Southern 500 News and Notes

Driver Highlights - Darlington

Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford)

# Two wins, two top fives, four top 10s; one pole
# Average finish of 14.0
# Average Running Position of 7.6, third-best
# Series-best Driver Rating of 123.1
# Series-high 251 Fastest Laps Run
# Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 157.416 mph
# 1,635 Laps in the Top 15 (89.0%), second-most
# 157 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), fourth-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M's Toyota)

# One win, one top five, two top 10s
# Average finish of 20.4
# Average Running Position of 11.8, ninth-best
# Driver Rating of 96.2, eighth-best
# 77 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
# 243 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
# Average Green Flag Speed of 156.856 mph, eighth-fastest
# 1,444 Laps in the Top 15 (78.6%), fourth-most
# 173 Quality Passes, second-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy Drink/National Guard Chevrolet)

# Three top fives, seven top 10s
# Average finish of 15.1
# Average Running Position of 11.0, sixth-best
# Driver Rating of 95.1, ninth-best
# 45 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
# 267 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most
# 1,371 Laps in the Top 15 (74.6%), sixth-most
# 154 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Carl Edwards (No. 99 SUBWAY Ford)

# Two top fives, four top 10s
# Average finish of 15.7
# Average Running Position of 13.6, 11th-best
# Driver Rating of 91.9, 10th-best
# 81 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
# 289 Green Flag Passes, third-most
# Average Green Flag Speed of 156.753 mph, ninth-fastest
# 1,236 Laps in the Top 15 (67.2%), eighth-most
# Series-high 174 Quality Passes

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)

# Seven wins, 17 top fives, 20 top 10s; three poles
# Average finish of 11.3
# Series-best Average Running Position of 7.5
# Driver Rating of 114.4, second-best
# 93 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
# Average Green Flag Speed of 157.228 mph, third-fastest
# Series-high 1,683 Laps in the Top 15 (91.6%)
# 163 Quality Passes, third-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx/March of Dimes Toyota)

# One top five, three top 10s
# Average finish of 8.0
# Average Running Position of 11.4, seventh-best
# Driver Rating of 102.7, fourth-best
# 106 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
# 222 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most
# Average Green Flag Speed of 156.878 mph, sixth-fastest
# 1,024 Laps in the Top 15 (69.8%), 12th-most
# 132 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet)

# Two wins, six top fives, nine top 10s
# Average finish of 6.9
# Average Running Position of 7.6, second-best
# Driver Rating of 112.1, third-best
# 145 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
# 240 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
# Average Green Flag Speed of 157.239 mph, second-fastest
# 1,561 Laps in the Top 15 (84.9%), third-most
# 146 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Ford)

# Two top fives, two top 10s; three poles
# Average finish of 15.3
# Average Running Position of 13.6, 12th-best
# Driver Rating of 91.6, 12th-best
# 79 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
# 1,020 Laps in the Top 15 (55.5%), 13th-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Crown Royal Ford)

# One top five, seven top 10s; one pole
# Average finish of 18.0
# Average Running Position of 13.8, 13th-best
# Driver Rating of 91.2, 13th-best
# 64 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
# 287 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
# 1,077 Laps in the Top 15 (58.6%), 10th-most
# 123 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Joey Logano (No. 20 The Home Depot Toyota)

# One top 10
# Average finish of 9.0
# Average Running Position of 9.1, fourth-best
# Driver Rating of 98.8, sixth-best
# Average Green Flag Speed of 156.877 mph, seventh-fastest

Mark Martin (No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet)

# Two wins, 17 top fives, 26 top 10s; two poles
# Average finish of 12.0
# Average Running Position of 13.1, 10th-best
# Driver Rating of 91.9, 10th-best
# 256 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
# Average Green Flag Speed of 156.547 mph, 11th-fastest
# 1,297 Laps in the Top 15 (70.6%), seventh-most
# 110 Quality Passes, 13th-most

Ryan Newman (No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet)

# Six top fives, seven top 10s; one pole
# Average finish of 12.5
# Average Running Position of 10.9, fifth-best
# Driver Rating of 100.7, fifth-best
# 52 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most
# Average Green Flag Speed of 157.070 mph, fourth-fastest
# 1,439 Laps in the Top 15 (78.3%), fifth-most

Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)

# One top 10
# Average finish of 11.3
# Average Running Position of 11.6, eighth-best
# Driver Rating of 96.8, seventh-best
# 53 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
# 238 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most
# Average Green Flag Speed of 156.917 mph, fifth-fastest
# 137 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Note: The first 26 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season determine which 12 drivers qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, contested over the final 10 races of the season.

Who will tame Darlington this time?

Darlington, SC (Sports Network) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Saturday, May 8. Race: Showtime Southern 500. Site: Darlington Raceway. Track: 1.366- mile oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 367. Miles: 501. 2009 winner: Mark Martin. Television: FOX. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.

It's one of NASCAR's biggest traditions -- the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough To Tame" by NASCAR competitors and fans, Darlington held the sport's first-ever superspeedway race in 1950, with Johnny Mantz winning the inaugural Southern 500 from the 43rd starting position in a 75-car field.

The Southern 500 had been held at Darlington on Labor Day weekend annually for 54 years before the holiday event shifted to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA in 2004. NASCAR moved the Southern 500 that year to November as part of the championship chase schedule. In 2005, the track's date switched to the night before Mother's Day, and has remained there since then.

This year, Showtime Networks becomes the title sponsor of the Southern 500.

Darlington is 1.366 miles in length and has a unique egg-shaped layout, making it one of stock car racing's most challenging tracks. Prior to it being repaved in time for the 2008 race, Darlington's rough, sandy surface made havoc for teams as far as tire management. The track's surface now is smooth and quite speedy.

"This track used to be so tough because the surface was so abrasive," said Jeff Gordon, who leads all active drivers with seven wins at Darlington. "You had to use a lot of finesse as a driver while dealing with the two very different ends of the track.

"Now it's smoother and has more grip, but it's still pretty treacherous, because you run right up next to the wall. It's still an awesome racetrack that is much faster now. And it can still bite you."

Every driver at one time or another has earned a "Darlington Stripe," a mark left on the car when it rubs against the track's outer wall.

"Darlington is the hardest place we race," Biffle said. "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."

Kyle Busch won the first race on Darlington's repaved surface two years ago. Busch overcame a pit road penalty for a missing lug nut to finish three seconds ahead of Carl Edwards for his third of eight Sprint Cup victories during the '08 season. Last year at Darlington, he finished 34th after cutting a tire and making contact with the wall late in the race.

"I won the first year there (in the Car of Tomorrow), and I think it was just because everyone was new to the car," Busch said. "Last year, a lot of people got a lot smarter, and we fell a little bit behind. You just have to be patient. You just have to bide your time, and I wasn't very good at that last year. You've got to make sure you keep working on your car."

Last Saturday, Busch snapped a 21-race winless streak in the series at Richmond. He started on the pole and led 221 of the first 229 laps before experiencing an ill-handling car. Busch rallied in the closing laps when he passed Jeff Gordon for the lead just after the final restart. He held it for his first win since last August at Bristol.

Gordon, who finished second, let another win slip away from him this season. He also lost the lead late in the races at Las Vegas, Martinsville, Phoenix and Texas earlier this year.

Mark Martin is the defending race winner at Darlington. Martin gambled on fuel late in the race and then held off several challenges from four-time defending series champion and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson for his first win at Darlington since 1993.

"It was cool to win there," Martin said. "It had been so long since we'd won the Southern 500 that most people didn't know I had won one. It is kind of cool."

Forty-six teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Showtime Southern 500.

Darlington Preview
By Micah Roberts

The old unofficial rule in NASCAR used to be that there were two weekends reserved for families that weren’t allowed to have scheduled races; Easter and Mother’s Day. The story goes that Big Bill France’s wife made sure that none of the driver’s Mothers would have to see any of their sons hurt while participating in the dangerous sport of stock car racing.

For the 2005 season, NASCAR -- and their greedy nature -- thought they would kill two traditions with one wad of cash. Not only did they have a race scheduled for Mother’s day weekend, but they also eliminated the most traditional race in NASCAR history, the Southern 500 at Darlington on Labor day weekend -- a staple in the sport since 1950, which also left Darlington with only one race a season.

NASCAR saw the errors of the way, sort of. It was actually dollar signs that led them to see the light, along with being humiliated by the choice that got the date, as well as lots of nasty calls from NASCAR traditionalists. The venue that took the place of the Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend was California Speedway and it failed miserably to attract fans. NASCAR saw that there were more folks on the beautiful Southern California beaches on race day than in the stands.

Prior to the 2009 season NASCAR announced the return of the Southern 500 at Darlington, but it wouldn’t be on Labor Day weekend, and the date would remain on Mother’s day weekend. Coming into this season, California traded their Labor Day race with Atlanta in hopes of getting more people in to lovely Fontana in October.

While California remains with its truck-series like crowds for two races a year, Darlington has picked up the pace with sell-outs of 68,000 strong in each of the last four seasons and still offers the fans some of the best racing of the season.

Beyond all Darlington’s great history that makes each visit special, the track configuration and difficulty the drivers have attempting to conquer it make it one of the most fun races of the year to watch. It’s been called the track that is “Too Tough to Tame” and also “The Lady in Black” as somewhat of reference that if you get out of line and too close to wall, the “Lady” will slap a Darlington stripe on you to make you think twice about trying it again. The “Lady” is a mean angry woman to some drivers, not exactly too appropriate of a pairing for an event on Mother’s day weekend.

It’s odd egg-shaped 1.366-mile track with each side of the track vastly different. Back in 1949 the plan was to turn this peanut farm into a traditional oval with equal turns. At the request of the neighboring property, Darlington’s plans were modified to not disturb the minnow pond next door. Because of that, NASCAR fans have been blessed with the most unique track on tour with one end being a tight turn and the other with a wider sweeping turn. The minnow pond still exists to this day as does the unique turns which create such great racing.

The dilemma for most of the teams is figuring out which turn they want to set up best for. It’s very rare to see any car be perfectly set-up for each side equally. The one thing they don’t have to deal with like the drivers for the first 58 years did is the old sand-paper grit surface that ate away at any kind tire compound used which required drivers to save their tires like no other track. The track was resurfaced in 2008 and is super smooth like Richmond now. There still is that abrasive sandy soil Darlington has that the wind pushes across 365 days a year and will eventually wear it down a bit, but it’ll never be the same.

Because the track is so unique, we can’t rely much on recent track history of any other track like we were able to do last week with Richmond by using Phoenix as a great barometer. Because of the banking, many crew chiefs in the last two years with the new surface have used their 1.5-mile Texas or Atlanta chassis’.

Mark Martin won last years race in what was his 43rd career start on the historical track. It was the second win of his career there with his first coming in 1993, Jeff Gordon’s rookie year. Martin has yet to win this season, but has been getting close to last years form and should be considered a contender.

The winner from 2008 was Kyle Busch, who finally found the 2010 winners circle last week at Richmond. It was the second year in a row he gave himself a birthday present by winning at Richmond. That is now four straight races where Busch and his new crew chief Dave Rogers look to have their team all on the same page which could be bad news for everyone else.

Jimmie Johnson is Darlington’s active leader in average finish at 6.9, but hasn’t won there since sweeping the 2004 season which incidentally was the last real southern 500 on Labor Day weekend.

Jeff Burton and the entire Childress crew that includes new points leader Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer should all fare well this week. Burton has two career win on the track coming in a 1999 sweep of the season. Their consistent horsepower and handling on all tracks should make them all contenders this week.

In four races, Denny Hamlin has never finished worse than 13th and has a personal best of second place in 2007. This track is made ideally for his style.

The active leader in wins at Darlington is Jeff Gordon with seven, the last coming in 2007. He is the only driver in track history to win the fames Southern 500 four straight years. With the way Gordon has been toughed lucked out of four of the last five races where he should have won, it’s hard to believe he won’t be one of the best this week especially considering how well he’s run on the 1.5-mile tracks of Las Vegas and Texas this year.

Look for the hard charging Gordon to finally break through this week. Let’s just hope for his sake that he can win under long green flag conditions and that if a late double-file restart is required, Kyle Busch isn’t in the first three rows, or Ryan Newman, or even Hamlin for that matter; three drivers that have taken the veteran down under that format.

Happy Mother’s day to every Mom out there. Please make every day special for the Mothers out there, but take extra special care of her on her one day.

Top 5 Finish Prediction:

1) #24 Jeff Gordon (8/1)

2) #48 Jimmie Johnson (6/1)

3) #18 Kyle Busch (7/1)

4) #31 Jeff Burton (15/1)

5) #11 Denny Hamlin (10/1)

Driver Handicaps: Darlington
Racingone.com

This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for Saturday's Showtime Southern 500. To help you make your fantasy racing picks, Motor Racing Network brings you our weekly detailed look at some of the field for the 367-lap event.

Who's HOT at Darlington
• Jeff Gordon leads all drivers with seven wins.
• Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with a 6.9 average finish.
• Greg Biffle has led the most laps (212) in the three races with the COT.
• Denny Hamlin has a 7.3 average finish and has led 194 laps with the COT.
• Mark Martin is the defending race winner.
• Matt Kenseth has finished in the top 10 in the last four starts.

Keep an Eye on at Darlington
• Two-time Darlington winner Jeff Burton has an 11.5 average finish in 27 starts.
• Kyle Busch won the 2008 race and has led 171 laps with the COT at Darlington.
• Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. each have finished in the top 10 in four of the last five races at Darlington.
• Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano both finished in the top 10 in their Darlington debuts in 2009.
• Tony Stewart finished third in his first Darlington start with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009.
• Carl Edwards has two top fives with the COT at Darlington.

Top 30 Driver Notes - Ordered by current standings

(All stats/notes are in regards to Darlington Raceway unless noted)

1. Kevin Harvick: Coming off best finish in three starts with the COT in 11th; Last of four top 10s came in the 2004 March race; Led only laps (14) in the 2003 Labor Day race; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 297) in the Showtime Southern 500.

2. Jimmie Johnson: Leads all drivers with a 6.9 average finish; Coming off second top-five finish in the three races with the COT; Won both races in 2004; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 602) in the Showtime Southern 500.

3. Kyle Busch: Won this event in 2008 after leading 169 laps; 24.0 average finish in the three starts with the COT; Only other top 10 in five overall starts came with Hendrick Motorsports in 2006; Will make his third track start with Joe Gibbs Racing in the same car (chassis No. 261) that finished 12th at Phoenix last November.

4. Matt Kenseth: Fifth-best average finish (7.7) in the three races with the COT; Coming off fourth consecutive top 10; Defending event pole winner; Seven top 10s in 16 starts.

5. Greg Biffle: Winner of this event in 2005 and 2006; Coming off fourth top 10 (eighth) in nine starts; Leads all drivers with 212 laps led in the three races with the COT; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 576) in the Showtime Southern 500.

6. Jeff Gordon: Leads all drivers in wins (7) and laps led (1,610); Leads all drivers with a 3.0 average finish in the three races with the COT; Winner of the first COT race; Only driver with three top fives with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 484) that finished second in three races last season.

7. Denny Hamlin: Fourth-best average finish (7.3) in the three races with the COT; Second in laps led (194) with the COT; Finished second in first COT race in 2007; 8.0 average finish in four starts; Will return in his Martinsville winning chassis (No. 267) in the Showtime Southern 500.

8. Kurt Busch: 14.8 average finish in four starts with Penske Racing: Four top 10s in 13 overall starts came with Roush Racing; One lap led in three starts with the COT.

9. Jeff Burton: 10.7 average finish in three races with the COT; Has finished in the top 10 in three of the last four races; Won both races in 1999 with Roush Racing; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 305) in the Showtime Southern 500.

10. Mark Martin: Won this event last year in first track start with Hendrick Motorsports; 10.3 average finish in the three races with the COT; 26 top 10s in 43 starts; Will debut a new chassis (No. 582) in the Showtime Southern 500; The only time this car has been on track came in the Charlotte test.

11. Carl Edwards: Two top fives in the three races with the COT; Four top 10s and an average finish of 15.7 in six overall starts; Led 33 laps in this event in 2007; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 558) that finished second at Pocono last June.

12. Clint Bowyer: Won the pole for this event in 2007; Only top 10 (ninth) in four starts came in that event; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 264) that posted an average finish of 12.8 in four starts in 2009; This car was also used in the Darlington Goodyear tire test.

13. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 15.5 average finish in two starts with Hendrick Motorsports; Has finished eighth or better in four of his last five starts; Best finish in 15 starts is a pair of fourth-place finishes with the last coming in 2008; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 584) that won the pole and finished 15th at Atlanta.

14. Martin Truex Jr.: 11.2 average finish in four starts; Coming off first top 10 (sixth); Fifth in laps led (72) in the three races with the new car; Will make track debut with Michael Waltrip Racing.

15. Tony Stewart: Finished third in first track start with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009; Posted eight top 10s in previous 16 starts with Joe Gibbs Racing; 10.0 average finish in the three races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 515) that he won the All-Star race with in 2009.

16. Ryan Newman: Finished third in first track start with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009; Posted six top 10s in previous 10 starts with Penske Racing; Two top fives in the three races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 506) that finished fifth at Pocono last June.

17. Joey Logano: Started fifth and finished ninth in first track start in 2009; Led 19 laps in that event; Will debut a new chassis (No. 266) in the Showtime Southern 500.

18. Juan Pablo Montoya: Finished track best 20th last year; 22.0 average finish in three starts; Piloting chassis No. 910, which was last raced to 37th-place finish at Las Vegas after an on-track altercation.

19. Jamie McMurray: 16.4 average finish in nine starts; Last of three top 10s came in 2005 race; Bringing brand new chassis No. 1006.

20. Paul Menard: Finished 15th last year in a Ford; 27.3 average finish in three starts; Piloting chassis No. 653; This car was last raced to 17th at Las Vegas in February.

21. AJ Allmendinger: 26.7 average finish in three starts; Making track debut in Ford; Bringing chassis No. 277, which was last run at Phoenix where he finished 15th from the pole.

22. Kasey Kahne: 15.3 average finish in seven starts; Last of two top fives came in 2005; Has started on the pole three times.

23. David Ragan: Finished track best fifth in 2008; 23.3 average finish in three starts; Bringing chassis RK-638, which was last raced to a 24th-place finish in last year's Coca-Cola 600.

24. Brian Vickers: Best finish in seven starts was 16th in May 2006; Best finish with Red Bull was 25th in 2008; 28.6 average finish.

25. Scott Speed: Finished 26th in track debut in 2009.

26. Brad Keselowski: Finished seventh in track debut in 2009 after starting 31st; Piloting brand-new chassis PRS-720, which has been described as one of the lightest ever built at Penske Racing.

27. David Reutimann: 27.0 average finish in three starts; Best finish of 19th was in 2008.

28. Marcos Ambrose: Finished 33rd in track debut in 2009 from the 10th starting position; Tested in March during Goodyear tire test.

29. Sam Hornish Jr.: Qualified fourth last year in second track start, but finished 30th; 34.0 average finish.

30. Elliott Sadler: 18.6 average finish in 17 starts; Last of four top-five finishes came in a Ford with Yates Racing in 2004 spring race; Finished 14th with Richard Petty Motorsports in 2009; Bringing chassis No. 283, which was tested during last month's tire test at track.

First Practice Notes

Darlington stripes: #88-Earnhardt Jr got one on his second lap out on the track and the crew brought out the backup car. #34-Kvapil scraped the wall shortly thereafter, followed by #20-Joey Logano. #42-Montoya also make slight contact. #33-Bowyer hit the turn 2 wall an hour into the session and will go to a backup. #88-Earnhardt, Jr. then got back into the wall with 15 minutes remaning in the session but there was just minor damage. #82-Speed made contact with turn 4 late. #1-McMurray also pancaked the car in turn 4 with just minutes remaining.

Happy Hour Notes

#16-Biffle hit the wall in turn 4 early and will go to a backup. #2-Busch spun off turn 4 but stayed out of the wall. #87-Nemechek tore up his car coming off turn 4 and sliding into the inside retaining wall. He'll pull out the backup. 35 mintues in, #36-Mears got loose off turn 2, hit the wall and slid down into the inside retaining wall. He will also need a backup. #18-Busch hit the wall in 4 midway through the session. The team will try to repair the car. #47-Ambrose hit the right side of his car late in the session and will go to a backup.

Southern 500 at Darlington: NASCAR Betting Preview
By Greg Engle

As one of the oldest tracks on the NASCAR circuit, Darlington Raceway has a long and storied history. The egg-shaped oval provides drivers with challenges found nowhere else while providing fans with some great racing. After nearly losing its spot on the schedule a few years, lights were added, the race was moved to Saturday night and it’s now a crowning jewel in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Favorites

Jeff Gordon (+600)

Even when he’s having a bad season, Gordon seems to run well at Darlington. His record here is nothing short of stellar. He has seven wins five more than any other active driver, along with 17 Top 5s, 20 Top 10s and three poles. Barring mechanical catastrophe or an accident, Gordon who is certainly not having a bad season, is far and away the favorite this week.

Greg Biffle (+2000)

Biffle is another driver who always seems to have the tricky Lady In Black figured out. Biffle has been running well so far this season and with a Darlington record of two wins, two Top 5s, four Top 10s and one pole he will definitely be in the hunt Saturday night.

Kyle Busch (+600)

Busch scored his first win of the season last week at Richmond. The victory gave him and his new crew chief the confidence they need and with a record of one win, one Top 5 and two Top 10s here, that confidence along with the momentum from last Saturday may bode well for the team this week.

Others to watch

Jimmie Johnson (+600)

Johnson may be down, but he certainly isn’t out. After finishing 10th at Richmond, some are writing Johnson off. But one mediocre race does not a season make and with a record of two wins, six Top 5s and nine Top 10s here, including a second last year, Johnson is a threat that can’t be counted out.

Mark Martin (+1200)

Martin hasn’t exactly been a front runner so far this season, but he heads here as the defending race winner. Martin has another win at Darlington along with 17 Top 5s, 26 Top 10s and two poles. Last season the win here for Martin was the second of five for the year, this season it could be the first of several.

Kevin Harvick (+1200)

Harvick has never won at Darlington. He has two Top 5s and four Top 10s. However, after scoring his first win of the season at Talladega, Harvick and his once slumping crew are showing renewed energy and have to be considered a threat.

Head to head

Carl Edwards vs. Kasey Kahne

While neither driver has won here, Edwards finished fifth at Richmond last week, Kahne 22nd. Both drivers have had strong runs this season and while maybe not a threat for the win, should be contenders. Edwards has two Top 5s, four Top 10s, while Kahne has two Top 5s, two Top 10s and three poles. Edwards has been moving upwards in the last few weeks, Kahne seems to be on a downward spiral. Edge to Edwards.

Tony Stewart vs. Ryan Newman

No doubt Stewart wants to at least come away from Darlington with a decent finish after subpar outings the last few races. His teammate Newman finished in the Top 10 last week. Stewart has three Top 5s and nine Top 10s here; Newman has six Top 5s, seven Top 10s and one pole at Darlington. At such a tricky track, look for Stewart’s woes to continue and Newman to finish in front of his boss this week.

Denny Hamlin vs. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt Jr. had a very forgettable Richmond race and continues to suffer on the track and in the pits. Hamlin has had terrific runs including two wins in the last five races. But Earnhardt has a better record at Darlington, with three Top 5s and seven Top 10s while Hamlin has yet to find his groove and has one Top five and three Top 10s. If Earnhardt can keep his nose clean on the track and in the pits Saturday he should at least finish ahead of Hamlin.

Practice Notes - Darlington
By Micah Roberts

Top 8 Rated Drivers Following All Practice and Qualifying Sessions
Rating Driver Odds Practice 1 Practice 2 Practice 2 ‘09 Darlington Finish

1 Denny Hamlin 8/1 5th 2nd 8th 13th
Analysis: Using winning Martinsville chassis; has an average finish of 8.0 in four Darlington starts.

2 Jeff Gordon 6/1 15th 8th 2nd 5th
Analysis: Seven time Darlington winner; last time in ‘07. Chassis using was runner-up three times in ’09.

3 Kyle Busch 6/1 6th 15th 39th 34th
Analysis: Only one top-five finish on track in five starts, a 2008 win. Using Phoenix chassis from last fall.

4 Jimmie Johnson 6/1 17th 9th 22nd 2nd
Analysis: Swept 2004 season for only two wins. Track best average finish of 6.9; using new car this week.

5 Mark Martin 12/1 16th 17th 5th 1st
Analysis: Two time Darlington winner including last year; 17 top 5‘s in 43 starts. New chassis this week.

6 Jeff Burton 12/1 8th 10th 11th 12th
Analysis: Swept ‘99 season for only two wins. Last top-5 came in 2000 while with Roush; using new chassis

7 Kurt Busch 15/1 7th 3rd 14th 16th
Analysis: Lost by .003 second in closest NASCAR race ever at Darlington in 2003, his only top-5 finish.

8 Ryan Newman 40/1 22nd 4th 6th 4th
Analysis: Five top-5 finishes with average finish of 12.5 in 11 starts. Using fifth-place ’09 Pocono chassis.