The Lady in Black

The Lady in Black is the Track that is Too Tough to Tame... Darlington.

This year marked the return of the Southern 500 at Darlington Motorspeedway. A track that has had many memorable wins. Darrel Waltrip crossed the finish line and blew up. Bill Elliot one the first Winston Million over 20 years ago. Jeff Gordon won a Million Dollars as well over 10 years ago, accumulating wins at certain tracks that put him in position to win that million at Darlington.

But in 2004 history came to a stand still when the last Southern 500 was raced there. But now, 5 years later, NASCAR has brought the Southern 500 back, and they raced it last night, under the lights, with their moms present at the track. The walls were repainted to look like the old walls from many years ago. This was also the old colors of the sport when Winston sponsored the Cup series. The race was already set up for a historical night.

In the race, Jimmie Johnson started 42nd and raced his way to 1st, finishing 2nd. Some clever pit strategy, along with overcoming being 1 lap down put him at the top. Jeff Gordon started 2nd, had a loose wheel, went a lap down, and was able to recover as well, finishing 5th. Many of the drivers who started in the front fell to the back through wrecks, penalties, and bad setups. The young guns, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski raced their way to the top 10, hanging out there for the majority of the race. And Mark Martin, the oldest driver on the track charged to the front, winning his second race this season.

Hendrick Motorsports is dominating this year. They have now won 5 out of the 11 races so far, almost 50%. Last night they took home 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 7th. They also got 3rd and 4th with cars that they supply engines for. 6 out of the top 7 is not too bad. It seems like they are on their way to securing another championship. But the question is... who will it be? Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, or Jeff Gordon? They all have a great chance at bringing it home in 2009. We are now 15 races from the chase. Who knows what will happen next.

This Saturday is the All-Star race, what is always a memorable night!

Matt