Yet, the big story was the start of the race. When would that be? The wet cold rainy weather punted both practice and qualifying, thus nobody would have any laps in their car when the green waved. None. Zip.
It’s been awhile since I’ve appeared in these pages. My trip to Martinsville was a disaster (snowmegaddon), so next on my schedule was Bristol, which despite gloomy skies, tremendous races happened. The crowd was good, but many wanted to make fun of the crowd. No the track wasn’t full, but a good 100,000 was there and Kurt Busch outlasted and outran one of NASCAR’s darling young drivers, Kyle Larson to claim victory, and qualify for the playoffs.
I had such high hopes for NASCAR, at least since July. That is when NBC came on board, and presented the long sought after broadcast crew that could keep fans glued to the track simply by the strength of their commentary. We have waited years for that to happen, and it is crucial for a sport that has yet to solve some on-track competitive issues and more than a few off it. If the racing is not spell binding, then the commentary damn well better be if you hope to have anyone watching.
Darlington was a day all about time. A time when in 1950 the first Southern 500 was run. A time when some of the great names from the past were brought back to be saluted by their sport in the present. A time when 0.6 seconds can mean everything.
5. Kyle Larson: Larson easily won the first two stages at Darlington and finished third, after Brad Keselowski beat him out of the pits on their final pit stop. "I led 284 of 367 laps," Larson said, "but we faltered in the pits when it counted. We should have taken first place; instead, it was the 'won' that got away." Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
DARLINGTON, SC — Brad Keselowski took advantage of the final caution in Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, winning the race off pit road to ultimately claim the trophy.
DARLINGTON, SC — Denny Hamlin won the Bojangles’ Southern 500 Busch Pole Award Saturday afternoon at Darlington Raceway with a 173.571 mph lap in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, scoring his 29th career pole and his third this season. He has won twice at the 1.366-mile track and is the defending race winner.
With only two regular-season races remaining in the season, drivers who have not clinched a spot in the Playoffs, have everything to gain and nothing to lose this Sunday in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
