GA_Boater
Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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Darlington finally returns to it's rightful and traditional spot on the Nascar schedule - Labor Day weekend. The first Southern 500 was contested on Labor Day in 1950, 65 years ago. Following a lawsuit to give Texas Motor Speedway two Cup races in 2004 and the resulting schedule restructure, the Southern 500 was no more. By that time the 500 was run in November because of Nascar's schedule expansion to include California Speedway back in 2003. So after 12 years of Nascar Mickey Mousing, the Southern 500 will be run on Labor Day (eve) where it belongs as a part of Nascar tradition.
Why is Darlington called The Track Too Tough To Tame and The Lady In Black? Too tough to tame is easy. Because when the land for the track was bought, part of the deal was that the track could not disturb an existing minnow pond. Because of the pond, one end is a flat, wide sweeping turn and the pond end is squeezed into a much tighter banked turn. The huge differences in the turns make car setup difficult and while a driver can make trouble-free laps after lap, as tires wear it's all too easy to lose it and brush the wall, earning a driver his "Darlington Stripe" on the side of the car.
Lady In Black is a little more obscure. One story is because of cars brushing the wall while earning their Darlington Stripe, the tire sidewalls blacken the walls, which are freshly painted white before every race. The other story is in the early days, the asphalt track was coated with fresh asphalt sealant the night before the race. The resulting very black surface gave rise to the Lady In Black moniker. Take your pick, both stories sound good.
On to the race! This is the penultimate Race to the Chase lead-in to the Chase. After this weekend, only race race remains to decide the 16 Chasers. For those still sitting on the outside looking in, the pressure is on to win one race. There are 14 drivers in points positions 17-30 and a win by any one of them would move them into the Chase. This week and Richmond next week should see some good, hard racing.
Along with the Cuppers Sunday evening, X-Men are going at it on Saturday. From MRN:
The entry list has 46 names, so 3 won't stick around. The bubble boys are Elliott, Sorenson and a new driver, TBA* - They need to qualify on speed and in the event Q-ing is canceled, they sit out the race. There is a chance of cancellation looking at the forecast, Saturday has a 60% chance of rain;
* - TBA is for the #30 team. Curtis Key Plumbing does not run Cup full time, Jeff Green and Ron Hornaday have driven 2 races for the team this year.
News And Notes
iboats Fantasy Live
That's all for this week, Folks
Why is Darlington called The Track Too Tough To Tame and The Lady In Black? Too tough to tame is easy. Because when the land for the track was bought, part of the deal was that the track could not disturb an existing minnow pond. Because of the pond, one end is a flat, wide sweeping turn and the pond end is squeezed into a much tighter banked turn. The huge differences in the turns make car setup difficult and while a driver can make trouble-free laps after lap, as tires wear it's all too easy to lose it and brush the wall, earning a driver his "Darlington Stripe" on the side of the car.
Lady In Black is a little more obscure. One story is because of cars brushing the wall while earning their Darlington Stripe, the tire sidewalls blacken the walls, which are freshly painted white before every race. The other story is in the early days, the asphalt track was coated with fresh asphalt sealant the night before the race. The resulting very black surface gave rise to the Lady In Black moniker. Take your pick, both stories sound good.
On to the race! This is the penultimate Race to the Chase lead-in to the Chase. After this weekend, only race race remains to decide the 16 Chasers. For those still sitting on the outside looking in, the pressure is on to win one race. There are 14 drivers in points positions 17-30 and a win by any one of them would move them into the Chase. This week and Richmond next week should see some good, hard racing.
Along with the Cuppers Sunday evening, X-Men are going at it on Saturday. From MRN:
The entry list has 46 names, so 3 won't stick around. The bubble boys are Elliott, Sorenson and a new driver, TBA* - They need to qualify on speed and in the event Q-ing is canceled, they sit out the race. There is a chance of cancellation looking at the forecast, Saturday has a 60% chance of rain;
* - TBA is for the #30 team. Curtis Key Plumbing does not run Cup full time, Jeff Green and Ron Hornaday have driven 2 races for the team this year.
News And Notes
- Many cars are running throwback schemes as part of Darlington's 5 year plan to honor the history and heritage of the track.
- Future racers? Chad Knaus and Matt DiBenedetto got married. To their respective fiancees! Jr. is waiting for the 2016 Cup schedule to be announced before finalizing wedding plans. Kurt Busch announced his engagement - Hopefully he's made a better choice than his last relationship.
- Nascar issued a mess of warnings for Bristol inspections. 11 in total. Shrubby and Kenseth are losing practice time.
- Some drivers want tighter reins on restarts, saying too many are jumping the gun. Nascar says they do enough and have plenty of policing now.
- Bristol TV ratings - Down again, the lowest in 15 years. Wonder how Darlington will rank since it's on NBC instead of one of the cable sports channels.
iboats Fantasy Live
FlaCowboy continues his dominance of FL. His 7th :first: and a 400+ lead in the overall standings! We can't give up! Still 12 races to catch Cowboy. Congrats, Wrangler. 
That's all for this week, Folks
