| | A note from the writer. Hey Everybody! Sorry I didn't have time to write my column this week, but I'm getting prepared for my big Labor Day cookout and it takes up almost my whole week. So, what I have for you is a copy of my annual letter to The Lady in Black. I always write her before the Southern 500 to make sure she is up to speed on things. After all, you don't what to make her angry! I hope that's OK with you guys. I'll have my column back next week. Promise. Gotta run and clean the grill! Have a great holiday weekend and enjoy the race!
Bill
|  | | The Southern 500 turns 50 on Sunday and the Lady in Black is ready to throw another Labor Day bash. |
Hello, Darlington!
Long time, no see. How have you been? Geez, I guess it's been what, five months or so since we've had the chance to see one another. I'm looking forward to getting together on Sunday.
Let me see if I can bring you up to speed on what's been going on since last March. Bobby Labonte is still leading the point race. You probably remember that he finished 13th at your place in the spring and left with a slim nine-point lead over Mark Martin. Well, Bobby has led the points for the last 14 weeks, and since we left Las Vegas he has been in first after every race except Talladega.
Of course, Bobby has never won at your place. In fact, you've been pretty nasty to him with some mean wrecks. He has hurt his shoulder there twice as I recall. You should be a little nicer to Bobby. After all, he is leading Dale Jarrett by just 91 points.
You know what? Come to think of it, Bobby has never even finished in the top-five in the Southern 500. And in his last five starts at your place, his best finish is 10th in March of last year -- and Matt Kenseth did most of the driving in that race after Bobby gave up the seat during a red flag because of his broken scapula.
Bobby is coming to town after the disappointing night at Bristol, so maybe you will make him feel welcome.
Hey, I mentioned Dale Jarrett. He finished second on your 1.366-mile oval in the spring and is second in the points race. Jarrett has enjoyed several visits to Darlington, but he has had a lot more success there in the spring than in September. Both of his wins have come in the spring race. Last September he finished 16th, but in his five previous starts at the track, he notched two wins and five top-three finishes.
He is good at your place. He finished ninth at Bristol, which is good. But he had to pit on the backstretch and at least once he got hosed on how the cars were lined up for the restart.
You know, Jarrett now has 14 straight top-10 finishes coming into your town. Actually, it's 14 straight top-nine finishes, but there is no such category as "Top-nines". He'll be looking for his first win in the Southern 500. You know he'll be fired up.
Do will Dale Earnhardt! I know you remember him; big, mean, drives the No. 3 car?
He was fourth last Saturday night and we all know how GREAT Earnhardt has run at Darlington; nine career wins at your place, just one behind the your all-time winner David Pearson. Three of Earnhardt's wins have been in the Southern 500, but here is the interesting figure on Earnhardt; he hasn't won at your place since March of 1994, and his last win in the Southern 500 came 10 years ago this weekend.
Wow! That's a long time ago.
Of course, he did finish third here this past March. But in the eight races before that, just one finish higher than 12th. But we're now talking about the Earnhardt of old. Man, oh man, he has had some really good races this year. He's third in points, but he finished 25th at Pocono and Watkins Glen -- those two really hurt him.
He arrives 195 points behind Labonte. Earnhardt is still thinking about that eighth championship and you could play a big role in deciding if he is on the right "track." Get it? Right track!
Drivers and teams always look at certain tracks as good tracks and you have been a good track for Earnhardt. You know, when he won on your asphalt in 1990, he pulled within 26 points of Mark Martin in the points race. Earnhardt then went on to win the next week at Richmond and then won at Phoenix to eventually win the championship. You could argue that it was you, Darlington, that launched Dale to his fourth Winston Cup. Will you help launch him to his eighth?
I don't have a lot of time, but I've got to tell you about the hottest driver on the circuit right now. It's Rusty Wallace. He has won the last two races and now has four wins this season and that's more that anyone else.
Early in the year, everyone was talking about the races that Rusty wasn't winning. But now they all talk about how Rusty is the guy to beat. He's fifth in points, 290 out of first. He believes he can still challenge for the championship this year, and right now, I think he is right. But you will have a strong say in that on Sunday. Know why? Because Rusty hasn't had a real good time at your place. And that's surprising because he always brings the beer.
You'll remember he was 16th at your place in March. And in the last eight races at Darlington, Rusty has four top-10s and four finishes of 16th or worse -- including a 33rd, a 43rd and a 38th. The 43rd-place finish and the 38th-place finish have both come on Labor Day weekend, so you can imagine what his fans might be thinking. Then again, he has finished second here twice, both times in the Southern 500 in 1987 and 1988.
But he has never won at your track. That's right, never. Not in the spring, not in the summer. But here's some good news, twice he has raced in the Southern 500 on Sept. 3, the same date as this year's race. In 1995, he finished third and in 1989 he finished fourth.
Rusty knows he needs to win races to keep gaining points, but there are some tracks where certain drivers have to accept a top-five and just go on. This is that kind of track for Rusty. Maybe he can gain a few points, but you should make sure that he doesn't lose a bunch of them. After all, he does bring the beer. Then next week when we go to Richmond, watch out for the No. 2 car.
I wish I could go on, but I am running out of time. I wanted to tell you about the bad luck Jeff Gordon has been having, about how much Jeff Burton loves this race and would love to repeat as champion; about how Ricky Rudd hasn't finished higher than 17th in your last five races there but could this week; about how much Mark Martin wants to get back to Victory Lane.
Geez, there is so much going on. Well, we can talk some more when I see you Sunday.
I've got to go now, time to hit the grocery store for the big cookout. And hey, when you see Rusty, would you ask him to drop off some beer.
Thanks!
Bill
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Southern 500 Breakdown
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