Racing News Daily » Entries tagged with "Southern 500"
Euphoria of Smith’s win aside, NASCAR has much to ponder
By Reid Spencer Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C.—In the afterglow of Regan Smith’s feel-good victory at Darlington, NASCAR has a lot of nastiness to discuss. For the record, Smith, who drives for Colorado-based Furniture Row Racing, pulled off a feat most had considered impossible with two laps left in Saturday night’s Showtime Southern 500. On old tires, he held off Carl Edwards, one of the hardest chargers in NASCAR racing, to record his first Sprint Cup victory. Smith is the fifth driver for a single-car team to win a Cup race since 2000, but he’s the second this year. Trevor Bayne was the surprise winner of the Daytona 500 in his second start in the series, but Smith’s victory may be every bit as popular. It also represents the meting out of cosmic … Read entire article »
Filed under: NASCAR
Regan Smith pulls off upset at Darlington
By Reid Spencer Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C.—Nearly three years after a NASCAR ruling denied him his first Sprint Cup victory, Regan Smith finally got the elusive win. After staying out on old tires, Smith held off Carl Edwards to win Saturday night’s Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in a dramatic green-white-checkered-flag finish. Smith crossed the finish line 0.196 seconds ahead of runner-up Edwards. Moments later, tempers flared between drivers Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick and their crews in the aftermath of a wild wreck that brought out the final caution of the race. “This is the Southern 500—we’re not supposed to win this thing,” an incredulous Smith radioed to his crew after the race. Brad Keselowski, also on old tires, finished third, with polesitter Kasey Kahne running fourth and Ryan Newman fifth. The … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sprint Cup
Kahne wins Darlington pole with record lap
By Reid Spencer Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C.—With a lightning-fast lap at track-record speed, Kasey Kahne won the pole for Saturday night’s Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Touring the 1.366-mile circuit at 181.254 mph (27.131 seconds), Kahne shattered the qualifying record of 180.370 mph set last year by Jamie McMurray. The Coors Light Pole Award was Kahne’s first of the season and the 21st of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career. Ryan Newman qualified second at 180.429 mph, followed by Denny Hamlin (180.132 mph), Carl Edwards (179.980 mph) and seven-time Darlington winner Jeff Gordon (179.829 mph). Marcos Ambrose, AJ Allmendinger, Brian Vickers, Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski will start from positions 6-10, respectively. Starting from the pole is nothing new to Kahne, who qualified first at Darlington in three of his first four … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sprint Cup
Gilliland Learning to Love ‘Lady in Black’
Statesville, N.C. – As the No. 34 Taco Bell Ford team continues to push and progress, David Gilliland and his crew now face one of the biggest challenges on the Sprint Cup Series schedule: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The team is up to the task after a top-25 run last week at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway – a race in which Gilliland said they made great strides in their short-track program. Gilliland will have one of his biggest fans on the pit box for Saturday night’s Showtime Southern 500. His mother will come to Darlington, from his home state of California, for NASCAR’s annual Mother’s Day festivities at the 1.366-mile oval. She will accompany her son to driver introductions and will join other NASCAR moms in giving the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sprint Cup
Newman Boldly Tackling the ‘Track Too Tough to Tame’
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Perhaps there is no better time for Ryan Newman’s No. 39 Chevrolet Impala to carry the tagline “Bold is How We Roll” than at this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. For if Newman and his No. 39 Tornados team want to tackle, tame and claim victory at the infamous 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval, both driver and crew members know that each will have to be at the top of his game. In fact, it will take bold moves from the driver on the racetrack, gutsy calls by the crew chief and intrepid work on pit road by the crew to be successful at the “Track Too Tough to Tame.” Not only is Darlington one of the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sprint Cup
Kurt Busch has Memories Aplenty When it Comes to Darlington
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Shell-Pennzoil Dodge driver Kurt Busch is still looking for his first career victory at the historical Darlington Raceway after 14 races, but he certainly is not lacking for memorable experiences. The 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion hopes to add to those memories in Saturday night’s SHOWTIME Southern 500 on the demanding 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval. Perhaps one could label Busch’s experience during his first Southern 500 as the ultimate example of the old idiom that “ignorance is bliss.” Such was the case for Busch back in September 2001. “My first (Southern 500) there, I actually slipped my way into the pole,” Busch said of his surprising lap of 168.048 mph (29.263 seconds). I slipped into the pole because it was a 95-degree day, Labor … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sprint Cup, video
Busch Has ‘Double’ the Fun at Darlington
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – If you ask Kyle Busch what he does for fun, the answer is simple – racing is his ultimate fun. What could be more fun than racing for Busch? That would be winning, which doubles his fun. Busch, who turned 26 on Monday, is fresh off his latest win after scoring his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the season last weekend at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The driver of the No. 18 Doublemint® Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) will look to double his win total at historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, the next stop of the Sprint Cup tour during Saturday night’s Showtime Southern 500. This weekend’s race will mark the first of three races … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sprint Cup
Gordon Knows the “Lady in Black” is Probably Hungry
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Re-paving at Darlington Raceway in 2007-08 may have taken away some of the ‘bite’ the track once had, but seven-time track winner Jeff Gordon is aware “The Lady in Black” is still hungry. And still willing to ‘eat up’ race cars. Along with seven wins, Gordon has three poles, 18 top-fives and 21 top-10′s in 30 starts at the 1.366-mile track. He has led 1,720 laps – more than double the amount of laps led by the nearest active full-time driver (Jeff Burton – 817) – at a facility with the moniker “The Track Too Tough To Tame.” “You have to race the track,” said Gordon, who will drive the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet in Saturday night’s Showtime Southern 500. “It’s just one of those tracks … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sprint Cup
Kvapil Loves Tough-to-Tame Darlington
Statesville, N.C. – For a track that tends to chew drivers up and spit them out, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway is strangely a favorite of Travis Kvapil’s. So despite the demands of the track they call “Too Tough to Tame,” the driver of the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford always looks forward to racing at the historic 1.366-mile oval. The team has the opportunity to qualify for Saturday night’s Showtime Southern 500 on speed, but will have to attack the tough track with the right set-up for the unique, egg-shaped turns. Kvapil has four career Cup starts at Darlington, with a top finish of eighth (2008). Comments from Long John Silver’s driver Travis Kvapil on Darlington: “Darlington is one of my favorite racetracks we go to. It’s different from any … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sprint Cup
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