2006 Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington Raceway

Darlington Raceway is the great-grandaddy of the modern day NASCAR Superspeedway and "The Lady in Black" has never looked better. This weekend's 2006 Dodge Charger 500 on Saturday night set a new record for the earliest sellout ever. The racing here is great and the fans know it. Winning here takes a combination of speed, skill, handling, patience and strategy. Who will beat "The Track Too Tough To Tame" this year?

Speedway ticket office (843) 395-8499

Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link)

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 still leads as Tony Stewart has now moved up into second and is applying some pressure.

Dale Jarrett's misfortune in Richmond dropped him from the top ten and allowed Casey Mears to slip back in. This great battle for tenth includes nine drivers.

The current points top ten are:

1. Jimmie Johnson -0
2. Tony Stewart -55
3. Matt Kenseth -94
4. Mark Martin -176
5. Kevin Harvick -208
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -216
7. Kasey Kahne -247
8. Kyle Busch -284
9. Jeff Gordon -305
10. Casey Mears -353

This weekend the story of the race is tire management. The racing surface at Darlington is very rough and chews up tires. If you try to push too hard the track will eat your tires and your speeds will drop off quickly. It takes a great deal of patience and a lot of strategy to do well here.

Watch for teams to hit pit road every single time there is a yellow flag since even one or two laps can make a difference.

TV: FOX Saturday, May 13th, 6:30PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and XM Satellite

Actual Race: 7:05PM Eastern

$5,400,769

Kahne and Greg Biffle were the class of the field for most of the day in the 2005 Dodge Charger 500 but a late yellow shuffled the deck.

That final restart looked like this. Ryan Newman and Kenny Schrader on old tires then Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle on two tires and Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne with four fresh tires.

Greg Biffle passed three cars in less than a lap and got a good enough lead to hold on over the four-tire drivers. This was an exciting finish.

When it comes to Darlington's abrasive surface I like to go with the older drivers.

Mark Martin has had a lot of fast cars in 2006 and has been having a pretty good year. He had a car capable of winning in Richmond but a miscommunication with his team dropped him back into the pack.

Mark is a smooth, intelligent driver with a good team behind him. Darlington is his kind of race track and I think he can bring home his first win of 2006 this Saturday night.

For my backup pick who better to go with than Mark Martin's teammate and the 2005 winner of this event Greg Biffle. Biffle has had some fast cars in 2006 but five finishes of 31st or worse has really hurt him in the standings. Biffle is currently 20th in the points.

Greg Biffle needs to get it going now if he's going to make The Chase. Returning to a track that he won on last year is a good chance for him to get his season on track with a win.