This Week in Auto Racing May 2 - 7

This Week in Auto Racing May 2 - 7

Darlington, SC (Sports Network) - NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series teams spend this Mother's Day weekend at Darlington Raceway, while Formula One competes in Europe for the first time this season with the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Sprint Cup Series

Showtime Southern 500 - Darlington Raceway - Darlington, SC

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.

Nationwide Series

Royal Purple 200 - Darlington Raceway - Darlington, SC

Brad Keselowski remained the points leader in the Nationwide Series after winning last Friday's race at Richmond. Earlier in the week, NASCAR docked a total of 50 points from Keselowski's lead after his car failed post-race inspection at Talladega, where he won his first race of the season

Keselowski enters this week's race at Darlington with a 59-point advantage over Kevin Harvick and 84 markers ahead of 2009 series champion Kyle Busch.

Penske Racing is making a strong statement in the early season as the team to beat in this year's Nationwide title race. Keselowski, in his first year with Penske, has won the last two races, while teammate Justin Allgaier recorded his first career victory in March at Bristol.

"These last two weeks have been pretty amazing," Keselowski said. "I knew when I made the move to Penske Racing last year that the potential was there for us to contend for wins and championships in the Nationwide Series, but I figured it would take a few more races for everyone to gel."

Allgaier is currently fourth in points (-180).

Keselowski will attempt to become the first driver in the series to win three consecutive races since Busch last did it in April 2008. Busch won at Texas, Phoenix and Mexico City before Tony Stewart ended his streak at Talladega. Keselowski has finished 11th, 15th and 36th in his first three races at Darlington.

Roush Fenway Racing has been the dominate team at Darlington, with team owner Jack Roush collecting 15 Nationwide wins there so far.

Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth have won for Roush at Darlington. Kenseth is the defending race winner.

"Darlington is a great race track, known for its history and unique layout," Kenseth said. "It's very fast and narrow, and the biggest challenge is getting around there as fast as possible without hitting the wall. Since they paved it a few years ago, it's a pretty difficult place to race. You need a really fast car, and you got to have the track position at the end of the race.

"We were fortunate enough to win last year's Nationwide Series race, and I'd like to get another good finish for this [team] Friday night in order to help them improve their position in the point standings."

For the second week in a row, Kenseth will drive the No.16 Ford in place of rookie Colin Braun, who has posted five DNFs already this season. Kenseth will have to qualify the car on time, since Roush's No.16 team is 31st in owner points.

Forty-six teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Royal Purple 200.

FORMULA ONE

Spanish Grand Prix - Circuit de Catalunya - Barcelona, Spain

With the first four races in 2010 -- Bahrain, Australia, Malaysia and China -- now in the history books, the "European season" on this year's Formula One calendar begins with this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

Teams are quite familiar with Circuit de Catalunya, since pre-season testing is held at the 2.892-mile (4.655 km) road course. The track, located just north of Barcelona, has hosted F1 races since 1991.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber from Red Bull and Mercedes GP's Nico Rosberg posted the quickest lap times during four days of testing at Barcelona in February.

Rosberg perhaps is on the cusp of winning his first career F1 grand prix. The 24-year-old German has moved up to second in the world championship standings after posting two straight podium finishes (third place at both Malaysia and China).

"It's a very nice feeling to be going into the European season with second place in the drivers' championship and with a significant upgrade for our car in Barcelona [this] weekend," Rosberg said. "Returning to Europe is when the season feels like it really gets underway, and we will be doing our best to continue our good run and podium finishes from the first four races. I'm looking forward to it."

Rosberg has been capturing more attention than his Mercedes teammate and seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher, who returned to the sport this season after a three-year retirement period.

Last November, Mercedes-Benz took control of Brawn GP after the team had a sensational maiden season in F1, with Jenson Button winning the drivers' championship and Brawn capturing the constructors' title.

Button, in his first season with McLaren, claimed the points lead after winning last month's Chinese GP -- his second victory of the season. He has accumulated 60 points so far, compared to 50 for Rosberg. Button is the defending winner of the Spanish GP.

"I'm looking forward to returning to Europe," Button said. "It's been an incredibly exciting series of flyaway races, but I think everybody in Formula One looks forward to racing closer to home, back in the sport's heartland."

In last year's Spanish GP, Button's team opted for a two-stop pit strategy compared to three for all other teams. Button started on the pole, but his then Brawn teammate Rubens Barrichello quickly passed him for the lead heading into the first turn on the opening lap. Barrichello's three-stop strategy backfired, allowing Button to capture the lead for good on lap 55 of the 66- lap event.

The last nine Spanish GPs have been won from the pole position. Will someone make it ten in a row on Sunday?