Adapting to this track

• One end of the track is much wider than the other. The banking in Turns 1 and 2 -- which we call "The Big End" -- is 25 degrees, and it's 23 degrees in Turns 3 and 4. The cars run around this track at about 170 mph, so it's very fast. It also is very abrasive, like Rockingham so Goodyear supplies the same tire compound at Darlington. This track eats up tires, and you'll see tire give-up result in lost time on the stopwatch early in a run.
• You can run 60-65 laps on a tank of fuel, but trust me -- if you run about 20 laps and the caution comes out, you're going to stop for fresh tires. You'll always get four tires, just like at Rockingham.

Plotting strategy

• A driver's skill comes into play here almost as much as it does at a road course. This is a track that you have to drive with the throttle almost as much as the steering wheel. The cars that can pick the throttle up early in Turn 1 are the ones to watch. You race the track more than the competition, especially early in the race.

Where the action is

• Wrecks are common in the Turn 2 area. It is a long corner -- it goes on forever and is almost like two corners combined -- and cars pinch off other cars and a driver is in the wall before he realizes it.