If there is one track on the NASCAR circuit that embodies the roots of NASCAR, it is without a doubt Darlington Raceway, site of this Saturday night’s Cup race. The first race was run at Darlington on Labor Day weekend, 1950, and it was called the Southern 500. That race was run on the same weekend for the next 54 years until coming to a close in 2004.

The move irritated many traditionalists, not just because of losing the date, but because of the wound it made, how symbolic it was, and the lack of success that Labor Day weekend date has now on the track it calls home. Just like the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants after the 1957 baseball season, Darlington’s Southern 500 was moved to California. It gave the loyalists another reason to dislike this expansion age of NASCAR and long for the days when they could see a Cup race nearly every few weeks within 600 miles of where they lived. Unlike the Dodgers and Giants, who turned out to be one of the most profitable teams in baseball and in the Dodgers case, one of the winningest, California’s NASCAR dates have been a flop.

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The California dates do not sell out despite the facility having one of the smallest seating capacities on tour with 90,000. Was it worth it? The objective for NASCAR was to take charge of the number two market and turn them all into rabid fans, just like ones that attended twice a year at Darlington. The France family must have figured that if they hit the top markets enough with their races, that TV ratings will go up in those areas during the 34 weeks they aren’t running there. If the ratings are up, then they can charge more for their next network contract.

Southern California people are a much different breed than those on the South and North Carolina borders and they surely are not going to have the reverence put into each race there as those in the Southeast. In Southern Cal, they really don’t care about the races, whether it stays or goes, whereas, “The Lady in Black” at Darlington was always treated with dignity, respect, and as a part of everyone’s family.

This week the teams will get a real treat on the day before Mother’s Day. The Gritty shell filled sandpaper asphalt that had become a staple of the tracks’ features has now been replaced by a brand new smooth, modern age asphalt. Tires should last much longer which changes the whole complexion of how the race will be driven. I always liked Darlington because the track became an equalizer and was just as important to know how to run as it was to have a great set-up and good driver. Certain drivers got it, and others didn’t.

Dale Earnhardt Jr, never seemed to get it at Darlington. He may not have ever had the best car there, but he surely wasn’t patient enough from the beginning of a run with fresh tires. Again, these are just my own observations from watching lap times over the years there. I have never actually heard anyone criticize him for that. Junior would be ultra fast from the beginning and then tail off miserably for the last half of the run because he wore his tires out too quickly. Rusty Wallace started 43 races at Darlington with great cars and never won because he couldn’t hold back early on for the sake of being better late in the runs.

None of that “saving-tire stuff” matters anymore because the surface is much different and those strategies that some of the best Darlington drivers like Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson, and Jeff Gordon used, will not be as valuable.

So what should be the key component in identifying who will do the best this week? They used the Car of Tomorrow at this race last year with Jeff Gordon winning for the 7th time in his career there. Denny Hamlin led the most laps and finished 2nd while Jimmie Johnson, a two-time winner there, led the most laps for the last 100 miles.

It’s more likely that the top finishers this week will resemble what we have seen for the entire season of races, excluding the plate races, which means that Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch will be at the forefront once again. Dale Earnhardt Jr. fits the current criteria and will have a great shot at besting his Darlington best of 4th because of the new surface.

TOP 5 Finish prediction:

1-#99 Carl Edwards (7/1)
2-#11 Denny Hamlin (8/1)
3-#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr (7/1)
4-#24 Jeff Gordon (7/1)
5-#18 Kyle Busch (8/1)

KYLE & DALE JR are just getting started

I love all the discussion right now in the NASCAR world and hope to see tempers flare more. Other than an occasional Stewart-Kurt Busch mix up, NASCAR has been very vanilla-fied since the upper echelon of drivers from the 80's and 90's have left. I like the rivalries and I like to see personalities clash and watch it unfold on the track.

As NASCAR has become more corporate, they have taken some of very thing that made stock car racing great, and that is personality. It was interesting to see Kurt Busch and Stewart get a minor slap on the hand at Daytona when they had an altercation.

Being the corporate people they are, they only react by the cash register. When ratings were down in 2007 for the first time since any of their recent big network deals, they decided they would have to be looser with their stiff fines and let the personalities come out of drivers just like they used to in the old days.

I don't like that these things were thought up in the board room and manufactured, but I do like the drama because it is real. Kyle gets to say what he wants as does Junior without fear.

The two drivers could be a great attraction, much in the same way that Dale Sr. and Jeff Gordon captured a starving audience in the mid 90's. Earnhardt was a man's man that many could relate to, while Gordon was the California kid that those fans didn't like, but grabbed a whole new audience because he was young and most importantly he won.

Kyle Busch is going to keep winning and the younger fan base will continue to gravitate towards him. He couldn’t possibly obtain an army the size of Junior nation, but it will be fun watching this unfold. Some people just have to root for a winner and love to kick the losers down. I see it with football teams every year.

People will jump on board Kyle Busch’s wagon and ride it to a Championship and multiple wins and also have his back in debates with the Junior nation. The debate will go something like this, “Kyle Busch is a punk”.

And then the Busch fan will say, “Let's go head to head in the last 72 races for each driver; how many has your driver won?”

If Junior is in the same mold as his father, he’ll capitalize on the feud just like his Daddy did with Gordon and sell the world trinkets with their logos identifying themselves and their allegiance to one driver or the other.

I hope to see more!