2007 Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington Raceway

Darlington Raceway has hosted NASCAR racing since 1950. "The Lady In Black" is treacherous with a track surface that eats tires. Also known as "The Track Too Tough To Tame" Darlington is one of the most challenging tracks on the NEXTEL Cup schedule.

This weekend the drivers will have the unruly Car of Tomorrow underneath them as they challenge Darlington. The teams have struggled to make the CoT handle well. Nowhere is handling more important than in Darlington. The combination of the tricky track and the untamed Car of Tomorrow should make this race an adventure.

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Darlington is a tricky 1.366 mile egg shaped oval. The racing surface is very narrow and the groove is up against the wall. Slip just a little and you'll get a "Darlington Stripe" on the side of your car.

The track surface itself brings its own challenges as the rough surface chews up tires. The tires drop off very quickly here so drivers will be in for four fresh tires every chance they get, and a driver who uses up his rubber too early in a run will drop like a stone after just a few laps.

367 laps = 501 miles

This is race 11 of 36. Jimmie Johnson's win last week moved him up to second in the standings but Jeff Gordon still maintains a comfortable lead.

In the battle for The Chase Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved into the top twelve last week as Jamie McMurray dropped six spots to thirteenth. Jamie is currently nineteen points behind Junior for the twelfth and final Chase spot.

The current top twelve are:

1. Jeff Gordon -0
2. Jimmie Johnson -211
3. Matt Kenseth -260
4. Denny Hamlin -332
5. Jeff Burton -339
6. Kyle Busch -462
7. Tony Stewart -466
8. Kevin Harvick -488
9. Kurt Busch -493
10. Clint Bowyer -532
11. Carl Edwards -560
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -573

Darlington Raceway is always a story of tire management. Not pushing too hard early in the run in order to save some tires for later on. It is possible to go fast early or to run fast average laps but not both.

Since teams have been having trouble getting a handle on the new Car of Tomorrow this will compound the problem. An ill-handling race car will chew up tires more than a car that is driving reasonably well.

The Car of Tomorrow and the teams ability to tame its handling characteristics will be squarely in the spotlight on Saturday night.

TV: FOX Saturday, May 12th, 7:00PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and SIRIUS Satellite

Actual Race: 7:05PM Eastern

$5,507,009

Kasey Kahne sat on the pole for the 2006 event but Greg Biffle was the class of the field for most of the day. Like most Darlington races it seemed like most of the field missed the setup. There was a lot of slipping and sliding early in the race.

When it came down to the end Greg Biffle was able to hold off a hard-charging Jeff Gordon to take the win. Jeff was clearly faster at the finish but couldn't find a way past.

It is too easy to pick Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson so this week I am going with a bit of a sleeper in Jeff Burton. Burton has two career victories at Darlington and his Richard Childress team has been running strong so far in 2007. Burton also has Car of Tomorrow finishes of second, sixth and thirteenth and he had another strong run going last week until he had a mechanical problem and suffered a 43rd place result.

Greg Biffle won the last two races at Darlington Raceway and has had some good runs in the Car of Tomorrow including a top five at Bristol. Biffle was having a good run in Richmond last week until he got bumped and found his way to the outside wall. Greg Biffle is my backup pick for this weekend.