Southern 500

Darlington Raceway -- 05/9/2009

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Saturday May 9 2009 1:18am

Becca's Pace Lap: The Southern 500 @ Darlington Raceway

• Front Row: Matt Kenseth (P1), Jeff Gordon (P2)

• Pole Qualifying Speed: 179.514 miles per hour

• Highest Starting Rookie: Joey Logano - starts 5th

• To the Rear: David Reutimann (practice crash), David Stremme (practice crash), Reed Sorenson (engine change), Jimmie Johnson (qualifying crash)

• Fastest Qualifier by Manufacturer:
Chevy: Jeff Gordon (2nd)
Dodge: Sam Hornish Jr. (4th)
Ford: Matt Kenseth (1st)
Toyota: Joey Logano (5th)

• Outside the Top 35 Who Made the Field:
Dave Blaney
David Gilliland
Brad Keselowski
Sterling Marlin
Joe Nemechek
Max Papis
Scott Riggs
Regan Smith

• Outside the Top 35 Who Missed the Cut:
Jeremy Mayfield
Scott Speed

• Weather Forecast: Variably cloudy, 82°F, SW winds at 8-14 mph, small chance of showers remains in the forecast

• Race Notes:

Last year's race winner: Kyle Busch (May race)

Matt Kenseth’s qualifying speed was a track record and the first pole for Ford this year. It was Matt’s first pole since 2005.

Jeff Gordon is on the outside pole for the second week in a row and the third time in five races.

Both practice sessions for this race were on Friday. In first practice, the top 5 were Brian Vickers, Greg Biffle, David Gilliland, Carl Edwards, and David Stremme; in Happy Hour, they were Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, and Mark Martin.

A bunch of drivers suffered mishaps in practice such as scraping or hitting the wall or spinning, though someone only received their Darlington stripe. The drivers affected include Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Sam Hornish Jr., Michael Waltrip, Brad Keselowski, David Stremme, Kasey Kahne, Jeremy Mayfield, Scott Speed, David Reutimann, Dave Blaney, Sam Hornish Jr., Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Max Papis, Greg Biffle, AJ Allmendinger, Bobby Labonte, Reed Sorenson, and Marcos Ambrose.

Darlington’s repaving in late 2007 changed the fundamental nature of the track, according to crew chiefs. Last year’s race was the only one since the repaving, won by Kyle Busch. Busch dominated Friday’s Nationwide Race until he cut a tire with just a few laps to go.

Earlier this year, the Roush-Fenway cars seemed to be struggling with their short track program. Surprisingly, they put all five of their cars in the top-20 on the starting grid at Darlington, with Matt Kenseth on the pole, Carl Edwards 9th, Greg Biffle 11th, David Ragan 15th, and Jamie McMurray 20th.

64% of races here are won from a top-5 starting spot and 78% from the top-10. The last driver to win a race at Darlington from the pole was Dale Jarrett in 1997.

This is one of three Cup tracks where Tony Stewart has yet to win. The others are Fontana and Las Vegas.

The first five rows on the starting grid are as follows:

Row 1: Matt Kenseth – Jeff Gordon
Row 2: Ryan Newman – Sam Hornish Jr.
Row 3: Joey Logano – Jeff Burton
Row 4: Kasey Kahne – Kurt Busch
Row 5: Carl Edwards – Marcos Ambrose

Other starting positions of note: Mark Martin (12), Kyle Busch (14), Tony Stewart (18), Denny Hamlin (23), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (26), Jimmie Johnson (42).

• Quotes of the Week:

“It's going to be a tough race. It's going to be difficult to pass here tomorrow night and any advantage that you have in trying to gain track position is critical. You're going to see a lot of pit strategy all night - two tires, four tires - especially late in the race. You're just not going to be able to move past a lot of cars on the track, so starting inside the top 10 certainly helps.” – Kasey Kahne, Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9, on the importance of a good starting spot at Darlington (Kahne starts 7th).

“I wouldn't consider us fearless - sometimes not smart, but I think that in order to be a race car driver, especially at this level, it takes a certain mentality. What we are doing is sometimes questionable. Days like today are what separate the top guys in the world versus these 43 guys that made this race. And today was a very white knuckle experience.” – Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24, on racing at tough tracks like Darlington.

• Current oddsmakers' favorite:
Jeff Gordon +450 (starts 2nd)
Kyle Busch +550 (starts 14th)

• Long shots to watch:
Mark Martin +2400 (starts 12th)
Clint Bowyer +4000 (starts 17th)

* All information current at press time

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