Darlington on Saturday Night

[pache100]

(qualifying is @ 3:30 PM EST today...if I get a chance, I'll post the starting lineup after qualifying)

The numbers:

Nextel Cup 500-Mile Race Record
Dale Earnhardt 139.958 03|28|93

Nextel Cup 400-Mile Race Record
David Pearson 132.703 05|11|68

Busch Race Record
Michael Waltrip 138.140 09|05|92

Truck Race Record
Bobby Hamilton 133.645 03|14|03

Nextel Cup Qualifying Record
Ward Burton 173.797 1996

Busch Qualifying Record
Ryan Newman 170.301 2001

Truck Qualifying Record
Carl Edwards 167.745 2004

2005 Race Results

Nextel Cup Series
2005 Dodge Charger 500
05|07|05 Greg Biffle

Busch Series
2005 Diamond Hill Plywood 200
05|06|05 Matt Kenseth

The schedule:

Nextel Cup Series
05|13|06 - Dodge Charger 500

Busch Series
05|12|06 - Diamond Hill Plywood 200

The track:

Track Facts
Banking/Turns: 25/23
Distance: 1.366 miles
Shape: Oval



Darlington Raceway
In the fall of 1949, when a crisp breeze toyed with the loose soil of an old cotton field on the westside of rural Darlington, SC, Harold Brasington saw more than just dirt dancing around that patch of land.

Brasington, a local businessman, had a lofty vision that most of his peers dismissed as utterly ridiculous. His friends laughed at him when returned home from the 1933 Indianapolis 500 and mentioned the idea of little Darlington having a paved superspeedway, a place to hold big-time stock car events.

They nearly committed him when he told them that he was going to build it. Nevertheless, believing that Bill France's fledgling NASCAR just might catch on, Brasington set out in the fall of 1949 to shape a 1.25 mile speedway on land that had once produced peanuts and cotton.

To the chagrin of family and friends, Brasington and his crew toiled for a year, Brasington himself often manned the controls of bulldozers and grading equipment. His plan called for a true oval, but the racetrack's design had to be changed in order to satisfy the landowner, who did not want his nearby minnow pond disturbed. The west end of the track (Turns 3 and 4) was narrowed to accommodate the fishing hole, creating Darlington's distinctive egg-shaped design.

The first race was scheduled for Labor Day 1950. Brasington expected no more than 10,000 fans, but the crowd of more than 25,000 showed up.

Californian Johnny Mantz drove to victory that day in the first Southern 500. The race took more than six hours to complete. Still, it set a precedent for a sport that would grow to be one of the largest spectator sports in the country.

Mantz started dead last in the field of 75 racers, many of whom had never raced on asphalt, but roared to the checkered flag averaging a blistering 76 mph. Over the next fifty years, names like Baker, Flock, Thomas, Pearson, Yarborough, Petty, and Earnhardt became commonplace in Victory Lane.

Fifty years later the Darlington Raceway is known as the track "Too Tough to Tame."

It is still remembered as the original superspeedway and as one of the pillars of the NASCAR establishment. There is no other sporting facility in the world more steeped in history and tradition than Darlington Raceway, which has aged gracefully over the years but retained its feisty charm.

Still, nobody loves the feisty track more than the drivers. "You never forget your first love," said seven-time Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt, "whether it's a high school sweetheart, a faithful old hunting dog, or a fickle racetrack in South Carolina with a contrary disposition. "And, if you happen to be a race car driver there's no victory so sweet, so memorable, as whipping Darlington Raceway."

The track "Too Tough to Tame" continues to keep pace with the booming NASCAR world, standing as a monument to the drivers and loyal fans who sowed the seeds of stock car racing fifty years ago.

http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/dar/index.html

[pache100]

Qualifying order (based on the draw this morning):

Order Car Driver Make Sponsor
1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's
2 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot
3 38 Elliott Sadler Ford M&M's
4 14 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet Ginn Clubs & Resorts
5 74 Derrike Cope Dodge Sundance Vacations/Royal Admin. Svcs
6 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW
7 6 Mark Martin Ford AAA
8 49 Kevin Lepage Dodge Freightliner Trucks
9 34 Chad Blount Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports
10 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal
11 40 David Stremme* Dodge Lone Star Steakhouse/Saloon
12 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont
13 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser
14 18 J.J. Yeley* Chevrolet Boniva
15 10 Scott Riggs Dodge Stanley Tools/Valvoline
16 01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army
17 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios/Betty Crocker
18 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite
19 95 Stanton Barrett Chevrolet TheRaceSpace.com
20 1 Martin Truex Jr.* Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops/Tracker
21 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT
22 25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet GMAC
23 7 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Menards/Moen
24 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot
25 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW
26 42 Casey Mears Dodge Texaco/Havoline
27 44 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Kellogg's
28 4 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet AERO Exhaust
29 178 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing
30 61 Chad Chaffin Dodge RoadLoans.com
31 07 Clint Bowyer* Chevrolet Jack Daniel's
32 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Cingular Wireless
33 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet CARQUEST
34 66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Best Buy
35 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Tire Kingdom
36 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet GM Goodwrench
37 32 Travis Kvapil Chevrolet Tide-Downy
38 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV
39 22 Dave Blaney Dodge Caterpillar
40 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL My Circle
41 55 Michael Waltrip Dodge NAPA Auto Parts
42 21 Ken Schrader Ford U.S. Air Force
43 41 Reed Sorenson* Dodge Target
44 11 Denny Hamlin* Chevrolet FedEx Express
45 37 Carl Long Dodge R&J Racing
46 88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS
47 16 Greg Biffle Ford National Guard