Sprint Cup Series
Upcoming Race May 8
Showtime Southern 500
Track Facts
Darlington Raceway
Location: Darlington, SC
Banking/Turns: Oval
Distance: 1.37 miles
Shape: Oval
Most Cup Wins (since 1975)
* Dale Earnhardt 9
Darlington Raceway Records
Date Series Driver Speed
5/10/08 Sprint Cup Race Kyle Busch 140.00
5/9/09 Sprint Cup Qualifying Matt Kenseth 179.514
3/17/01 Nationwide Race Jeff Green 129.00
5/9/08 Nationwide Qualifying Carl Edwards 176.994
3/14/03 Camping World Truck Race Bobby Hamilton 134.00
11/13/04 Camping World Truck Qualifying Carl Edwards 167.487
Thanks to dodgemotorsports.
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Darlington: Dodge Motorsports preview
Racing series NASCAR-CUP
Date 2010-05-04
TURNING BACK THE CLOCK -- 30 YEARS AGO
At the 1970 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Buddy Baker drove his 1969 Dodge to victory for his first win at the track referred to as the "Lady in Black". Driving for legendary Cotton Owens, Baker led 88 of 367 laps. He had two wins at Darlington.
KURT BUSCH ON TURN 2 AT DARLINGTON "It's the coolest turn in NASCAR. I sat on the pole here my rookie year and did it because I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know any better not to lift. It's definitely a challenging corner that will test everybody. It will separate the men from the boys."
KURT BUSCH ON HIS 2003 RUNNER-UP FINISH AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY "It seems to actually sting more over the years. It didn't really sting that bad when it happened. I thought then that it was so close, but I still had so many opportunities to win at Darlington coming up. I haven't even been anywhere near winning like that since then. The more I tell the story the more I feel that I might can chop down that two-thousandths of a second and maybe finally wind up winning the thing. It was one of the most dramatic finishes ever in NASCAR and it will always be a part of history. I was proud to be part of it there that day."
FROM THE CREW CHIEFS
Steve Addington, crew chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge
"Winning a race in your home state makes it really special. It's like what winning at (Las) Vegas is to Kurt and Kyle. I used to watch all the great drivers win races there -- guys like David Pearson, Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough. You have to be smart and survive having to race the track every lap. We didn't get to (participate in the) tire test there, so I'm sure we'll be really thrashing on Friday. It'd be a great thrill to get us another Darlington win there on Saturday night with Kurt and the Miller Lite Dodge."
Travis Geisler, crew chief, No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge
"The Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington is one of the toughest races of the season. The track is still very fast from the recent repaving and the preferred line is still inches from the wall. One concern going into the weekend will be the new spoiler design. Typically, most cars rub the wall at some point and cause minor damage. The new spoiler extends to the outside edge of the right side so it will likely be bent severely if contact with the wall is made, and this will cause a major loss in downforce. "
Jay Guy, crew chief, No. 12 Penske Dodge
"It's always a challenge to run at Darlington. There is a fine line of racing other people and racing the track. You find a good race pace and work on handling to keep the car turning from the center out. People get in trouble by racing each other too hard and the 'Lady in Black' will reach out and grab you. Race hard and race the track and you will put yourself in contention for the win at the end of the night."
DODGE DRIVERS
Kurt Busch -- No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
"All the tracks in the Southeast definitely have their place in history. They have been on the circuit the longest. They all have their own unique identity because they were the first tracks built and that's where our sport started. Darlington was one of the first speedways to be built and it was built way too early to handle the speeds that grew with the cars and all the years that NASCAR has been racing there. It's been a testament of challenge through history to deal with the speed and the close confines there, keeping your car's speed up, yet keeping it off the wall lap after lap."
Sam Hornish Jr. -- No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
"Although the statistics don't reflect it, I really like Darlington Raceway and look forward to racing there each year. It's a challenging track and a tough race for sure. The outside line is preferred and you have to drive within inches of the wall. You have to prepare yourself mentally to brush the wall, or get a Darlington stripe, without losing your focus or much speed. You have to be alert and on the edge for the entire race. It's definitely a driver's racetrack and a fan favorite."
Brad Keselowski -- No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger
"Darlington is one of my favorite tracks. I wish we had more like it on the schedule. It's just a tough, old racetrack that is nothing like anywhere else we go. I never had the opportunity to race there when the asphalt was worn out and I would have loved that. Hopefully I'll have a long career and I'll be able to see it get back to that 'slipping and sliding' racing that used to be so cool to watch on TV. Back in the day, the Southern 500 was one of our biggest races. It would mean a lot to me to have that trophy."
-source: dodge motorsports
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Dodge Motorsports NNS Race Advance
Royal Purple 200 presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts
Darlington Raceway
Friday, May 7, 2010
Dodge in NASCAR Nationwide Series
• Dodge has three win in the 2010 NNS season (Justin Allgaier – Bristol and
Brad Keselowski – Talladega and Richmond).
• Penske Racing has three wins along with 11 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes
through the first 10 races this season.
JUSTIN ALLGAIER – No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge
Highlights:
• Earned his first NASCAR Nationwide Series win this year at Bristol Motor
Speedway, leading a 1-2 Penske Racing Dodge finish.
• Allgaier is fourth in the point standings, best among full-time, Nationwide
Series-only drivers. Allgaier leads fellow Nationwide-only driver Brendan
Gaughan, currently ranked ninth, by 313 points.
• Allgaier has earned top 15 finishes in nine-consecutive races – the longest
of his career.
• He was the 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year in the Nationwide Series.
• Earned his first career Nationwide Series pole at Memphis last fall.
• Second full year with Penske Racing in Nationwide Series.
• Won the ARCA championship in 2008, posting six wins and overcoming a
105-point deficit in final race.
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 22 Ruby Tuesday Dodge
Highlights:
• Keselowski leads the Nationwide Series driver standings with a 59 point
advantage over second place.
• Has earned back-to-back wins at ‘Dega and Richmond.
• Keselowski earned his eighth consecutive top-five finish of the season with
his win at Richmond. That is the longest current top-five streak in the
Nationwide Series.
• Keselowski has finished inside the top 10 in 36 of the last 40 Nationwide
races.
• Earlier this year, he claimed back-to-back poles at Las Vegas and Bristol.
• Recorded career-high four victories in 2009 (Dover, Iowa, Michigan and
Memphis).
DODGE DRIVER QUOTES:
“Any time you think about race tracks with a lot of history, Darlington
Raceway is always at the top of the list. It’s an unbelievable track. You’re
wide open through Turns 1 and 2, and you almost have to throw the anchor outwhen you get to Turn 3 because you slow down so much. Alongside Bristol MotorSpeedway, Darlington is my favorite track to race at. The two races that Ireally want to win, the two that would mean the most to me, are Darlington and Bristol. We’ve accomplished one of those wins. Now, we’ve got to go get thesecond one.” Justin Allgaier, No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge
“These last two weeks have been pretty amazing. I knew when I made the moveto Penske Racing last year that the potential was there for us to contend forwins and championships in the Nationwide Series, but I figured it would take afew more races for everyone to gel. What Paul Wolfe and all of the guys on the No. 22 Ruby Tuesday Dodge team have been able to accomplish is spectacular. Our cars have been strong all year and now the wins that eluded us in the beginning are starting to come. Darlington is one of my favoritetracks and I would like nothing more than to make it three in a row this weekend.” Brad Keselowski, No. 22 Ruby Tuesday Dodge
Last Updated: Saturday, May 8, 2010 1:34 am, EDT
Showtime Southern 500
Darlington Raceway
Order Driver (No.) Car Qualifying Speed
1 Jamie McMurray (1) Chevrolet 180.370
2 Jeff Gordon (24) Chevrolet 180.323
3 Brian Vickers (83) Toyota 179.987
4 David Reutimann (00) Toyota 179.252
5 Mark Martin (5) Chevrolet 179.148
6 Ryan Newman (39) Chevrolet 179.056
7 Marcos Ambrose (47) Toyota 179.037
8 Denny Hamlin (11) Toyota 178.919 9 Brad Keselowski (12) Dodge 178.835
10 Kasey Kahne (9) Ford 178.802
11 Jeff Burton (31) Chevrolet 178.789
12 AJ Allmendinger (43) Ford 178.569
13 Joey Logano (20) Toyota 178.549 14 Kurt Busch (2) Dodge 178.433
15 Juan Pablo Montoya (42) Chevrolet 178.277
16 Scott Speed (82) Toyota 178.238
17 Greg Biffle (16) Ford 178.045
18 Michael McDowell (55) Toyota 177.942
19 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) Chevrolet 177.890
20 Paul Menard (98) Ford 177.858
21 David Ragan (6) Ford 177.588
22 Jimmie Johnson (48) Chevrolet 177.550
23 Bobby Labonte (71) Chevrolet 177.467
24 Tony Stewart (14) Chevrolet 177.403 25 Sam Hornish Jr. (77) Dodge 177.390
26 Robby Gordon (7) Toyota 177.326
27 Clint Bowyer (33) Chevrolet 177.313
28 Dave Blaney (66) Toyota 177.166
29 Matt Kenseth (17) Ford 176.676
30 J.J. Yeley (46) Dodge 176.562
31 David Stremme (26) Ford 176.245
32 Regan Smith (78) Chevrolet 176.094
33 Martin Truex Jr. (56) Toyota 176.075
34 David Gilliland (38) Ford 176.031
35 Kevin Harvick (29) Chevrolet 175.999
36 Reed Sorenson (132) Toyota 175.987
37 Todd Bodine (164) Toyota 175.981
38 Elliott Sadler (19) Ford 175.760
39 Kyle Busch (18) Toyota 175.698
40 Travis Kvapil (34) Ford 175.359
41 Carl Edwards (99) Ford 174.124
42 Kevin Conway (37) Ford 172.372
43 Max Papis (13) Toyota 175.484
44 Joe Nemechek (87) DNQ 174.935
45 Casey Mears (36) DNQ 173.920
46 Mike Bliss (09) DNQ 173.369
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Posted By Press Release On May 7, 2010 @ 7:39 pm In Press Releases,
BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger) Qualified 9th
“A solid run for our Penske Dodge. You have to qualify up front at Darlington for what is going to be a very long night. The track really challenges you mentally and physically and anything that we can do to make it easier on ourselves is a bonus. I didn’t think that it was that fast of a run. I really thought, based on how the run felt, that we’d be down around 25th. I’m still trying to learn these cars, trying to figure out what’s a good lap. It sure feels good. I’m excited how we qualified. Our guys have worked really hard on the Cup side to give me good, fast race cars. If we stay out of trouble, I think that we should be competitive tomorrow night for sure.”
KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) Qualified 14th
“We were just too tight. We made an adjustment to loosen her up in between practice and qualifying, but we just didn’t go big enough. After running third-fastest in practice, we got a little too conservative in making the change for qualifying. Oh well, we all know that the track will be completely different tomorrow and we just hope we have the Miller Lite Dodge handling best when it counts the most and that’s in the race.”
SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger) Qualified 25th
“Just way too tight in qualifying. We were really good in practice earlier today and tried to scuff our tires in and I think we did it a little bit too much. I thought that the tires we’re a little bit tighter. We just didn’t make the adjustments we needed to. I feel that our Mobil 1 Dodge is pretty good. We’ll just try and stay out of trouble and hope we won’t have to bring it to the garage tomorrow night for repairs. It’s a tough track out there for sure.”
- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release
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Posted By Press Release On May 9, 2010 @ 12:38 am In Press Releases,
Dodge Motorsports 2010
KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) Finished 3rd
“We really fought hard. It was a good run for us here at Darlington. I haven’t had a solid run like tonight since Ricky Craven and I battled it out for that win. It feels good to get our Miller Lite Dodge back up front. It came down to a strategy where I though two tires would be the way to go at the end. We had the right strategy, we just didn’t have enough speed. I think Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray were stronger than us tonight, but we’ll take this third-place finish. I was going for it on the last lap. I was on the edge, but it doesn’t matter because you just have to cross that finish line. This track is so much fun to race when you finish good.”
“It was a great battle. I feel like we did everything right as far as strategy. To come in for that last stop and be on the two-tire sequence, that certainly put us in a good situation. The last runs were the fastest for the Miller Lite Dodge. Just want to thank all our guys. We kept working and ended up with a good finish.”
“When we first started off tonight, I thought we were in for a long battle. Our car was very loose to start off and we were very loose at Richmond last week to start off. But when we got back to the race shop last week, we figured out what we had wrong. I just thought we had the same thing happening to us again. I tried to protect the race car, I tried to keep it off the fence and kind of nurse it through each of the pit stops early on. The guys were solid. Our adjustments started coming too. We were the best at the end. Our car really came on strong with three runs to go. That’s when you have to be in position. We were in a great pit strategy position to just take two tires on the last stop. So it really worked out in our favor. We also had most of our restarts in the outside lane which I felt more comfortable in. When things go your way, things just seem to click and hopefully you end up with a top five out of it. We did with our Miller Lite Dodge. So, I’m very proud of this run.”
STEVE ADDINGTON (Crew Chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)
“We were a little loose at the start. That kind of caught us off guard. We spent most of the night trying to tighten our Miller Lite Dodge back up. We finally got it to where it was working a little bit tight for Kurt. It was a good night overall. We had great pit stops all night. The guys were able to get Kurt out really fast and hold our track position. We’ll definitely take this top-three and head to Dover feeling pretty good about the weekend.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger) Finished 12th
“It’s a solid finish. I wanted a top-10 so bad. We should have finished 11th, but was going for 10th and made a little mistake that dropped me a spot. We did all that we could. I wanted a top-10, but it’s also important to get those driver points. It’s nice to have a strong showing. We had a decent car most of the night.”
WHAT WERE THE KEYS FOR YOU TONIGHT? “Our pit strategy was great all night. I tried to keep it off the fence all night and just make sure that we finished the race. I needed to be a touch faster. I can get better at that for sure.”
TWO TOP 12’S IN YOUR FIRST TWO CUP STARTS HERE AT DARLINGTON. WHAT MAKES YOU SO GOOD HERE? “I just like coming here. It’s a unique challenge and just a fun race track that rewards drivers that drive hard and that’s my style.”
JAY GUY (Crew Chief, No. 12 Penske Dodge)
“It was a good points night for us. We just struggled a bit there at the beginning of the race, being a little bit too loose. I thought that we were going to have a top-10, but we got a Darlington stripe there at the end which cost us a few positions. Brad drove great. He battled all night and deserves a ton of credit. Great stops by the crew. To leave this place with your car in one piece and a top-12 is great.”
SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger) Finished 31st
“It was a tough night for the Mobil 1 Dodge. We started 25th and worked our way all the way inside the top 15. From there, we had two separate right-rear tire issues and brushed the wall in Turn 2. We had to make a series of pit stops for repairs which put us behind. We had a couple of other incidents afterwards and we just couldn’t get back on the lead lap again. It was a long night and things just didn’t seem to go our way. I like unique tracks like Darlington, but I haven’t had much success here. This is definitely a track that I will circle for next year.”
- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release
__________________
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