Driver Chassis Selections for Darlington's Bojangles Southern 500

Harvick using Phoenix chassis that won last fall. Finished 13th in March   

#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis: PRS-838 - Last Raced - Phoenix (finished fourth); Backup Chassis: PRS-847 - Last Raced: Richmond backup (not yet raced)

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Kenny Francis will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-739 for Saturday night's event at Darlington. This is a new chassis.

#9-Marcos Ambrose: The No. 9 team has prepared chassis No. 842 for Darlington. Ambrose previously drove this chassis at Auto Club Speedway earlier this year.

#10-Danica Patrick Chassis No. 10-751: Chassis No. 10-751 was first used by Patrick in October 2012 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City when Patrick started 40th and finished 32nd after an accident ended her day after just 154 of 267 laps. Patrick then tested the car in the Sprint Cup Series open test in January at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The last time chassis 10-751 was used was in March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Patrick started 37th and finished 33rd.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-708: This car debuted in last year's Southern 500 at Darlington where Stewart rallied Chassis No. 14-708 from its 17th-place starting spot to finish third. Its second start came in June at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. It endured a much different outing, qualifying 29th and finishing 25th, 69 laps down after getting caught up in a 12-car accident on lap 10 of the 400-lap race around the 1-mile, concrete oval. With new sheetmetal all around, Chassis No. 14-708 returned to the concrete for its third career start in August for the night race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. There, the car rallied from being a lap down in 34th place early in the race to vying for the lead with Matt Kenseth on lap 333. Stewart and Kenseth banged fenders and crashed, whereupon Stewart threw his helmet with pinpoint accuracy at Kenseth's car. The resulting 27th-place finish was at least offset by the "10" Stewart received from the Bristol crowd. Chassis No. 14-708 made its fourth career start and second at Dover in the AAA 400 in September. Its struggles on concrete persisted, as it qualified 24th and finished three laps down in 20th. With 2013 Chevrolet SS bodywork covering it, Chassis No. 14-708 returned to racing in March at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., for the Auto Club 400. With 10 laps remaining, Stewart was third and in prime position for his best finish of the season. But a block by Joey Logano on the lap-190 restart forced Stewart to make an evasive move to the inside of the tri-oval, thwarting his forward momentum. A freight train of cars passed Stewart, jettisoning him to a disappointing 22nd-place finish. Chassis No. 14-708 will make it sixth career start and second this season in the Southern 500 at Darlington.

#16-Greg Biffle: Primary Chassis: RK-809 Last ran Texas in 2012 finished 10th. Backup Chassis: RK-822 Last ran Martinsville finished 9th.

#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Chassis RK-815 is the same chassis that the No.17 team ran at Fontana finishing a respectable 20th. The backup Chassis RK-811 was a chassis that the No. 99 ran numerous times in 2012.

#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis: PRS-839 - Last Raced - Phoenix (finished 26th); Backup Chassis: PRS-844 - Last Raced: Backup at several races (not yet raced)

#27-Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 414 at Darlington Raceway. This No. 27 Chevrolet SS was previously run this season at Auto Club Speedway finishing eighth.

#29-Kevin Harvick: will pilot chassis No. 383 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Southern 500. This is the same Chevrolet the Bakersfield, Calif., native drove to Victory Lane at Phoenix International Raceway last November and a 13th-place result in March.

#31-Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 416 this weekend at Darlington Raceway. This No. 31 Chevrolet has been utilized twice this season, at Auto Club Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.

#39-Ryan Newman Chassis No. 39-733: Chassis No. 39-733 debuted at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July 2012, when Newman and his team overcame ill handling and used quick pit work to help engineer a run into the top-10. The crew turned the car around in just a couple of days and took it to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, where it finished sixth. Two weeks later, the chassis was back on track at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, where it finished eighth. The chassis earned its first top-five finish at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. The chassis next raced three weeks later at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The chassis made its last start of the 2012 season at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City in October, when Newman was involved in an incident that forced him to retire from the event prematurely. Chassis No. 39-733 was outfitted with a new front clip and a Chevrolet SS body, and saw its first laps of the 2013 season at Kansas last month, where Newman finished 14th.

#43-Aric Almirola:: The No. 43 team has prepared chassis No. 839 for Darlington. Almirola drove chassis No. 839 at Auto Club Speedway in March where he drove from a 23rd starting spot to finish 14th.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: will drive chassis No. 728 at Darlington. Chassis No. 720 serves as the backup.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: This weekend, crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-745. Earnhardt last raced this chassis to a sixth-place finish at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in March.

#99-Carl Edwards RK - 806 last ran in Bristol. RK 831 backup - last taken to Kansas as backup chassis

- compiled by Jayski.com

Darlington Raceway Storylines: 2013 Bojangles Southern 500

10th anniversary of epic battle between Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers, after a weekend of white-knuckle, heart-pounding racing at Talladega Superspeedway, could use a breather. Darlington Raceway, on deck, won’t provide it. Not a chance.

Known for its unique egg-shaped layout, cars come to the South Carolina track clean – and leave with the infamous Darlington Stripe after rubbing or smacking the red-and-white wall.

The Stripe is part of history, one that goes all the way back to 1950 when Darlington hosted its first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. It was the first paved superspeedway on the series schedule, and the Southern 500 remains one of NASCAR’s crown jewels.

The title "Southern 500 Champion" guarantees a coveted place in NASCAR history books. From the first winner – Johnny Mantz – to the most recent – Jimmie Johnson – some of NASCAR’s all-time greats have won the Southern 500. Among that all-sport list: Herb Thomas, Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts, Richard Petty, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. And there are, of course, surprise winners who etch their name in the illustrious Darlington history, most recently Regan Smith who won his first – and thus far only – NASCAR Sprint Cup race there in 2011.

Another win by seven-time Darlington winner Gordon would inch him closer to the top of the track’s stacked wins list. And it would come in his 700th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start. Read more about that, along with a number of other key storylines, below.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES, SATURDAY, MAY 11 AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON FOX

Gordon To Make Milestone Start; Aims To Continue Climb
On Saturday night at Darlington, Jeff Gordon will make his 700th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start, becoming the 15th driver to reach that milestone. The setting is appropriate, and Gordon’s seven wins at Darlington puts him third on the track’s all-time wins list. He’s not far from the top; David Pearson has 10 wins and Dale Earnhardt has nine.

Surprise, Surprise: Careers Defined By Darlington Win
With his victory in 2011, Regan Smith joined an exclusive list of drivers who earned their first career win at Darlington Raceway. In all, six drivers have done it: Smith, inaugural winner Johnny Mantz, Nelson Stacy, Larry Frank, Terry Labonte and Lake Speed. The unfortunate part about that list: Only Labonte and Stacy went on to win more races. Who could threaten to win their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race this weekend? Maybe Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who had three starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Darlington, with two top-10 finishes.

Ragan Latest To Join All-Star Foray
With his stunning win in at Talladega on Sunday (his second career win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series), David Ragan punched his ticket to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. With the annual non-points event two weeks away, this Saturday night is the last opportunity of the "win and get in" variety. Some big names – Danica Patrick, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr. and Jeff Burton – are still on the outside looking in. If those not already locked in don’t win at Darlington, they can still earn a berth in the race via the Sprint Showdown or the Sprint Fan Vote on NASCAR.com and NASCAR Mobile ’13.

Hamlin Becomes "Full Time" Driver Again
Denny Hamlin officially re-entered the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series last Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, starting the race and then giving up the seat to Brian Vickers. But this weekend, he’ll race the entire event, signaling the end of a five-week recovery from back injury. Hamlin officially missed four races. In his absence, Mark Martin raced his No. 11 Toyota to a 10th-place finish at Martinsville, and Brian Vickers finished eighth, 31st and 35th at Texas, Kansas and Richmond, respectively. Hamlin’s absence dropped him to 31st in the points, 125 points behind 10th and 76 points behind 20th. Hamlin’s hopes to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup aren’t completely dashed. If he wins some races and sneaks back into the top 20, he could qualify for a Wild Card berth.

Take 2: Danica Patrick Makes Second Trip To Darlington
Danica Patrick took on an ambitious schedule last year, her first foray into NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. Darlington was part of that challenging part-time slate. Last year, she finished 31st at Darlington, in only her second NASCAR Sprint Cup start. Now a full-time competitor in NASCAR’s premier series, Patrick has a top finish of eighth at Daytona and is 27th in points.

Happy Anniversary: Ten Years Pass Since Closest Finish
The number alone – .002 – evokes memories of beating and banging at one of NASCAR’s most historic tracks. That was the difference in seconds between winner Ricky Craven and second-place finisher Kurt Busch at the finish line on March 16, 2003, still the closest finish since the advent of electronic timing and scoring in 1993. That number has been matched since then, at Talladega on April 17, 2011, when Jimmie Johnson edged Clint Bowyer.

- NASCAR Media Services

Darlington Preview: Every Betting Strategy Should Start With Jeff Gordon

By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

The 'Lady in Black' can be a pretty mean spirited, nasty lady to drivers. 

Last week we saw drivers bumping and banging, taking their anger out on each other. This week at Darlington, we’ll see a little bit of the same at higher speeds, except many will be just plain upset with themselves. At Darlington Raceway, another element is added to the race where they're not only battling other drivers, but battling the track like no other on the circuit.

The 1.366 mile track egg shaped oval has been getting the best of NASCAR drivers since 1950. It’s a high banked track with each of the four turns being vastly different which has caused many drivers to earn their Darlington stripes over the years, a term used when drivers slam into the wall scraping up the right side of their car because of miscalculating the difficult turns.

“The Lady in Black” is an equal opportunity enforcer and even the most experienced of drivers are not immune to her wrath.

Over the years, only small group can say they have mastered the nuances of the track. Jeff Gordon is a seven-time winner on the track while it remains one of two tracks on the tour that Tony Stewart has never won on.

David Pearson is part of the history that sets it apart

As tough as the track that's too tough to tame is, it still remains as one of the drivers favorite tracks. Most drivers cite the history as being one of the reasons, but all agree that they love the challenge more than anything. Nothing against Las Vegas, Charlotte, Kansas or Michigan, but the level of difficulty and uniqueness of Darlington stands out among all NASCAR tracks. 2004 was the last season in which Darlington had two races a year which makes the one race a year even more special on a schedule littered with similar layouts.

Passing is a difficult chore for these drivers because of how narrow it is making all the other elements, such as pit stops, more important than ever to gain position. Even though the 43 cars on the track are technically racing each other, most will say that they're racing the track itself. Saving tires during a run isn't at the premium as it used to be before the repaving, but it's still an important factor to be quicker on the longer runs.

What tire compund will be used at Darlington?

Another element the drivers have to worry regarding the tires is only being able to have four sets of tires during Friday's two practice sessions. A few of the teams did a Goodyear test at Darlington in March, but as of now, the tire compound isn't known making it more difficult than ever for the teams to be fully prepared. Between having a tire limit and less time to prepare, it also makes it tougher to handicap like we do for most races based on practices.

Last week was a complete mess at Richmond just trying to keep up to date on what teams were doing -- running race or qualfying trim -- during the two practice sessions. On a normal race weekend, we would get to see the first practice with mostly qualifying trim and then there would be qualifying. Then we would get to see the final practices a day later and strategies for race day the teams were working on.

Friday's sessions this week will likely be similar to what we saw at Richmond which puts more emphasis on past history and chasis information as the top source to refer to when making betting decisions. I found last week that my best source of post-practice information was going by the top times of drivers running 10 consecutive laps rather than the overall practice times themselves.

Can we use what happened at Texas to help handicap?

If looking for similar tracks to help handicap the race, good luck. Just by looking at what cars teams have brought, and the other races those same cars have run on over the years, it looks like new Bristol is the closest in most crew chiefs estimation in regards to set-up. The length and banking of the track may suggest that we look at a few places like Las Vegas, Atlanta and Texas, but I haven't been completely sold on that theory like many do, but maybe I should jump into it a little more.

Las Vegas Hilton Super Book manager Ed Salmons, who sets their weekly auto racing odds, thinks there may be more relation to the 1.5-mile tracks now because of the repaving and higher speeds. And he made a great case. Salmons idenitified last seasons Texas spring race and Darlington with Denny Hamlin winning both as examples. In both of those races, the Busch brothers and Kevin Harvick also ran equally well.

If we take it step further and go back to Darlington 2009 where Mark Martin won, we see that he won at Phoenix, finished sixth at Texas and then later won at Michigan, Chicago and Loudon. It's hard to ignore the correlation that also saw Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart all finish in the top-five of both Texas and Darlington races.

While I initially scoffed somewhat at the notion of rating the Roush drivers too high, Salmons firmly believes that the Roush drivers will all do well this week because of Texas despite only Greg Biffle really having a good past performance at Darlington. When looking at Texas results, the top six is littered with each Roush driver, including Matt Kenseth winning.

I think I have been convinced somewhat by all this and will have to reconsider all of Salmons valid points in my betting equations for the week.

To recap, here's the formula for the week:
Past Track History + Chassis Selection + 10 Lap Average Practice Speeds + Texas 2011 Results + Sprinkling of Bristol, Las Vegas & Atlanta 2011 results/Current State of Team

Every driver should listen when Gordon talks Darlington.

Because this track is so tough on everyone, there aren't many drivers that we can say, "He's the one" like we can at other tracks. Jeff Gordon may be the exception.

Gordon has seemed to avoid the wrath of the Lady and it's become one of his most consistent tracks dating back to his glory years. We’ve seen Gordon go through different spurts at tracks in the post-Ray Evernham era with no real consistency except for Martinsville and Darlington. He’s currently on a streak of seven straight years finishing inside the top-five at Darlington that includes a win in 2007. No driver even comes close to that type of excellence.

Denny Hamlin won last year and it looks like his runner-up finish last week at Richmond may have been his team's wake up call for 2011. Hamlin is one of the few drivers who has never experienced a poor finish at Darlington. In five starts, his worst finish was 13th in 2009.

Kyle Busch looks like a new driver this season. Perhaps the combination of getting married and being older has made him mature to where he’s at now which is third in the standings, 30 points behind Carl Edwards. Busch is the perfect example of a good driver having high and lows when battling the Lady in Black. He won the 2008 race, but also finished 37th in 2007 and 34th in 2009 to mushroom his average finish to 18.2 in six career starts. With the way he’s running right now, and if the Lady shows a little mercy, he could be in store for another win. Busch also has the benefit of bringing a winning car this week, the one used at Bristol earlier this season.

Jimmie Johnson has proven that he can drive on any kind of track and showed it early on by sweeping the season there in 2004, the last year Darlington had two races a season. Since then he’s had three top-five finishes, but finished 36th last season. Johnson will be using a brand new chassis this week.

Two drivers who stood out the last two seasons were Penske Dodge teammates Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch. Busch finished third last year, but may best be remembered for his runner-up finish in 2003. The last 10 lap battle between he and eventual winner Ricky Craven has been called the greatest finish ever seen at Darlington in it’s 61 years of NASCAR racing as they bumped, banged and passed each other back and forth all the way to the finish line. Busch is currently in a battle with his team over not getting enough horsepower and let the entire NASCAR world hear his thoughts on radio during the Richmond race. Not sure that will inspire the team, but at least they know how he feels about the cars he's been getting.

Current RCR drivers have a tough time at Darlington

For some odd reason, this track hasn’t been very kind to the Childress group of drivers. Richard Childress has eight wins as an owner at Darlington which ties him for third most all-time, but they all came from Dale Earnhardt. The current crop hasn't come close to matching what they have done on all other tracks. It's almost like they're getting worse as the RCR team has improved everywhere else.

Jeff Burton won twice while driving for Jack Roush, but hasn’t had a top-five finish there since 2000. He is the most consistent of the group in recent history with several finishes in the eighth to 11th-place range.

Kevin Harvick had a couple top-three finishes early in his career, but has been victimized by the track more than most. In 14 career starts, Harvick has five finishes of 32nd or worse, but is bringing his sixth-place Bristol chassis with hopes of changing his luck there. Clint Bowyer has followed Harvick's trend in each of his last two starts there with poor finishes.

Greg Biffle leads the Roush charge with two Darlington wins with his best most recent performance coming in 2009 when he finished eighth. Carl Edwards has two top-five finishes, including runner-up in his magical 2008 season, a year where he swept Texas along with almost every other track like it. Edwards will be using his winning Las Vegas chassis this week giving more steam into Salmons theory.

Matt Kenseth has only one top-five finish at Darlington, but comes in with that Texas win. He'll be using his fourth-place Fontana car this week. David Ragan finished sixth at Texas and finished fifth at Darlington back in 2008. Ragan will be piloting his 16th-place car from Bristol.

Top-5 Finish prediction:
1) #24 Jeff Gordon (8/1)
2) #18 Kyle Busch (6/1)
3) #17 Matt Kenseth (20/1)
4) #48 Jimmie Johnson (6/1)
5) #99 Carl Edwards (8/1)

Driver Notes & Quotes for the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington

Earnhardt Jr has three top-5 finishes in 16 starts; 15.3 average finish

DALE EARNHARDT ON RACING AT DARLINGTON: “Darlington is a slick track. It is a difficult track to drive around. It is real smooth, and you have to find that edge. There is a lot of load change like driving into Turn 1 and then the load comes out of the car through the center and then the load increases on the exit of Turn 2. The car just really changes a lot as you are going around the corner, and it can just snap on you.”

A.J. ALLMENDINGER ON DARLINGTON AFTER THE REPAVE: “I really liked it when it was not paved and you were sliding around. That was a lot of fun to me. I am better at race tracks that get slicker and you slide around a little bit more. I enjoy that a little more. Since it has been repaved it is just so fast it is unbelievable. One and two are just insane how quick it feels, especially in a qualifying run. It is crazy fast for how narrow the track is. The whole race track is fast. Honestly over the last couple of years it hasn’t lost a ton of grip. It lost a little from the first time they repaved it but I felt like it would get a lot slicker than it has gotten so there is still a ton of grip there.”

ALLMENDINGER ON BIN LADEN BEING TAKEN OUT: “I think I was actually lying in bed and all of a sudden it popped up on TV and you get people texting you that he is dead. It is a big deal for the country and obviously a lot of his actions that he had done hurt our country, whether it is economy or heartache or just stuff we have had to go through as a country. It is really because of him, honestly. It is a big deal and hopefully that is the first step of getting things back on track to where it used to be. I remember when it all happened I was testing a go kart in Sacramento, California. It was like you hear about it and don’t really understand how big a deal it was until the next couple of days and you realize that it was a big deal and there was a lot of damage to our country. It is a good step in the right direction hopefully.”

Newman's chassis tested tires at Darlington in March

RYAN NEWMAN ON DARLINGTON “I look forward to Darlington. It’s one of my favorite race tracks. The tire test was a good tire test. Just for us, when we went down there, was to validate what they had and make sure because of the situation with the asphalt that the track hasn’t changed that necessitated a tire change and it didn’t. So it was an opportunity to do down there and validate things for Goodyear and work on our race car at the same time.”

NEWMAN CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, the No. 39 team will use chassis 39-506 for the first time this season. The No. 39 chassis has been a solid performer for Newman & Company as it has earned three top-10 finishes in just four starts since the team joined forces in 2009. The No. 39 team ran this chassis at both races at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in 2009, scoring two top-15 finishes. In the June race, Newman started fifth and finished fifth. Newman started seventh and finished 14th in the car at Pocono in August.

During the 2010 season, the car saw action at both Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. In its first outing at Darlington, Newman started sixth and finished ninth. Newman followed that up with another top-10 finish in chassis 39-506 at Atlanta. Newman started on the outside pole and led nine laps en route to an eighth-place finish. During the off-season, the chassis was updated for the 2011 season. While the car hasn’t seen race action yet, Newman and the No. 39 team tested the car at Darlington as part of a Goodyear tire test in March.

TONY STEWART ON DARLINGTON: “[The prestige of getting a win at Darlington] “A lot of it has to do with the history of the track. If you can say you won a race at Darlington – that’s a feather in your cap. That’s something to be proud of, knowing that you’re in a group of drivers with names like Pearson and Petty – the pioneers of our sport who you hear stories about the races they ran there and the races they won there.

“Darlington is such a tough track to get a handle on and to be good at all day. You don’t see a lot of guys who have a lot of success there. You see only a handful of guys who religiously run well there. That just shows you how difficult Darlington is to get a handle on. If you can have a good day and win there, it’s a track that’s like winning at Bristol. It’s the same type of feeling – knowing that you conquered something that’s very hard to obtain.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI ON DARLINGTON: “Darlington is one of my favorite tracks. I wish we had more like it on the schedule. It’s just a tough, old racetrack that is nothing like anywhere else we go. I never had the opportunity to race there when the asphalt was worn out and I would have loved that. Hopefully I’ll have a long career and I’ll be able to see it get back to that ‘slipping and sliding’ racing that used to be so cool to watch on TV. Back in the day, the Southern 500 was one of our biggest races. It would mean a lot to me to have that trophy.”

KESELOWSKI CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will use chassis PRS-751 during Saturday’s Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. This is a brand-new chassis to the No. 2 fleet.

Montoya finished 5th in 2010; using 3rd-place Vegas car

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA ON DARLINGTON: “I think Darlington’s a cool place. It’s always very tricky, but it’s fun. I think it is the hardest race track to get onto the pit lane. Leaving is not so bad, but I think it’s the hardest place to get into the pit lane. Darlington is a track where people learn to give and take because if you try to go side-by-side into turn one then the guy on the outside is usually going to hit the fence. We’re looking for a clean race and a good finish for the Target team going into this weekend.”

MONTOYA CHASSIS CHOICE: Chassis #1105 - Brian Pattie will bring chassis #1105 to Darlington this weekend. It was previously raced at Texas this year where it started 14th and finished 13th. This chassis was also raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March of this year where it started 23rd and finished 3rd

MARK MARTIN ON DARLINGTON: “Darlington is known as one of the tougher tracks on the circuit. All the drivers like it because it’s a track that really puts the race into the driver’s hands. It’s intense for sure. I’m a driver that likes to slide my car all around the race track, but that’s impossible at Darlington. If you slide at all, you’re going to end up in the wall for sure. I really have to work on my driving style for this race and Lance (McGrew, crew chief) and the guys will really have to work on a setup that gives me the best of both worlds. It’s tough. It’s only a two-day weekend but it’s a grueling one. It’s the kind of challenge that I look forward to.”

Gordon congratulates Martin after 2009 Darlington win

JEFF GORDON ON RACING AT DARLINGTON: “That track can just reach out and bite you so easy and you have to race the track. It’s a one-groove race track typically so it’s not one of those tracks — it’s just one of those tracks where you can be riding around by yourself and just make the slightest little bobble and you’re in the wall. We’ve seen it just eat up race cars and competitors over the years.

"It’s just one of those tracks that you have to stay on your toes at all times because it can be a very tough track. It’s not as tough these days as it used to be when the pavement was extremely worn out. You were really on the edge. As the pavement wears each and every year, it starts to get back more and more to the too tough to tame. It’s definitely one of those tracks that challenges your nerves. You have to be really committed. It’s a fast race track, but you have to be really committed to the line that it takes to go fast around there, which is right up next to the wall. You have to be committed to the gas, especially qualifying. To me, you just have to be able to go for it there and then just to get the balance right you have to keep that car on the edge through the corners and then compromise because one and two is totally different than three and four for what it takes to get the car through the corners.”

JAMIE MCMURRAY ON DARLINGTON: “Darlington has been a good track for me, and a place that I really like to race. We won the pole there last year, ran up front all night and led a lot of laps. I hope that we can back up that effort and improve one spot from our second-place finish in this event last year. Darlington is unlike many of the other tracks that we will race all year. We run so close to the wall there in the corners to carry speed, you just try not to hit too hard when you get that “Darlington Stripe”, that seems to be inevitable.

McMURRAY CHASSIS CHOICE: Chassis #1016 - Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion has elected to bring chassis #1016 to Darlington this weekend. This chassis was previously raced this year at Fontana where McMurray started 12th and finished 23rd. This chassis was also raced in last year’s Texas fall race (started 25th, finished 16th), the 2010 fall race at Fontana (started first, finished 17th), and the 2010 fall race at Atlanta (started 12th, finished 15th).

REGAN SMITH ON DARLINGTON: “It might be one of the toughest tracks, but Darlington is one of my favorites, dating back to when I raced in the former Busch Series. The past two races have been somewhat encouraging for us with 15th and 17th-place finishes in Talladega and Richmond. It’s not where we want to be, but considering what we endured the previous six races our Furniture Row Chevrolet is heading in the right direction. We need to stay patient and get as many points as possible. We have a lot of ground to make up, but I am confident that we’ll get it done.”

Logano finished ninth as a Darlington rookie in 2009

JOEY LOGANO ON DARLINGTON: “Darlington is a really hard race track, and probably the most unique track we go to. I don’t think there’s a driver out there that hasn’t hit the wall there before and I don’t think you ever actually tame it. There’s just races that are better than others – that’s what it comes down to. The first time I raced there I led laps and had a really fast car. We ran up front most of the day and finished in the top 10. Last year we really struggled, so I don’t know what to really think about this track. I do know if you are a little off on balance and set up, it feels like you are way off. There’s not much room for error. It’s also one of those tracks I don’t have as many laps around because we only have one race a year and I haven’t run all the Nationwide races there. Hopefully the third time will be a charm.”

LOGANO CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 20 Home Depot Team is taking chassis #284 to Darlington Raceway this weekend. Logano drove this chassis last year at Auto Club Speedway to an 11th-place finish and at Phoenix International Raceway in November to third. The back-up chassis is #275 that Logano most recently drove in the Martinsville race following a practice crash that damaged his primary car. He went on to finish the race in the 13th position.

DAVE BLANEY ON RACING AT DARLINGTON: “I’m excited to go to Darlington. Our team has a lot of momentum right now, and Darlington has always been one of my favorite tracks because of its history and uniqueness. Everybody has to change driving style to be successful there. You race to not make mistakes on the racetrack instead of racing other people. There will be guys hitting the wall all weekend. You just have to take care of your car all weekend and not get excited to early.”

OTHER DRIVER NOTES & QUOTES:

JEFF GORDON - 7 WINS & 7 STRAIGHT TOP-5'S

JIMMIE JOHNSON - LOTS OF UNCERTAINTIES

KYLE BUSCH - USING WINNING BRISTOL CAR

RCR DRIVERS - NO WINS WITHOUT DALE EARNHARDT

ROUSH RACING - EDWARDS & KENSETH HAVE GREAT CARS

Roush Fenway Drivers Ready For the Track 'Too Tough to Tame'

Edwards will be using his winning Las Vegas chassis this week (Getty) 

Carl Edwards
Team: No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Bob Osborne

Chassis: RK-732 – last ran Las Vegas in March when Edwards won

Carl Edwards on racing at Darlington Raceway:  “It’s a big weekend for us going into Darlington. We are leading the points and Dan Amos, the chairman of Aflac, is going to be there. Darlington is one of my favorite race tracks and it couldn’t have come at a better time on the schedule. We’re running well and our 1.5-mile program has been spectacular. This race really suits me as a driver – it’s a long race at a track that I love. I’m just hoping we can get a victory for Aflac there.”

Crew Chief Bob Osborne on racing at Darlington Raceway: “Darlington is a challenging track, and like last week we practice in the day but race at night so that adds another aspect to setting up the car for the race. We’re taking the same car we won with at Vegas earlier this year so we know we’ve got a good car going into it. Carl loves racing at Darlington although we haven’t always had the best of luck there lately. Hopefully we can change that Saturday night.”

Fast Facts
Carl Edwards will make his eighth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Darlington Raceway in this weekend’s SHOWTIME Southern 500.

STANDINGS… Edwards continues to lead the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. After a top-five finish in Richmond he extended his lead to nine points over Jimmie Johnson.

FOR THE RECORD…In seven starts at the 1.366-mile track, Edwards has two top-five and four top-10 finishes. Edwards scored his best finish at Darlington, second place in 2008.

LAPS…Edwards has attempted 2572 laps in Cup Series competition at Darlington. He has completed 2433 laps – 94.6%, and led 37 laps.

ON THE TRACK… The No. 99 team will carry the Aflac paint scheme this weekend. The crew will be unloading chassis RK-732 this weekend. This is the same Ford Fusion that Edwards took to victory lane at Las Vegas earlier this year.

REWIND, DARLINGTON 2010… The track known as “too tough to tame” lived up to its reputation as Edwards and the team struggled to find the right set up from the first practice Friday throughout the race Saturday night. With hard work, determination and a bit of luck on their side, the Aflac team finished 26 positions ahead of where they started to claim 15th place

David Ragan finished fifth at Darlington in 2008 (Getty)

David Ragan
Team: No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer


Chassis: Primary: RK-711 Last ran Bristol – finished 16th; Backup: RK-730 Last ran Phoenix in 2010 as the No. 99 – finished first

Ragan on racing at Darlington Raceway: “Darlington is one of the hardest tracks on the schedule. After they paved the track the race has changed a little, tires don’t wear out as fast and speeds don’t drop off like they used to. So Drew and I are bringing one of our good mile-and-a-half cars for this weekend. Saturday night racing is always exciting and I’ll need to be very careful with my UPS Ford throughout the night to be around at the finish.”

Crew chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at Darlington Raceway: “Darlington is now a smooth track thanks to the repaving, so tires aren’t a worry like they were in the past. It’s also a fast track, so we’ll need to have good speed and down-force to be competitive. We are looking forward to getting closer to our first win after our last couple of runs in our UPS Ford.”

FAST FACTS
* Ragan has four prior Cup Series starts at Darlington. His best finish came in 2008 when he qualified 15th and finished fifth.
* Ragan has competed two times in the Nationwide Series at Darlington. His best finish came in 2007 he qualified eighth and finished 13th.
* UPS employee, Mike Carroll, will be an honorary crew member of the UPS team this weekend in Darlington. A mechanic for UPS out of Clayton, North Carolina, Carroll receives this honor for his high level of service and will have his name featured on the C-Post of the No. 6 UPS Ford

Kenseth is using fourth-place Fontana chassis this week (Getty)

Matt Kenseth Team: No. 17 Wiley X Sunglasses Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig


Chassis: Primary: RK-707 (Last run at Fontana)

Kenseth on racing at Darlington Raceway: “Darlington is a great race track with a lot of history attached to it. They repaved the surface a few years ago and it’s just a place where we race fast with narrow lanes, and track position at the end of the race is really important. It’s a challenging track since you get so much speed going into the turns; many cars end up with “Darlington stripes” down the side after brushing the wall. I’ve had some great races at Darlington, and I’m hoping to get a good finish this weekend in our Wiley X Sunglasses Ford Saturday night.”

Crew chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Darlington Raceway: “Darlington races are exciting, but it’s a place that I enjoy racing at because there is a lot of tradition associated with this track. Darlington is much different than it used to be because the old surface used to be all about tire conservation, but with the new smooth pavement, it is not as focused on tires anymore. Running close to the wall is one of the main challenges of Darlington since it is pretty fast and the cars run within inches of the outside wall at both ends of the track.”

FAST FACTS:
• Everything’s coming up 17: Saturday night’s race at Darlington will be Kenseth’s 17th start in the No. 17 Ford and his average finishing position is 17th
• In 17 Cup starts at Darlington, Kenseth has completed 5,515 of 5,736 laps (96.1 percent) and led for 154 laps
• Kenseth has an average starting position of 21.8 and an average finishing position of 17.7 at Darlington
• Kenseth has achieved one pole, one top-five and seven top-10 finishes at Darlington in the Cup series
• This weekend at Darlington, Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 Wiley X Sunglasses Ford Fusion
• Entering the weekend at Darlington, Kenseth is currently ninth in the NSCS driver point standings.

Biffle won at Darlington in 2005 and then again in 2006

Greg Biffle
Team: No. 16 Valvoline Ford Fusion
Cew chief: Greg Erwin

Biffle on Darlington: “Darlington is the hardest place we race. We run inches off the wall at speeds we run at mile and a half tracks. Any second it’ll reach out and bite you and that’s why they call it the Lady in Black. It is also very hard to pass there which obviously adds another challenge. We’ve been able to have some success there including a couple of wins so I always have high expectations when we go to Darlington.”

Erwin on Darlington: “I really like racing at Darlington, in fact, I would like to get a win there more than just about any other track. I grew up in Pennsylvania but I went to college at Clemson so I spent quite a bit of time in South Carolina. Greg has a couple of wins there but his last one was just a couple of weeks before I took this job in 2006. It’s a handling track and you have to try to get the car to handle well at both ends which are completely different. One end of the track is much narrower than the other so it is nearly impossible to get your car to handle perfectly in both. I know it’s one of Greg’s favorite tracks and we’d both like to get the 3M Ford in victory lane there this weekend.”

Darlington Notes
• Biffle is currently 14th in the Sprint Cup point standings following his 15th-place finish in Richmond.
• Biffle has an average finish of 14.8 from an average starting position of 9.1 at Darlington Raceway.
• Last year in Darlington the team had to go to the backup car due to a wreck in late in practice. Biffle qualified and started the race with only 15 minutes of practice in the backup car.
• Biffle has led a total of 639 laps in 10 starts at Darlington Raceway on his way to two wins and four top-10 finishes.
• This week Biffle visited a 3M plant in Pittsboro, NC where the rock granules used in roofing shingles are mined and readied for production. Seven out of every 10 homes that have shingles have 3M roofing granules on the shingles.
• Biffle also tested at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week for the Wood Brothers in place of Trevor Bayne.
• Visit www.shop3M.com to learn more about all of the innovative products 3M has to offer.

- Roush Fenway Racing, Press Releases

Without Dale Earnhardt, RCR Drivers Have Become Also-Rans at Darlington

Dale Earnhardt had eight Darlington wins

Race: SHOWTIME Southern 500
May 7, 2011
Location: Darlington Raceway

Richard Childress Racing
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Notes:
RCR at Darlington … Richard Childress is tied for third all time with Holman-Moody and the Wood Brothers for car owner victories at Darlington with eight – all of them coming with Dale Earnhardt. Additionally, in 99 collective starts, RCR boasts 21 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval with five different drivers including Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Robby Gordon.

The Collective RCR … Over the season’s first nine races, RCR’s four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entries have notched two wins, eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. The No. 31 team kicked off the 2011 season with a non-points win in the second Duel 150 qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 29 team visited Victory Lane at Auto Club Speedway in March and backed that up with a win the following weekend at Martinsville Speedway. RCR-prepared Chevrolets have also completed 10,666 out of 11,636 total laps (91.7 percent) with drivers Bowyer, Burton, Harvick and Paul Menard, who have led a combined 359 laps. At least one RCR driver has led laps in each of the season’s first nine events.

Bowyer has experienced quite a few Darlington stripes over his career

Clint Bowyer
No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet
Race Notes and Quotes

This Week’s BB&T Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway … Clint Bowyer will pilot chassis No. 315 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This is a new Chevrolet Impala that will be put through its first competitive laps this weekend.

Career Darlington Stats …
* The SHOWTIME Southern 500 marks Bowyer’s 191st NSCS start.
* In five NSCS starts at Darlington, Bowyer owns one top-10 finish (ninth-May 2007).
* He has completed 90% of the laps (1,651 of 1,835) contested at Darlington during his career.
* The Emporia, Kan., native has led 16 laps at the 1.366-mile facility.
* Bowyer owns a 17.2 average starting position and an average finishing position of 23.2.

Former Pole Winner … Bowyer earned his first career NSCS pole at the track deemed “Too Tough to Tame” on May 13, 2007.

Last Time in Darlington … After starting 27th, Bowyer and the No. 33 team suffered a broken brake line during the race, forcing two green-flag pit stops, and limped home to a 32nd-place finish in last year’s SHOWTIME Southern 500.

In the Loop … Over the first nine points-paying races of the 2011 NSCS season, Bowyer has accumulated an impressive resume of loop data statistics. Heading into this weekend’s 500 miler, he is the series’ second-best Quality Passer with 873 passes while running in the top 15 under green-flag conditions – just 8 passes shy of leader Kurt Busch’s total. The four time Sprint Cup Series race winner also ranks second with an average running position of 11.45 and a Driver Rating of 98.5. Bowyer’s 65.9 percent of contested laps running in the top 15 (1,918 of 2,909) places him fifth, his 224 laps led ranks him fourth and his 309.45 miles led positions him third amongst his competitors. Other notable loop data stats include: second in Fastest Drivers Early in a Run, third in Green-Flag Speed, sixth in Fastest Drivers Late in a Run and ninth in Fastest Laps Run.

Points Racing … Since dropping to 24th after a 38th-place effort at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, the No. 33 team has improved 17 positions, to seventh, in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:
Darlington is Mother’s Day weekend. How much does this weekend mean to you and your family? “This has always been a family sport. As far as I am concerned, I am going to keep it that way until I am done in this sport. I hope they’re around until I retire and my kids retire from this sport. Mom has always been a big part of that. I remember back in the day when she had three boys all racing motorcycles in the mud. There she was trying to wash clothes, keep us all in line and also take care of her family all at the same time. She was a big part of my success as anybody.”

Darlington Raceway: Love it or hate it? She hasn’t been your best friend. Is that just a simple matter of you figuring out a way to drive it differently? “It has definitely been kind of a love/hate relationship with her. We have run well there and have also struggled. We have had good cars, but just can’t get everything put together for a solid finish. Hopefully, we can capitalize on that this year. We really need a good run there. In the past, the month of May hasn’t been really good to this team and Darlington is a big part of that.”

Is there any specific reason for the struggles at Darlington?  “When I first came here, we didn’t always have the best package until last year. We were good off the trailer and I just flat out wrecked it in practice. Then, during the race, we suffered a brake problem. I think it was a brake line or something broke and we had to pit twice under green-flag conditions during the race. You know, it was just one of those bad races and a bad weekend overall. You can’t afford to have those anymore. It’s so important to be solid week-in and week-out. If we want to be a championship contender, which I think we are, you can’t have those 32nd-place finishes on your resume. You need consistency and wins."

Burton is the best of the RCR drivers with two wins and eight top-5's

Jeff Burton
No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet Impala
Race Notes and Quotes


This Week’s Caterpillar Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway … Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 355 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This is a brand new Caterpillar Chevrolet that will be put through its first competitive paces this weekend.

The Darlington Report … In 28 Sprint Cup Series starts at Darlington Raceway, Burton has posted two wins, eight top-five and 16 top-10 finishes, with only one DNF (did not finish) and three finishes outside the top 20. He holds a 20.9 starting average coupled with an impressive 11.4 finishing average and has led 817 laps of competition.

Rain Man – Back-to-Back winner … Burton won both races at Darlington Raceway in 1999, leading both events as rain began to fall which forced NASCAR to throw the checkered flag prior to completing the scheduled distance.

Loopy with the Lady … NASCAR’s loop data statistics proves why the track deemed Too Tough to Tame is one of Burton’s favorites. Over the last six races at the historic 1.366-mile oval, the veteran driver boasts an average running position of 13.2 and a Driver Rating of 89.8, which ranks him 11th amongst his competitors. He is the sport’s third-best Green-Flag Passer with 342 passes made under green-flag conditions and is positioned in eighth with 67.6 percent of laps running in the top 15 (1,491 of 2205).

Last Time Around … After taking the top spot with 27 laps to go and a caution flag being displayed one lap later, a late-race pit miscue placed the Cat Racing team at the rear of the field for the final 20 laps of the last season’s SHOWTIME Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. But, a hard-charging Burton flexed his muscle and picked off 10 positions to finish eighth when the checkered flag waved.

Making a Charge … After exiting the Daytona 500 early due to a rare expired engine and sitting 33rd in the point standings, Burton and the Todd Berrier-led Cat Racing team have advanced 13 positions, to 20th, heading into this weekend’s 500-mile contest. Although they are 61 markers in arrears to Tony Stewart’s 10th-place tally, they are only 35 points away from cracking the top 15.

A Streak Looking to End … Burton currently owns an 86-race winless streak that he hopes to break in this weekend’s visit with the Lady in Black. The Caterpillar driver’s last visit to Winner’s Circle was in October 2008 when he led the final 57 laps en route to his 21st Sprint Cup Series career win at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:
You have a lot of respect for Darlington. Why is that?  “With no disrespect to any other race track, Daytona is the centerpiece of our sport but, Darlington, to me, has the most historic meaning of anywhere we go. Darlington has changed. It is not the way it was 40 years ago, but, it is the way it was 30 years ago. It still has that character. There are no fluke winners at Darlington. It requires you as a driver to push hard, but penalizes you when you push too hard. You have to be precise. It is a track that people that like to drive race cars like to go to. Some of the race tracks we race on, you are a rider more than a driver. This is the type of place where you can make a difference in the car. When I go there, I look at it as a huge challenge because I know that if I operate at 100 percent of my capability and my car’s capability, we’ll get the best finish we can. If I am at 97 percent, then we’re not. That extra three percent at Darlington gets you something. It did for Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty and Bobby Allison. It is the same race track. I know the suites are cool, but, to me, going there is like stepping back in time and you don’t have all that there. It is just a race track that was built around a pond that is the same way it was then. I think that has some special meaning to it.”

You haven’t finished worse than 12th in the last five races at Darlington but how do you expect to improve on those finishes?  “Last year, the Caterpillar Chevrolet was fast and we put ourselves in position to win that race. We got a caution near the end of the race and when we pitted, I ran over the air hose which cost us. We had to start at the rear of the field but we ended up finishing eighth – that just shows you how fast we were. The year before, our car was completely different and we just didn’t have the handle on it. The track is a lot different since they paved it. Speeds don’t fall off so you’re running pretty fast around a track that’s not made to go that fast. So, its changed setup and driving style and I don’t think I adapted to it well as I needed to. I have a different game plan in mind for this weekend and we can be more successful.”

3 of Menard's 4 starts have been 30th or worse

Paul Menard
No. 27 Turtle Wax/Menards Chevrolet Impala
Race Notes and Quotes


This Week’s Turtle Wax/Menards Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway … Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 328 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 27 Chevrolet Impala was a brand new addition to the RCR fleet for the 2011 season and was last seen on track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where Menard brought home a 12th-place result after starting from the 18th position.

Ready to Tame the Lady in Black … In his four previous starts at Darlington, Menard has finished each of his contested races and completed 97 percent of his laps (1,424 of 1,468). He has a 31st-place average starting position and an average finishing position of 28th with his best finish of 15th coming in the May 2009 event.

Year in Review … Menard has recorded career-best performances at many of the race tracks that the NSCS has traveled to this season. Despite slipping to 15th in the driver championship point standings, Menard heads to Darlington a mere 13 points out of the coveted 12th-spot.

PAUL MENARD QUOTES:
Darlington is known as the track that is “Too Tough To Tame.” Why do you think is it so hard? "They will probably have to rename it now. Since it was repaved, it’s a totally different race track. The old surface had no grip at all; the tires would wear out in a couple laps and you would slide everywhere. Now, you run as fast as you do at the end of the run as you do at the beginning. You still have to run up by the fence which leads to right-side damage and the infamous ‘Darlington stripe.’ Driving a foot off the wall, things are still going to happen. It’s not as tough as it used to be, but it’s still pretty tough.”

How much of a sense of history do you feel when you walk into Darlington? “Darlington is definitely a throwback race track. You drive into this little town and all you see is this huge race track. It definitely allows you to feel the roots of NASCAR.”

Compared to other big cities we go to like Las Vegas, it’s nice to go to a small place like Darlington. Which do you prefer?  “I enjoy all the places (race tracks) that we can drive to. It’s always a fun drive down to Darlington. Honestly, when I get to the track, I generally don’t leave again until after the race. We don’t get to go out and experience the night life of the cities and all that. We just see the inside of the race track. Darlington is a good one (infield) though, for camping. It’s pretty laid back.”

Harvick has a 19.1 average finish in 14 starts

Kevin Harvick
No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet Impala
Race Notes and Quotes


This Week’s Budweiser Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway…Kevin Harvick will race chassis No. 304 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. In March, Harvick raced his way to a sixth-place finish in this car at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway after getting spun out late in the race. Last season, the team raced this car four times, scoring three top-five finishes: third at Richmond (5/1), fifth at New Hampshire (6/27) and third at Richmond (9/11).

Last Time Around … A loose-handling No. 29 Chevrolet didn’t stop Harvick from advancing through the field after starting 35th in last season’s Southern 500. After cracking the top 10 prior to a late-race caution, a two-tire pit call by crew chief Gil Martin afforded the Bakersfield, Calif., native the sixth-place restart spot that was protected over the final 20-plus laps.

Darlington Notes … In 14 starts at Darlington Raceway, Harvick has earned two top-five and five top-10 finishes. He’s completed 93.5 percent (4,529 of 4,845) total laps and has led 16 laps at the 1.366-mile track. Harvick has an average starting position of 17.6 and an average finishing position of 19.1 at Darlington.

In the Loop … While Darlington hasn’t been one the tracks Harvick has excelled at in his Sprint Cup Series career, when it comes to loop data statistics, he lives up to his new nickname as “the closer.” Harvick is ranked as the No. 1 closer at Darlington, a statistic that indicates the positions improved in the last 10 percent of the laps in each race. He’s gained an average of 3.7 spots in the final 10 percent of the laps in the last six races at the track. He is also ranked 10th in green-flag passes (253).

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
What makes racing at Darlington such a challenge for the drivers and teams? “The track was originally not designed for the cars to be running as fast as they are today. The track’s very narrow and you carry a lot of speed. From a driver’s standpoint, it’s very challenging just to keep the car off the wall, but it’s also a lot of fun to drive, too.”

Talk about driving a lap around Darlington: “Well, any lap around Darlington is a lap where you have to be paying attention to what’s going on because you can get yourself in trouble at any point on the race track. You carry a lot of speed into Turn 1 and you run right up the banking right up next to the wall and right back to the throttle. As you come back down the hill, you might have to breathe the throttle a little bit, but it’s a lot of fun coming out of Turn 2 because it shoots you down the backstretch. (Turns) 3 and 4 are probably the hardest because you carry so much speed off of (Turn) 2 into (Turn) 3 and the line kind of moves around a bit there. The easiest place to get in the wall, well it’s pretty easy to get in the wall anywhere, but definitely the easiest place to get into the wall is the middle of (Turns) 3 and 4.”

Do you remember getting your first Darlington stripe? “I don’t. I’ve had so many of them that they all kind of seem to run together now.”

What would it mean to add your name to the list of Darlington winners? “It’d be pretty awesome just for the fact that everyone knows the significance of the Southern 500 and to win at Darlington is something as a driver that you want to check off your list when you have the opportunity. We’ve been close at Darlington, but we’ve just got to put that check in the right box.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release

Las Vegas Hilton Super Book Odds To Win Darlington Showtime Southern 500

Despite lots of Darlington stripes, Busch is the 6/1 co-favorite to win

SHOWTIME SOUTHERN 500
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
SATURDAY, MAY 7, 2011

JIMMIE JOHNSON 6
DENNY HAMLIN 7
CARL EDWARDS 8
KYLE BUSCH 6
JEFF GORDON 8
GREG BIFFLE 20
KEVIN HARVICK 10
TONY STEWART 12
MATT KENSETH 20
CLINT BOWYER 18
KURT BUSCH 15
MARK MARTIN 25
JOEY LOGANO 30
JEFF BURTON 30
JUAN MONTOYA 30
KASEY KAHNE 30
JAMIE McMURRAY 30
RYAN NEWMAN 30
BRIAN VICKERS 40
DAVID REUTIMANN 60
DALE EARNHARDT JR 15
AJ ALLMENDINGER 75
MARTIN TRUEX JR 40
PAUL MENARD 75
DAVID RAGAN 75
BRAD KESELOWSKI 100
MARCOS AMBROSE 100
REGAN SMITH 500
BOBBY LABONTE 500
FIELD 300

SHOWTIME SOUTHERN 500 MATCHUPS

CARL EDWARDS -125
KYLE BUSCH +105

CARL EDWARDS -155
DENNY HAMLIN +135

CARL EDWARDS -135
MATT KENSETH +115

KYLE BUSCH -130
JIMMIE JOHNSON +110

KYLE BUSCH -135
DENNY HAMLIN +115

JIMMIE JOHNSON -120
DENNY HAMLIN EVEN

JIMMIE JOHNSON EVEN
MATT KENSETH -120

MATT KENSETH -135
GREG BIFFLE +115

GREG BIFFLE -135
KEVIN HARVICK +115

JEFF GORDON -150
KEVIN HARVICK +130

JEFF GORDON -155
TONY STEWART +135

CLINT BOWYER -125
TONY STEWART +105

CLINT BOWYER -135
DALE EARNHARDT JR +115

JEFF BURTON EVEN
DALE EARNHARDT JR -120

MARK MARTIN -130
JOEY LOGANO +110

JUAN MONTOYA +105
RYAN NEWMAN -125

KASEY KAHNE -130
JAMIE McMURRAY +110

MARTIN TRUEX JR -125
DAVID REUTIMANN +105

BRIAN VICKERS -120
PAUL MENARD EVEN

DAVID RAGAN EVEN
BRIAN VICKERS -120

Darlington Southern 500 Storylines

2003 Darlington finish line with Ricky Craven beating Kurt Busch

This one’s circled and starred, every season.

One of NASCAR’s "Crown Jewels," the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, now falls every Mother’s Day Eve, weaving two uniquely American traditions into one.

This race sits atop just about every driver’s wish list.

An array of winners has entered Darlington’s Victory Lane lately – five different names in the last five races. And it’s usually close. In 2003, Ricky Craven beat Kurt Busch to the finish line by .002 seconds, the closest finish since the inception of electronic timing and scoring. That mark was matched three weeks ago at Talladega.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series begins the weekend, with the running of the Royal Purple 200 on Friday night.

Storylines follow…

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

For Some Big Names, Time To Get Going
These marquee names all reside outside the top 10 of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings: Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin.

They all have something else in common: They’re tremendous at Darlington.

Gordon’s working on a string of seven consecutive top-five finishes, including a win in 2007. His seven Darlington victories rank third all-time at the historic track, behind NASCAR Hall of Famers David Pearson (10) and Dale Earnhardt (nine). His Darlington pre-race Driver Rating of 117.6 tops the series.

Martin has two Darlington victories.

Biffle won consecutive races in 2005 and 2006, and ranks second in Driver Rating with a 113.8.

Hamlin, fresh off a runner-up finish at Richmond, won last year’s Southern 500 and ranks third in Driver Rating at 109.1.

Allmendinger Flirting With Top 10
AJ Allmendinger nabbed his third top 10 of the season – a seventh-place run at Richmond – to vault four spots in the points standings (from 15th to 11th).

The Richard Petty Motorsports driver enjoyed a strong start to the 2011 season, but faltered, falling out of the top 10 in points after a 31st-place finish in Bristol.

Allmendinger has clawed his way back, with four top 15s in the last five races, and now sits just 12 points out of the top 10.

Wild Card: Wins At A Premium
Jeff Gordon’s win at Phoenix in the second race of the season looks huge right now. The only driver outside the top 10 with a win, Gordon – 16th in points – currently resides in Wild Card spot No. 1.

After race No. 26 at Richmond, the top 10 drivers in points will earn a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Chase spots 11 and 12 will go to the drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20. The tiebreaker goes to the driver highest in points. So, right now, Gordon and 11th place AJ Allmendinger sit in the two Wild Card spots.

Fight Intensifies Around Top-35 Bubble
The coveted 35th-place owner points spot couldn’t be closer – literally.

Cars ranked in the top-35 in owner points are guaranteed starting positions in the following race. Currently, there is a three-way points tie for the 35th-place position. Three teams each have 132 points

The tiebreaker goes to Frank Stoddard Jr.’s No. 32, via best finish (its 15th-place result in the Daytona 500). In 36th sits Germain Racing’s No. 13; in 37th is TRG Motorsports’ No. 71.

NASCAR, Darlington Remembers Jim Hunter
Jim Hunter, former vice president of corporate communications at NASCAR and president of Darlington Raceway, passed away last October after a year-long battle with cancer.

This weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ first trip back to Darlington since Hunter's passing, the sanctioning body and the race track will honor one of the sport's true giants.

On Thursday, The Jim Hunter Memorial Golf Tournament will be held at Florence Country Club. Proceeds will benefit the McLeod Children’s Hospital, The NASCAR Foundation and a scholarship has been set up in his name at his alma mater, the University of South Carolina.

Also, Darlington has rededicated its media center – the Jim Hunter Media Center. As part of the rededication, a plaque featuring a photo of Hunter will be installed near the building’s main entrance.

- NASCAR Media Services

Hamlin and Gordon Look Too Tough To Tame at Darlington

by Micah Roberts

Las Vegas Review-Journal

NASCAR’s most historic and unique track gets a visit this week as the 11th stop on the Sprint Cup series tour. Darlington Raceway, a track that has been running Cup races since 1950 on its odd egg-shaped 1.366-mile track, is the site for Saturday night’s Showtime Southern 500. It’s been called the track that is “too tough to tame” and the “Lady in Black” over the years because it’s just about anything and everything you can imagine that those names might entail.

Friday’s practice sessions were supposed to be a simple, final tune-up for qualifying and Saturday’s race, but several cars had a rough time as they gained the first Darlington stripes of the weekend, forcing some, like Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr, into backup cars. The Darlington stripe refers to the streak that appears on the right side of a drivers car after getting too close to the wall. Because each turn is vastly different in size, drivers sometimes can’t catch up with the direction the "Lady in Black” takes the car in and then the “Lady“ slaps a stripe on it.

The driver that stood out the most during Friday’s combined practice sessions at Darlington was Denny Hamlin. In the first and more important session of the two, Hamlin had the fifth-fastest times. During the final session, which was used primarily by most to get their qualifying setup straight, Hamlin was second fastest and was fastest among all drivers using race trim. Hamlin has never won at Darlington in his four starts, but his consistency over that span indicates that it won’t be long before he cashes in. He has the third-best average finish of 8.0 on the track among all active drivers with a career best of second-place coming in 2007.

His overall tenacity and aggressive nature — mixed in with his great practice — make him one of the favorites to beat Saturday night. There was no better example of just how tenacious Hamlin is than when he stole the Martinsville race in late March in the final four laps, passing eight cars in front of him.

On that particular Martinsville day, Hamlin did have the best car and dominated until giving the lead away with 10 laps to go, a four-tire choice that had everyone scratching their heads at the time. The car Hamlin brought this week to Darlington is the same one he had at Martinsville.

Jeff Gordon is a seven-time winner at Darlington and at one stretch had won the prestigious Southern 500 four straight years, something no one had ever done before or since. He’s on a current stretch at Darlington that has seen him finish six straight races in the top five, which includes a win in 2007.

Gordon’s been on a great run this season, having competitive cars in just about every race. He could have possibly had five wins already but still doesn’t own any, and hasn’t won since last April in Texas. That could all change this week as he has brought one of his better cars. The chassis he’s using had three runner-up finishes last season. The combination of a good car and great history make Gordon a strong candidate to win, and if being overdue counts for anything, he is way past due.

Kyle Busch won at Richmond last week and now finds himself third in the standings. After a sluggish start, it looks like Busch and his crew are finally dialed in and prepared for the stretch run. Busch had a good practice Friday finishing sixth in the first session and hopes that will be enough to carry him to his fifth straight top-10 finish on the season. Darlington has been tough on Kyle, though. He won the first race on the newly resurfaced smooth pavement in 2008, but it remains his only top-five finish there. His average finish position is 20.4, which include two finishes of 34th or worse.

Kurt Busch has the distinction of being the slimmest loser in NASCAR history. His second-place finish to Ricky Craven at Darlington in 2003 was by only .002 seconds. The two drivers battled back and forth — scratching and clawing — at each end of the track, making it one of the greatest finishes ever regardless of the margin or victory. That 2003 race was also Busch’s last top-five at Darlington, but that may change this week because of how sharp the “Blue Deuce” looked in practice in both race and qualifying trim. In the first session, Busch had the seventh-fastest lap and was third in the final session. He looks to have one his better chances to win this week, at least since 2003.

Jimmie Johnson swept the 2004 Darlington season in the last year the track had two Cup race dates. His Southern 500 win that season was also the last time Darlington raced on Labor Day weekend, a tradition that began in 1950. Johnson brought a new chassis this week, and by the looks of it in practice, he doesn’t look to be one of the contenders. However, his history at the track may suggest otherwise. In 11 career starts, Johnson has nine top-10 finishes that include finishing in the top five in three of his last four starts. He is Darlington's active leader in average finish position at 6.9.

Mark Martin won this race last season, the second of his career at Darlington. In 43 career starts at the track, Martin has 26 top-10 finishes. Like Johnson, Martin too will be debuting a new chassis for Hendrick Motorsports. During Friday’s practice, Martin was very average, but he laid down the fifth-fastest lap in qualifying and will start in the third row.

Jeff Burton has always been a steady contender at Darlington. He swept the season in 1999 while with Roush Racing and has found himself competitive in every race since. Burton will be using a new chassis this week.

Ryan Newman is someone to take a good look at this week just because of his track history. He’s finished no worse than sixth in four of his last five Darlington starts and has six top-five finishes in 11 career starts. He’s using his Pocono chassis from last season that finished fifth and practiced well with it Friday. If you're looking for a possible upset, Newman’s a great look.

Another long shot who practiced well Friday was Jamie McMurray. Following the fastest time in the final session, McMurray took the pole. It’s the first time in his career that he has won the pole twice in a season. We’ve seen McMurray look good in practice a few times this season but not pan out on race day, at least in non-restrictor plate races, but his career supports that he may be worth a shot this week. He has an average finish of 16.4 in his nine career starts at Darlington and has finished fourth on two occasions.

Brad Keselowski doesn’t have a lot of experience at Darlington, but he does have that same type of tenacity and lack of fear like Hamlin does that could fare well. In his Cup track debut last season, Keselowski finished a very respectable seventh. During Friday’s practice, he was getting around the track pretty good while in both race and qualifying set-ups. He’s using a new chassis this week, one the team described as being the lightest Penske Racing has ever made for stock cars.      

Read More Here.......including Final Driver ratings For Darlington