Earning your Darlington stripe is a given when racing at this prized jewel of NASCAR racing. Learning how to tame the track “Too Tough to Tame”, and mastering the art of dancing with “The Lady in Black” is all needed if you want to have success at Darlington. For years this 1.366mile track has created a lot of frustration among NASCAR’s elite. Darlington has remained a pillar of this sport since it came to be, in 1950. Drivers like Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, and Jeff Gordon seemed to have mastered the art of success when racing here. However, on the other end of the spectrum, some drivers aren’t as lucky.
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[/media-credit]If you don’t get excited about the racing in Darlington, then someone might need to check your pulse. I expect another wild, crazy race, which is an understatement of what our 2011 NASCAR season has been like thus far! I did pretty good in picking my fantasy drivers last week, actually picking the race winner Kyle Busch, this week might be a different story. You can use these picks in your personal Fantasy NASCAR lineups, but I advise you, these are amateur picks.
Target: Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, and Ryan Newman
Avoid: Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers, and A.J. Allmendinger
Analysis: The last time Gordon finished outside the top 5 was 2004. Ryan Newman has five top-10’s in the last 6 races. Jamie McMurray often does his best at NASCAR’S toughest oval.
Bargain: David Ragan has two top-15 finishes among his 4 starts. Regan Smith has finished P21 and P17 the last 2 years.
NSCS Schedule for Darlington:
Practice (Fri 11:30am, Fri 2pm) Qualifying (Fri 5pm), SHOWTIME SOUTHERN 500 (Sat 7:30pm)
Next Up: Dover
Enjoy everything that Darlington has to offer! Until we meet again, “Let’s go racin’ boys!”~ DW
