Bojangles' Southern 500
Who Will Win?
Kahne
Kasey Kahne: Remember when all things pointed south for Kahne, when after six races with Hendrick Motorsports he was 31st in the standings and already being counted out of the Chase altogether? Well, not so much anymore, not after a month's worth of top-8 finishes. No one is hotter than Kahne heading to Darlington, where a year ago he led a race-high 124 laps. Win No. 200 for Rick Hendrick will come Saturday night via Kasey Kahne's first victory in the No. 5. – Jay Hart
Tony Stewart: Now that he's checked Las Vegas off his list, Darlington is the only active Cup Series track where the Smoke show hasn't won. (Kentucky doesn't count.) Stewart has been OK at Darlington in the past, but had one of the best cars there last year before an ill-timed caution doomed his chances at a win. Just like Vegas, Stewart gets his revenge this year and wins at Darlington. – Nick Bromberg
Kyle Busch Play the hot hand, and nobody's hotter right now than Kyle Busch. He won at Darlington four years ago, so he knows what he's doing on this track, and he showed at Talladega that he's able to survive a little paint-trading without losing his cool. Plus, he'd like nothing more than to put the whole Kevin Harvick/anniversary thing behind him with a good solid victory. – Jay Busbee
Top storyline
Busch
• The aforementioned anniversary of the Harvick-Busch bout, and the fact that both participants are actively downplaying it, serves to underscore the point that NASCAR is awfully calm these days. No huge rivalries, no blood feuds, nothing but racing … and where's the fun in that? Some of this is just early season lull, but is it possible that drivers are playing it safe to make the Chase? Surely not, right? Surely we won't be longing for the good ol' days of 2011 (Montoya-Newman, Busch-Harvick, Busch-Childress) years from now, right? – Jay Busbee
• Will Jeff Gordon finally get some good luck? Actually, no luck would be better than what Gordon's gone through in the first 10 races of 2012. He's started up front, had fast cars, led laps, but has just two decent results to show for it. He's called the season bizarre. If his luck doesn't change soon, brutally frustrating would be a better descriptor. – Jay Hart
• How will Michael Waltrip Racing do? The team that is the talk of the Sprint Cup Series through the first 10 races of 2012 can even further back up its performances with a strong run at Darlington. Mark Martin has two wins at the egg-shaped oval, and he's got the equipment to get a third. He's going to get a win this year, and Darlington could be the place that it happens. – Nick Bromberg
From The Source
Jimmie Johnson: "It's just so tough to pass there. I think your race strategy, fuel strategy, tire strategy is really more important than speed in the car."
