Smith Wins at Darlington: Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick Continue Battling After Checkered Flag
Regan Smith held off Carl Edwards on the final green-white-checkered restart on Saturday night to win the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
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[/media-credit]Smith stayed out while the leaders pitted after a caution flag on lap 359. Edwards took two tires while Smith, Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart all gambled by staying out.
Smith got a push from Keselowski on the final restart, giving him enough of a lead to hold off Edwards in the final laps and win his first Sprint Cup Series race in 105 starts.
As soon as the final green flag dropped, crew chief Pete Rondeau calmly guided Smith through the final two laps.
“This is the Southern 500! We’re not supposed to win this thing.” Smith radioed to his crew after the race.
“First of all, congratulations to Regan. He earned that. On the restart, he spun the tires a little bit and I thought, ‘Alright, I’m not gonna beat him to the line because I’ve got a good enough car with fresh tires. I can beat him here.’ And as soon as I started pedaling, Brad hooked on his rear bumper and they took off. I thought, ‘Oh, man. I’m in trouble now.’ I drove down into the turn real hard and Brad did a good job not wrecking underneath me and then we raced hard and he won the race.” Edwards said.
After the celebratory burn out, Smith returned to the radio and asked his crew to please bring him a hat to Victory Lane. He promptly followed that request up with question: “Where is Victory Lane?”
“I don’t know, replied Rodeau, I think it’s at the end of pit road, just follow the crowd.”
On lap 363, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch go three wide. Bowyer gets turned hard into the inside wall. Busch and Harvick continue on but Busch hooks the rear end of Harvick, spinning Harvick out.
Harvick was clearly upset and found Busch on the cool down lap while entering pit row. Harvick placed his car in front of Busch’s No. 18 on pit road. Busch waited until Harvick exited his car then pushed Harvick’s car out of the way, sending it into the inside pit wall while avoiding a punch from Harvick though the car window.
Busch drove his car down pit road to the garage, while Harvick walked. Both drivers were summoned to the NASCAR hauler.
Just uncalled for. Just unacceptable racing,” Busch said. “You know, it’s in the last couple of laps but I gave him room off of two, I didn’t get the room. Just real unfortunate. I hate we tore up a few good cars there.” Busch said.
As Busch headed to the NASCAR hauler, he said, “Good to hash it out now. Might as well.”
A few moments later Harvick sent a message to his fans via twitter: “Had a good car tonight, things got exciting at the end… I love racing.”
Brad Keselowski finished third, pole-sitter Kasey Kahne fourth and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five.
Tonight’s win makes Smith eligible for the Sprint All Star race in two weeks.
Unofficial Race Results
Showtime Southern 500, Darlington Raceway
May 7, 2011 – Race 10 of 36
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Pos. Driver
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1 Regan Smith
2 Carl Edwards
3 Brad Keselowski
4 Kasey Kahne
5 Ryan Newman
6 Denny Hamlin
7 Tony Stewart
8 Greg Biffle
9 Jamie McMurray
10 Martin Truex Jr.
11 Kyle Busch
12 Jeff Gordon
13 Marcos Ambrose
14 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
15 Jimmie Johnson
16 David Reutimann
17 Kevin Harvick
18 Bobby Labonte
19 Mark Martin
20 A.J. Allmendinger
21 David Ragan
22 Paul Menard
23 Juan Montoya
24 Dave Blaney
25 Matt Kenseth
26 Travis Kvapil
27 Kurt Busch
28 Ken Schrader
29 Landon Cassill
30 Casey Mears
31 Clint Bowyer
32 David Gilliland
33 Jeff Burton
34 Brian Vickers
35 Joey Logano
36 Tony Raines
37 Robby Gordon
38 T.J. Bell
39 J.J. Yeley
40 Mike Skinner
41 David Stremme
42 Joe Nemechek
43 Michael McDowell
Jeff Gordon Ready to Tame The Lady in Black
As the Lady in Black begins to carefully prepare herself for the upcoming weekend, the drivers already know that she will be more then ready to take on all comers whether young or old.
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[/media-credit]The history this track has instilled in the minds of some of NASCAR’s most notorious drivers is nowhere close, to the pain, and the affliction which this almost untamable black beauty can inflict in one single blow.
The mind games which she can play at any given moment do not come cheap, because when this lady comes to play, she always plays for keeps even though she only measures a mere 1.366 mile in length. Don’t ever let her length deceive you, because before you know it her deceiving looks quickly turn into one of the most explosive, and exciting races that only she can generate lap after lap.
Along with her infamous stripe that she hands out free of charge, will also be the mystique that has made her a fan favorite for over 60 years. Now coming into Saturday nights main event, she may have looked dormant while sitting around all year long waiting her turn to dance with 43 of NASCAR’s finest, but that was not to be, instead she spent her free time planning and plotting on who will be her next victim.
One of those victims will be Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon, who will be seeking to show this temptress who runs the show, and he will not be intimidated by her spoiled ways.
Gordon is not coming alone, instead he is bringing his arsenal of seven victories, 18 top-fives and 21 top-10’s to the dance. Gordon has also lead the most laps with 1,720 – more than double the amount of laps led by the nearest active full-time driver (Jeff Burton – 817), which makes him the biggest threat even though he is sitting 16th in points after nine races.
Gordon’s seven victories came before the facility received its new surface after the 2007 season, and with the newer more smoother surface Gordon has yet to finish outside the top-five since then., “It’s just one of those tracks where you can be riding around by yourself but make the slightest little bobble and end up in the wall. Because the track can just reach out and bite you so easy, you must race the track.
“This track used to be so tough because the surface was so abrasive. It’s still an awesome race track that is much faster now, and it can still bite you.” said Gordon, who will drive the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet in Saturday night’s Showtime Southern 500.
Gordon also added that before, “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 it has more grip, but it’s still pretty treacherous because you run right up next to the wall.”
Not only will Gordon have his hands full as he gently caresses his away around her beastly curves, but in the back of his mind will be the memories of just how dangerous she can be when provoked.
“There’s just a small margin for error because you’re running so fast so close to the wall. If you focus too much on trying to out run the competition, then you’ll make a mistake,“ Gordon said while talking about how challenging the track is to navigate.
“Gordon also added that, “You’re never going to have a perfect car or perfect setup. Both ends of the race track are totally different. That means you have to compromise as a driver and as a team with the setup.”
So as the Lady in Black is just about ready to make her grand entrance, its time to get the music started, and see what kind of dance moves Gordon has left over from his last victory back in 2002.
The track that is nicknamed, “Too tough to tame,” is not a place for the faint of heart, and to say anything less would be an insult to her integrity.
So far the track has been the victor, and with the victory has come many years of anguish, and disgust for the 43 drivers who will do their best to bring this lady under complete control. She will not go down without a fight, but it’s up to these brave asphalt warriors to pull her out of the mosh pit, and gently slow her down to a very graceful waltz.
“It’s just one of those tracks where you can be riding around by yourself but make the slightest little bobble and end up in the wall. Because the track can just reach out and bite you so easy, you must race the track.”
