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Darlington observations

bob margolis

DARLINGTON, S.C. – News, notes and observations from the Dodge Charger 500 race weekend.

  • Forget all that talk about Darlington going away. NASCAR insiders say that not racing in Darlington because it only has 60,000 seats is like closing Wrigley Field because it can only seat 40,000. Darlington is a part of NASCAR's history and the powers that be know it.

    Oh, and they're already selling tickets for the 2006 event here.

  • Another reason why this track isn't going to go away so fast – drivers can actually race here. NASCAR cares about the entertainment, and this race was undeniably entertaining. There wasn't a lot of side-by-side racing, but when there was it was very good. Score one for the "we hate the cookie-cutter race tracks" contingent.

  • Although there was a caution on the first lap – very reminiscent of the first-lap caution during Friday's Busch event – the race featured long green-flag runs with several green-flag pit stops.

    The threat of numerous cautions during the race – heightened because of only one practice session being held, loose race cars and the impound rule – never materialized. It served as a reminder that Nextel Cup competitors are the best at what they do, and that they rise to the challenge when they need to.

  • With all of the speculation about who will replace Rusty Wallace in the No. 2 car next year, everyone has forgotten about two-time IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr., who already drives for Roger Penske. I hear that he's at the top of the list to replace Rusty.

  • Ryan Newman ran a very conservative race for over 300 of the race's 370 laps. He quietly stayed in the top five until he made the pass for the lead on lap 323. He probably had the best car until the final caution.

    But what was Matt Borland thinking? How could he not bring Newman in for tires? I wonder what Penske, who was watching from the pits, was thinking.

  • Greg Biffle's lap speed on that final circuit was the fastest of the race and more than 10 mph faster than Newman's final-lap speed. That is remarkable and only emphasizes what fresh tires will do at Darlington.

    Biffle said after the race that his team had put a "special" set of tires on the car during that final pit stop. Hmmm ...

    Actually, Biffle's crew increased the air pressure on that last set of tires, much like they would if he were headed out for a qualifying lap. It worked.

  • At the final green-white-checkers restart, Newman sped up coming into Turn 4 and then dramatically slowed as he approached the flag stand, nearly causing a wreck behind him. Was it a deliberate act, knowing that he had two hot cars behind him (Biffle's and Gordon's) with four fresh tires, and that a wreck and ensuing caution flag would have won him the race?

  • Is it an optical illusion or do the cars all hit the outside wall when they come out of Turn 2? It sure looks like it.

  • How coarse is the track surface at Darlington? I've seen parking lots at Wal-Mart that are a whole lot smoother than the racing surface of this track.

  • Prior to the start of the race, track officials made sure the wall around the track was painted a pristine white. It wasn't so white after the race – a testament to the numerous "Darlington Stripes" handed out Saturday night. The list is too lengthy to mention here.

  • Biffle's performance was certainly the stuff of champions – he was aggressive when he needed to be but was patient as well. So too was that of Jimmie Johnson, who had a wheel problem on lap 259, went two laps down and fought back to finish seventh. He's still the points leader heading to Richmond.

    And don't forget about Jeff Gordon, whose car was junk all night no matter what Robbie Loomis and the crew did to it. I've got to say it again – he is the best there is right now.

  • How about Mark Martin's spin that brought out the race's final caution? Martin comes into the pits, changes tires and still finishes fourth.

  • Kurt Busch was called to the NASCAR trailer after the race after he had ignored an instruction by NASCAR officials during the race. Busch had passed the pace car during a caution period – he was already some 30-plus laps down – and he did not return to his original position when instructed to do so. He had no comment upon leaving the trailer.

  • What's with Kasey Kahne's new hairdo? There was really nothing wrong with the old one. This one looks like Stevie Wonder cut it for him. For Kahne, it was another good qualifying effort and another solid performance – but also another close-but-no-cigar finish.

  • It was a sad sight to watch the Fox Network's prerace show and hear them announce that this week fans could vote for Tony Stewart or Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the NASCAR Sexiest Driver contest. Come on guys, have you run out of things to talk about?

  • Speaking of Junior, he made the best improvement of any driver in the race, starting 39th and finishing eighth. Let's stop talking about the DEI slump, OK?

  • This was a very solid run for Jamie McMurray, who won here in a Busch car and is underrated. His sixth-place finish marked his fourth top-10 this season, and he did it in front of team owner Chip Ganassi.

  • The winner of the Hard Luck Award goes to Brian Vickers for his entire weekend performance. First, he gets punted by Robert Pressley on the first lap of the Busch race Friday night, and then he's cursed with an ill-handling race car for the entire Cup race. And don't say he doesn't know this track – he won the Busch race here in 2003.