For almost 60 years, Darlington Raceway has played host to many of stock car's most memorable races. The 1.366-mile egg shaped track holds the honor as where the first-ever NASCAR-sanctioned race on a paved speedway was hosted. With nicknames such as the "Track Too Tough to Tame" and "The Lady in Black," it's no surprise that the track is rough on equipment and even rougher on its competitors.
This year though the "Lady" has had a makeover as the track was repaved following the 2007 Sprint Cup event. Packed full of grip, the new surface recently clocked speeds nearing 200 mph during a recent Goodyear tire test, almost 40 mph higher than last year's pole qualifying speed. David Reutimann and the UPS Team will kick-off their weekend at Darlington by participating in two hours of additional practice time on Thursday which NASCAR has allotted for all teams to adjust to the new racing surface.
The Dodge Challenger 500 is scheduled for a 7:20 p.m. ET start. FOX will provide the live television broadcast while MRN will provide live radio coverage.
Reutimann Discusses Racing at Darlington Raceway
The big question this weekend is how different Darlington is going to be since the repaving. You haven't had a chance to run there yet but what is your opinion heading into the weekend?
"I think that it's going to be a big challenge for everyone. Anytime that a track is repaved it presents an obstacle for every team in the garage the next time that we race there. What we do know is that it's going to be very fast. We've all heard about the guys that tested there going and the speeds that they were running going into turn three so that's going to be interesting. NASCAR is giving us some extra practice time on Thursday, so that's something that every team will use as a mini-test session.
To me this is where being inside the top-35 is so crucial for our team. Every team has a lot of work ahead of them this weekend so if you're concerned about making the race, your focus isn't on adapting to the new surface, it's on just making the race. Being locked in, we have the ability to just focus on the task at hand and that's getting our UPS Team up to speed as quickly as we can."
Darlington has been a tough track for you in terms of results. Is it one that you like to visit?
"We haven't been able to crack the top-20 yet at Darlington in any series but we've had some trouble there, whether it been an accident or engine failure, so I think the bottom line is what everyone says, that you have to race the race track and not worry about those around you. That's not going to change even with the repaving. Darlington is a place that doesn't reward aggressiveness especially early on in a run. Typically there has been a lot of passing at Darlington and until this weekend we don't know if that's going to the case still but it's a driver's race track.
I'm looking forward to running both the Nationwide race as well as the Sprint Cup race this weekend. We're all interested in seeing what the speeds are going to be like and what the track is going to do at night. There will be a lot of eyes on the Nationwide race this weekend so I'm excited that I will be behind the wheel and getting some extra time on the track before the Cup race on Saturday."
UPS Racing Team Notes of Interest
- With a 22nd-place finish at Richmond last week, the #44 UPS Team advanced one position in the owner's point standings into the 32nd spot. Owner of the #44, Michael Waltrip, is currently 81 points ahead of the 36th place owner Bill Davis (#22).
- Reutimann has one Sprint Cup start at Darlington Raceway to his credit, a 33rd place finish as a result of an engine failure.
- Reutimann is currently 30th in the driver's point standings.
