One and Done: Southern 500

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

May 7, 2009 9:10 pm UTC 4 Comments

Ah, Darlington. This weekend, with the race falling on Mother’s Day weekend, symbolizes everything that’s right about stock car racing – an ageless wonder of a track that both defines and defies history, top-notch driving on a track that only a sacred few have ever conquered, and the closeness of family that makes a NASCAR race so homely. It’s Southern comfort at its finest, and it almost makes up for the fact that the Labor Day race isn’t held here anymore.

Kyle Busch swept the races last weekend at Richmond, so momentum alone makes him one of this week’s picks. Most of the other picks for this weekend have Darlington wins, as Busch does, but this week’s sleeper pick is still looking for his first. He’s also on the edge of no longer being a sleeper in anything.

David Ragan: He finished fifth here last year, he knows how to win in the major leagues now that he got that first Nationwide win at Talladega, and he needs to turn his season around after a series of finishes in the 10s and 20s have left him 26th in points. A win, coupled with bad finishes by the drivers directly in front of him, could close him in on the top 20.

Jeff Burton: A quiet 7th in points, Burton has the fourth best average finish of active drivers at Darlington with a solid 11.5. He swept the track’s events in 1999, has never crashed out of the event, and only has one finish of worse than 21st here since 1997. (That was an engine failure in 2003, and he finished 42nd.)

Jimmie Johnson: Do I even need to explain picking Johnson? Last year when I handicapped the Chase drivers, I sort of stopped bothering a few races in. There’s really never much to justify when you pick this guy…

Kyle Busch: …and there’s not much to justify about picking this guy either. 200 wins. ‘Nuff said.

Denny Hamlin: Hamlin is dying for a win. He’s only run at Darlington three times, but his worst finish is 10th. Last year he was 7th, and in 2007 he finished 2nd after leading 179 laps. He’s run well all season, only failing to complete two laps, and has led chunks of the race in three of the past five weekends. It’s time he seals the deal, and Darlington could be the place to do it.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Filed under: Darlington Speedway, David Ragan, Denny Hamlin, Jimmy Johnson, Kyle Busch, NASCAR, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: Darlington Raceway, One and Done, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, Southern 500

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Comments

4 Responses to “One and Done: Southern 500”

Steve Wronkowicz on May 8th, 2009 7:49 pm

I really like what I’ve seen of Jeff Burton lately. I’m going with the Cat-man. JJ had a little problem with the wall during Q. We’ll have to see how the backup car runs–probably better than most primaries.
Charlie Turner on May 9th, 2009 8:37 am

I figure that, since both Steve and I took in the One and Done game this week, Burton probably has NO chance now. Too bad too. He deserves a win.

I know this though; anytime Matt Kenseth qualifies higher than 30th, he’s a factor to win. Watch him and the other Roush drivers.

Nice post as always Chris.
man in black on May 9th, 2009 6:13 pm

*26 career starts!
*Seven wins!
*Sixteen top fives!
*Ninteen top tens!
*Career average finish of 9.3!
*Average finish for the last four races is two!

*Jeff Gordon wins the Southern 500 hands down.
man in black on May 11th, 2009 4:29 pm

Did the horse drop over dead as it was delivering the results from the Darlington Race? I’m just askin’. C’mon! It’s 5:30PM Monday.

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