Trouble in Turn2

In most years Darlington is one of the most baffling tracks to figure out. Teams and drivers struggle with a good setup and by the time they figure it out, their tires are already worn out. The simple reason is that Darlington was such a unique track. The way the surface ate up tires made it extremely challenging and there wasn’t really an apt comparison found on the Cup circuit. This year will feature a new racing surface for the first time in 13 years. The egg-shaped track is still unique and plenty challenging, but the race will be less about tire wear. The rapid tire wear usually separated the top drivers from the top engineers. Now that factor is probably eliminated from the equation. The good news is that the race still promises to be one of the best of the season.

What Happened Last Year

For the second straight week rain moved the race to Sunday afternoon. This caused several overheating issues for teams. Clint Bowyer won the pole, but it was quickly apparent that Denny Hamlin was the class of the field. He lead 179 laps but a bad pit stop cost him not only the lead but any track position edge he previously owned. That opened up the door for Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon to emerge. Gordon’s car began to steam and kick water out of the hood under cautions. After most of the leaders pitted on the final caution, Gordon stayed out in order to keep his engine from killing. The move paid off as he was able to hold off Johnson to win his seventh Darlington race.

Notes

• Johnny Mantz won the 1950 inaugural Southern 500 thanks to tire strategy. Most of the hares blew through their tires while Mantz played the tortoise and steadily made his way to the finish line. An incredible 75 cars took the green flag, while 25 others went home due to the top 75 owner’s points rule (note: Top 75 rule may not be true).

• Of all active drivers with Darlington wins, only Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin and Sterling Marlin have not won a Cup championship. The other active winners are Jeff Gordon, Bill Elliott, Dale Jarrett, Jimmie Johnson and Bobby Labonte.

• Jeremy Mayfield has led the most laps(321) among active drivers without winning. Donnie Allison led an incredible 878 without finding Darlington’s victory lane, the most among all drivers.

• Anyone want to venture a guess on the number of times the announcers mention Darlington Stripe? I would say a number twice as many as the number of cars with actual stripes. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that the track is so challenging it’s almost impossible to avoid contact with the wall, but the incessant jabbering about said stripes gets a little annoying.

Champs, Chumps and Sleepers

• Champ Bet against Jeff Gordon at Darlington at your own peril. 7 wins, 15 top 5’s in 27 starts and three straight top 2 finishes.

• Chump It might be the only time all year where I feel comfortable choosing Tony Stewart as a chump. For whatever reason Stewart has not found success at Darlington.

• Sleeper It’s easy to pick Mark Martin every week in this category, but that’s not much of a sleeper, now is it? Matt Kenseth is hardly a sleeper either, but his 2008 struggles mean he sits 21st in the points. A nice run this Saturday would fix his Sleeper status.

My Fearless Winner Prediction

Due to some bad luck in past years Carl Edwards isn’t known for his prowess at Darlington, but he has a number of things going for him. His car control is excellent and Edwards and Roush-Fenway Racing have obviously jumped to an early advantage on speedways. He scored a top five in his first Darlington race back in 2004 and followed it up with a top ten in 2005. Rocks knocked his oil belt off and killed the motor in 2006, although he was running in the top five at the time. Then last year he led 33 laps before he was caught speeding on pit road. He battled back for a top ten, but again finished below where he deserved.