals, April 27, Bristol, Tenn.

FORMULA ONE

Last race: Finland's Kimi Raikkonen won the rain-shortened Brazilian Grand Prix after the race on the wet track was stopped because of spinouts and crashes that knocked out five-time champion Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya. Raikkonen has won two straight races, including the Malaysian Grand Prix on March 23.

Next race: San Marino Grand Prix, April 20, Imola, Italy.