Spinning my wheels: Darlington days
Fantasy Auto Racing
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OK, so the '80s wrestling fan in me also tapped into YouTube for a little bit of Kerry Von Erich footage (It was his theme song, remember? I know you do.).
In any event, the fabulous instrumentals struck me as perhaps the perfect background music for a Sprint Cup event. The marriage of the rumbling engines, Lee's bass and vocals and a fierce drum solo to our FOX Sports team just seems right to me. Snakes & Arrows and some of their greatest hits will be the soundtrack for my viewing experience this weekend.
Let's review the field.
Track Info
Darlington Raceway in South Carolina is a fast 1.366-mile oval with 23-to-25-degree banking in the corners. Cars generally circle the venue in the 170s, and the track has been resurfaced. As such, the asphalt will play a factor here and proper pitting strategy and avoiding the blowout/spinout and accident will be vital to one's race to the finish line. We've heard the old line that "patience is a virtue," perhaps too many times. However, it's no less true at Darlington, where that trait will be paramount for success this weekend.
History
It's time for the Hendrick team to start making their push. The leader at Darlington historically is Jeff Gordon, who's claimed seven wins in his 27 career starts with 18 top 10s. Teammate Jimmie Johnson regularly makes his way to the lead, having produced eight top 10s in his nine career rides here. Gordon and Johnson are joined by Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton as the only current series regulars to feel the glory of victory lane on multiple occasions.
Might they be among the leaders again this weekend?
The Contenders
Jeff Gordon
Gordon ended a three-race mini-drought with a fabulous run-up of 19 slots to capture ninth place at Richmond. He's been one of the top performers at Darlington historically, posting a mind-boggling 15 top-five finishes in his 27 career starts at the track. He starts strong, having claimed four poles here. He's also raced into victory lane seven times. How about this stat? Gordon's raced inside the top 15 in 98.8 percent of the laps run in the past three Darlington events. I have a gut feeling the No. 24 team is about to go on a tear, and I'm jumping on the bandwagon for a monster run this weekend.
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| Jeff Burton has yet to finish worse than 13th in any race this season. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images) |
Jeff Burton
Burton just makes it look easy. Through 10 events, the veteran driver of the No. 31 Richard Childress Chevy has yet to finish worse than 13th. Most impressively, he's exhibited great patience and control in averaging a 26-position improvement over his qualifying slot in the past five events. It's more of the same here at Darlington, as he's regularly qualified poorly. However, he's raced to 14 top 10s in 25 career starts (two wins), including five top-13 efforts in his past six events. Burton's a solid play this weekend, but I'll save him for the final events of the half.
Kyle Busch
I won't even enter the discussions of Busch this week. All I can say is that week after week, he finds his way to the top of the pack. He's produced seven top 10s in his 10 starts to open the year, including six top fives and two wins. The way the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Toyota is running right now, it's awfully difficult to advise to sit him down. However, since you only get four starts each half, this is that week. He's raced to one top 10 in three Darlington starts (23rd and 37th in his other starts). Although he's raced inside the top 15 in three-quarters of the laps run in these events, he's only led one lap. He's averaged a 17.4-position finish on intermediate tracks, so I'll leave him on the bench.
Jimmie Johnson
The two-time defending champion experienced a setback last weekend with a 30th-place finish at Richmond. It ended a streak of four top-15 finishes in which he's posted three top fives (one win). Get ready for a new streak to begin. He's raced to eight top-10 finishes in nine career Darlington starts, including five top fives and two wins. He's also averaged a strong 9.7-position qualifying slot in those nine starts. Watch for the No. 48 car to charge to the lead this weekend. He's raced inside the top 15 in 94.1 percent of laps run in the past three Darlington events.
Tony Stewart
Stewart quickly put the accident at Talladega behind him and raced to a strong fourth-place finish at Richmond. "Smoke" is a stellar option for those fantasy participants with rides remaining this weekend. He's raced to 17th place or better in 14 of 15 career Darlington starts, including eight top 10s. He hasn't regularly raced among the leaders at Richmond in the past three years (62 percent of laps inside the top 15), but he's avoided the big wreck to produce solid efforts.
Ryan Newman
Newman experienced handling issues at Richmond, but that didn't stop him from claiming his third top-10 finish in his past four starts. What can we expect from him at Darlington? We can bank on a top-tier qualifying effort. He's qualified seventh or better in seven of nine Darlington entries (one pole) and has parlayed those efforts into six top-six runs.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Earnhardt hit a small snag in his charge to the top of the Sprint Cup standings when he finished 15th at Richmond. Alas, it also extended his lengthy winless streak. On a positive note, Junior owns nine top-15 finishes and ranks among the series leaders with seven top 10s. He's a strong performer historically at Darlington and warrants consideration for a roster slot. He's averaged a 20-position improvement over qualifying in his past three starts to produce three top 10s. Despite weak qualifying efforts, he actually raced inside the top 15 in 85 percent of all laps run in those three races. Additionally, he's finished 11th or better in five straight Darlington starts.
Matt Kenseth
The former series champion has to wonder if 2008 is his year to carry the "snake-bitten" moniker. Kenseth's finished 30th or worse in three of his past four starts and 20th or worse in six of 10 2008 events. He's a difficult play this weekend. He's produced back-to-back phenomenal runs at Darlington, averaging a 26-position improvement over qualifying and a fifth-place finish. However, he'd finished 20th or worse in the three prior events. He's only raced inside the top 15 in 53.9 percent of laps run in the past three Darlington events. Although he's closed nicely in the past two starts, I'm leaving him on the sidelines.
Greg Biffle
It's time to get back onboard the "Biffle Express." He's raced outside of the top 10 in back-to-back events (18th and 14th), but he's ready for a huge run at Darlington. He's completed six top-15 finishes in his seven career starts at the track and has twice tasted the glory of victory lane. You want a better reason to start him? He's raced inside the top 15 in 97.3 percent of laps run in the past three Darlington events, which ranks second on the circuit. I expect another monster run this weekend.
Carl Edwards
Edwards rebounded nicely from his 40th-place run at Talladega with a strong push to seventh place at Richmond, his sixth top-10 finish of the year. He's a top-notch choice for fantasy participants this weekend. He owns three top-10 finishes in his four career starts and has also produced three top-10 qualifying runs. He's regularly raced among the leaders, having run inside the top 15 in 81.2 percent of the laps run in the past three years.
Quick Hits
Kurt Busch
It seems like Busch's phenomenal ride to second place at Daytona occurred light years ago. He's produced just three top-15 finishes in nine races since that event, including five straight runs to 23rd place or worse (he's been hurt by accidents in back-to-back weeks). He's a possible option for the fourth roster slot this weekend. He's claimed four top-10 finishes in 11 career Darlington starts, although he's run 12th or worse in three consecutive events. He's qualified 13th or better in eight of 11 events (two poles) and could challenge toward the top this weekend. However, his current funk and the fact that he's raced inside the top 15 in only 53.5 percent of all laps run in the past three Darlington event leaves him on pit row for me.
Kevin Harvick
Harvick battled through some car issues at Richmond to return to the top 10 for the first time in a month. Despite his strong run, I'm not set to get him back in the lineup this weekend, though. He's finished 14th or worse in four consecutive Darlington events (I know. He'd produced four top 10s in his previous six Darlington starts). More damning for a return to the lineup is that he's run outside of the top 15 in 61.1 percent of the past three Darlington races. He could produce a big effort, but I'll watch from the sideline.
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| Denny Hamlin came oh so close to winning last week's race in Richmond, and he'll be fired up to make amends this time around. (Todd Warshaw / Getty Images) |
Denny Hamlin
Hamlin's endured a week of scrutiny after intentionally bringing out the caution flag last week at Richmond. He had positively dominated the field, leading a ridiculous total of 381 laps, but a flat tire sent him to a disappointing 24th-place finish. It ended his streak of five consecutive top-six efforts. He'll be back among the leaders again this weekend. He's earned top-10 finishes in both of his Darlington starts and led 179 laps last year before finishing second.
Kasey Kahne
Kahne ended his four-race funk with a strong effort at Richmond, his fifth top 10 of the 2008 season. He's a tremendous option for fantasy participants this weekend, if only for his huge qualifying efforts. He won the pole in three of his first five Darlington events (he qualified fifth last year) and has twice parlayed those huge starts to top-five finishes (three top 15s). Come along for the qualifying points. Stay for a charge toward the top. He's raced inside the top 15 in 72.6 percent of laps run in the past three Darlington events.
Clint Bowyer
Bowyer took advantage of some late-race issues to capture victory at Richmond. Following a slow start to the season, he's charged toward the top of the pack with a streak of seven consecutive top-10 finishes. The No. 7 Richard Childress Racing Chevy is running hot right now and is a good bet for another top-tier effort at Darlington. He qualified third in his first Darlington run in 2006 and claimed the pole last year. He led 16 laps en route to a ninth-place finish in 2007.
Jamie McMurray
Just when he was starting to find his stride with four straight runs to 17th place or better, McMurray was involved in the paint trading at Richmond and finished 35th. He's an intriguing option to get back in the mix for your fourth roster slot this weekend. He owns three top-six finishes in his seven career starts at Darlington and ran 16th here last spring. He's also qualified 15th or better in four straight Darlington events.
Longshot
Bobby Labonte
In the past several weeks, we've seen the No. 43 car start to get things back on the right track. Labonte celebrated his new deal with two top-15 finishes in his past three starts. I'm banking on this recent upturn in performance to continue at Darlington. He's claimed five top-20 finishes in his past six Darlington starts including three top 10s.
Casey Mears
Mears is finally starting to race more consistently and match his preseason hype. He'd raced to three top-11 finishes (two seventh-place runs) in the four starts prior to an accident-shortened Richmond effort (36th). I'm not optimistic he'll be able to get back on track this weekend. In seven career starts at the track, he's never finished better than 15th. He's run 26th or worse in five of those seven rides.
Martin Truex, Jr.
There's been a lot of speculation that Truex will work to exit DEI at the earliest opportunity. He's talking with his performance, having claimed two top 10s in his past three starts. He represents a solid fourth choice for fantasy participants this weekend, having averaged a 12.5-position finish in his two career starts at Darlington while averaging a 20-position improvement over his qualifying mark along the way. He's raced inside the top 15 in only 41 percent of the laps run in those events, but he closed brilliantly.
My Team
My team for this week's Darlington run includes seven-time winner Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards and last week's winner, Clint Bowyer.
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