rpm.espn.com: Drivers to Watch

ESPN Network: ESPN.com \| RPM \| NBA.com \| NHL.com \| ESPNdeportes \| ABCSports \| WNBA.com \| FANTASY

Start your engines!
Play RPM.ESPN Stock Car Challenge!

Win a Honda S2000!
Play The CART Challenge powered by Honda!

Wednesday, August 29
Drivers to Watch
ESPN.com news services

Check out a short list of drivers to keep an eye on this weekend at Bristol.

Johnny Benson
Dropped out of the top 10 in the standings due to a low finish at Bristol's night race Saturday (36th); now 11th, 16 points behind Steve Park in 10th place; continues to search for that elusive first career checkered flag in Winston Cup racing; a good season with five top-fives and 10 finishes in the first 10; finished seventh in the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington in March.

Jeff Burton
Performed well at Darlington with top-five finishes in eight of the last nine races; swept both events in 1999; one finished outside the top-10 at Darlington was in March when he placed 18th; was second in the Southern 500 last year; one victory this season was recorded at the longest race on the circuit, the Coca-Cola 600; a subpar season otherwise, with eight top-10s.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Winner of the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway; did not finish lower than 12th in last seven straight races; reached highest position, sixth, in the Winston Cup standings; was 11th in last year's Pepsi Southern 500; his legendary father was a nine-time winner at Darlington.

Jeff Gordon
Along with Bill Elliott, they lead all active drivers with five victories each at Darlington Raceway; won the Southern 500 four straight years from 1995-98; although he led a race-high 199 laps at Bristol on Saturday night, Tony Stewart passed him and third place was best he could do; that was his sixth consecutive top-10 finish; gained 10 points on Ricky Rudd and 25 on Dale Jarrett in the Winston Cup standings for a comfortable 308-point advantage over Rudd; leads series in wins (5), poles (6), laps led (1,756) and miles led.

Dale Jarrett
Has won the spring race at Darlington twice, but never the fall event; placed third in 1998 and 1999 in this race and was fifth last year; his father, Ned, won this race by the largest margin ever 36 years ago, beating Buck Baker by 14 laps; lost pace with Jeff Gordonat the top of the championship chase; is 377 points behind Gordon and 71 back of teammate Ricky Rudd; his four wins are second to Gordon's five as are his three poles to six by Gordon.

Bobby Labonte
Last year he started 37th in this race and went on to capture his first career win at Darlington; was just the 10th driver to win from a position outside the top 10 in 96 races at Darlington; one of 14 winners on the Winston Cup circuit this year; his 17th career win was recorded at the Pennsylvania 500 on July 29; with 12 top-10s in 24 points races, he is seventh in the standings.

Sterling Marlin
It took the 25-year veteran more than five years to get back to victory lane in a Winston Cup race, but he did at the Pepsi 400 at Michigan Speedway; coincidently, his last win also was named Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway in 1996; it was his seventh career victory and first for Dodge since 1977 when Neil Bonnett won at Ontario Motor Speedway in California.

Mark Martin
Posted one victory at Darlington in 31 starts, with a total of 13 top-five results; was 14th last year in this race and would also like to improve on the 21st place finish in the spring; still trying to break into the top-10 in the Winston Cup standings; is 120 points behind Steve Park in 12th; best showings of the year were fourth in the Coca-Cola 600 and Talladega 500.

Ricky Rudd
The 44-year-old veteran is 308 points behind Jeff Gordon in the Winston Cup standings with 12 races remaining; that is a wide margin to make up considering how Gordon has been driving throughout the season; victory at the Pocono 500 on June 17 ended an 88-race winless streak.

Tony Stewart
Passed Jeff Gordon on lap 429 and stayed in front to take the checkered flag in Saturday's NASCAR Winston Cup Sharpie 500; Stewart led the final 71 laps of the 500-lap race to capture his fourth career short-track victory and 12th overall; it was the third win of the year; in five appearances at Darlington, he has three top-10 finishes including ninth last fall.

Rusty Wallace
Recorded 11 top-10s with a victory this year in 25 starts; his 54th career win was recorded at the NAPA Auto Parts 500 in April; second to Jeff Gordon in laps led with 620; seventh in the standings; enters his 35th race at Darlington winless.

Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

	Viewer's Guide: Aug. 31-Sept. 2