Bowyer's streak ends at 83

Clint Bowyer came up one race shy of tying Herman Beam's long-standing record of 84 races in which he was running at the end. On lap 221 of the 367 that make up the Southern 500, he bounced off the wall and was turned into the inside retaining wall. The damage was too great to overcome.

Our View: In some ways, this was karma. Two weeks ago at Talladega, the team waited until two laps remaining to get his crash damaged Chevrolet back on track—most likely because it would not have been capable of meeting NASCAR's minimum speed requirement in that race.

IRL: 11 locked in to Indy 500

In the first day of qualification, 11 drivers have been locked into the Indy 500. Led by pole sitter Helio Castroneves, Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe is in the middle of the first row and Chip Ganassi's Dario Franchitti is on the outside of that row.

Graham Rahal, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan make up row two.

Mario Moraes, Marco Andretti and Will Power make up row three.

And finally, Danica Patrick and Alex Lloyd will take the inside and middle of row four. The rest of the field will be filled on Sunday and next Saturday.

Our View: Castroneves has bragging rights, but the remainder of the field can rest easier knowing they will start near the front of the field.

Gordon extends top-five streak

Jeff Gordon extended his top-five streak to six consecutive races, although he overcame long odds en route.

Our View: Gordon was forced to pit on lap 101 when he felt a vibration in his wheel. After that, he circled the track a lap off the pace for more than 110 circuits before getting NASCAR's "Free Pass." He stormed to the front as soon as he was back with the leaders and eventually finished fourth.

Darlington's rapid rookies

Rookies are not supposed to run strong at Darlington and everyone waited for Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano to stumble in the Southern 500. When the checkers waved, however, both of them were in the top 10. Keselowski finished seventh and Logano was ninth.

Our View: It's time to be cautiously optimistic about starting the rookies, especially now that we are closing in on the second half of the season.

Southern 500 Results

Hendrick Motorsports dominated the top five. In addition to Mark Martin winning the race, Jimmie Johnson finishing second and Jeff Gordon in fifth, their engines were in the Stewart-Haas cars raced by Tony Stewart in third and Ryan Newman in fifth. Another HMS driver, Brad Keselowski finished seventh.

Results

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Laps Led	Status	Avg. Fin at track
1	12	Mark Martin	367	46	Running	12.00
2	42	Jimmie Johnson	367	2	Running	6.91
3	18	Tony Stewart	367	1	Running	11.94
4	3	Ryan Newman	367	48	Running	12.45
5	2	Jeff Gordon	367	6	Running	11.28
6	16	Martin Truex Jr	367	61	Running	11.25
7	31	Brad Keselowski	367		Running
8	11	Greg Biffle	367	117	Running	14.00
9	5	Joey Logano	367	19	Running
10	1	Matt Kenseth	367	16	Running	18.00
11	24	Kevin Harvick	367		Running	20.08
12	6	Jeff Burton	367		Running	11.48
13	23	Denny Hamlin	367		Running	8.00
14	19	Elliott Sadler	367	2	Running	18.65
15	40	Paul Menard	367		Running	27.33
16	8	Kurt Busch	367		Running	17.46
17	38	A J Allmendinger	367		Running	26.67
18	27	Bobby Labonte	367	2	Running	15.24
19	41	Reed Sorenson	367		Running	25.50
20	25	Juan Montoya	367		Running	22.00
21	29	Regan Smith	367		Running	25.00
22	20	Jamie McMurray	367		Running	16.44
23	7	Kasey Kahne	366	45	Running	15.29
24	34	David Stremme	366		Running	27.67
25	39	Tony Raines	364		Running	33.67
26	32	Scott Speed *	362		Running
27	26	Dale Earnhardt Jr	360		Running	15.07
28	28	Robby Gordon	353		Running	25.07
29	21	David Reutimann	347		Running	27.00
30	4	Sam Hornish Jr	344		Running	34.00
31	35	Brian Vickers	333		Accident	28.57
32	9	Carl Edwards	314		Running	15.67
33	10	Marcos Ambrose	312		Running
34	14	Kyle Busch	303	2	Running	20.40
35	22	Max Papis	302		Running
36	13	Casey Mears	238		Running	30.22
37	17	Clint Bowyer	221		Accident	21.00
38	15	David Ragan	199		Accident	23.33
39	37	Scott Riggs	101		Quit	29.67
40	36	Michael Waltrip	73		Engine	22.44
41	33	Dave Blaney	56		Quit	24.38
42	43	Sterling Marlin	38		Quit	18.91
43	30	David Gilliland	27		Fuel Pump	31.00
44		Jeremy Mayfield	0		Did Not Qualify	19.91
45		Scott Speed *	0		Did Not Qualify
	32	Joe Nemechek	0		Did Not Start	24.38

* Speed failed to qualify, and then worked out a deal to race Joe Nemechek's car, so he's listed twice in this week's results.

Stewart-Haas sweep top five again

Stewart-Haas Racing placed both Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman in the top five for the second straight week. Tony Stewart finished third and Ryan Newman was fourth.

Our View: Last week, Stewart was second at Richmond and Newman was fourth. These two tracks could not be any more dissimilar, and that underscores just how strong Stewart-Haas is this year. It's only a matter of time until they win, so fantasy owners should treat them both as place-and-hold drivers.

Hendrick dominates Darlington

Hendrick Motorsports dominated Darlington. In addition to Mark Martin's victory in the Southern 500, Jimmie Johnson finished second, Jeff Gordon was fifth and rookie Brad Keselowski was seventh. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was running in the top 10 until he hit the wall late in the race.

Our View: There are horses for courses and HMS is one of the best values on nearly any track, and a rough-surface track brings the cream to the top.

Martin wins Southern 500

The "Old Man" did it again. Mark Martin stayed out during a lap 319 caution flag and held the field at bay on old tires and very little fuel to win his second race of 2009.

Our View: Rick Hendrick lured him into the No. 5 with promises that he could win and challenge for the championship. Looks like he was right.

IRL: Castroneves on Indy pole

Helio Castroneves held on to win the pole for the Indy 500, with an average speed of 224.864 mph during four laps.

Our View: A 500 mile race is a long event, but there is no more prestige for any other pole in American racing.

Mayfield suspended

Jeremy Mayfield has been indefinitely suspended for violations of NASCAR's substance abuse policy.

Our View: NASCAR has said the team may continue to operate, but someone else will have to head up the operation. Mayfield failed to qualify for the Southern 500.

Gordon scheduled for work on his back

Jeff Gordon will have some work done on his back in between the All-Star race and the Coke 600, according to Dustin Long.

Our View: "(The treatment) is nothing invasive," Gordon told Long. "It's just some injections that are going to do deal with the pain. They say it's sort of like an arthritis and it's excessive because of some of the trauma that my back has gone through, maybe through some wrecks or something. So that's what we're going to do. That's the plan.'' If this increases his comfort, Gordon will be even stronger on race day.

Pit stall selections

Jayski.com has published the pit stall selection for the Southern 500.

Our View: As expected, pole sitter Matt Kenseth took the pit closest to pit exit. Jeff Gordon selected the final pit in the front group, with an opening behind him. Ryan Newman, Joey Logano and Marcos Ambrose are the remaining drivers with an opening in front of them.

IRL: Castroneves takes pole from Briscoe

With a speed of an average 224.864 mph, Helio Castroneves has taken the provisional pole from Ryan Briscoe.

Our View: You have to love the four-lap qualification procedures for the Indy 500. That means a driver has to make four perfect laps.

IRL: Philippe crashes

Add Nelson Philippe to the list of drivers who have crashed at Indy. He destroyed his primary car.

Our View: Philippe does not have a backup at the track today, so he will not get a chance to qualify in the top third of the field.

Speed to replace Nemechek

Scott Speed will replace Joe Nemechek in the No. 87 car, which will allow him to start the Southern 500 after failing to qualify on Friday, according to a Tweet from Dustin Long.

Our View: Part of Nemechek's stable of cars are some on Red Bull Racing Toyotas, so Speed should be right at home.

IRL: Wheldon crashes in Indy practice

Dan Wheldon crashed coming off turn two during practice for the Indy 500.

Our View: There appears to be major suspension damage at the back of the car, so this will certainly cause the team to roll out their backup. This is the second damaged car for Panther Racing after Scott Sharp crashed on Friday.

Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Results

Kyle Busch dominated the Diamond Hill Plywood 200, but he was denied the victory in the closing laps because of a cut tire from debris from a Scott Lagasse Jr. / Joe Nemechek crash late in the event. The accident occurred with two laps remaining.

Matt Kenseth was chasing him down at the time, however, and they would have had a heck of a battle.

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Laps Led	Status
1	6	Matt Kenseth	153	4	Running
2	7	Jason Leffler	153		Running
3	3	Carl Edwards	153	5	Running
4	5	Erik Darnell	153		Running
5	16	Justin Allgaier	153		Running
6	2	Ryan Newman	153		Running
7	19	Mike Bliss	153		Running
8	9	Jeff Burton	153		Running
9	31	Scott Wimmer	153		Running
10	10	Brian Vickers	153		Running
11	8	Brad Keselowski	153		Running
12	4	Joey Logano	153		Running
13	24	Scott Speed	153		Running
14	14	Steve Wallace	153		Running
15	11	Jason Keller	153		Running
16	1	Kyle Busch	153	143	Running
17	23	Patrick Carpentier	153		Running
18	17	Kenny Wallace	153		Running
19	15	Brendan Gaughan	152		Running
20	21	Brian Scott	152		Running
21	18	Tony Raines	152	1	Running
22	13	Scott Lagasse Jr	152		Running
23	32	Jeff Green	151		Running
24	29	Brian Keselowski	151		Running
25	30	Brandon Whitt	150		Running
26	25	Kevin Hamlin	150		Running
27	28	Danny O'Quinn Jr	150		Running
28	27	Eric McClure	149		Running
29	20	Michael Annett	149		Running
30	26	Jeff Fuller	148		Running
31	33	Morgan Shepherd	148		Running
32	22	Joe Nemechek	142		Accident
33	12	Michael McDowell	140		Running
34	35	John Wes Townley	117		Throttle
35	37	Kevin Lepage	57		Accident
36	36	Kenny Hendrick	54		Accident
37	43	Mike Harmon	36		Brakes
38	38	Travis Kittleson	19		Overheating
39	40	Mark Green	17		Quit
40	39	Kertus Davis	15		Quit
41	41	Terry Cook	13		Quit
42	42	Johnny Chapman	12		Quit
43	34	Casey Atwood	11		Transmission

IRL: Wilson's time disallowed

Justin Wilson's first qualification attempt was disallowed because he had weight or ballast in an unapproved position. Speculation is that the team failed to accurately gauge how his body weight would affect IndyCar's allowable balance.

Our View: This counts as one of Wilson's three attempts on pole day, but he still has two chances to lock his team in the race in the front third of the field.

Southern 500 Starting Grid

Starting position is critical to running well at Darlington and a race has been won from the front row there 33 percent of the time. Matt Kenseth blistered the asphalt with a new track record, but the biggest news is that he bettered his average start by more than 20 positions.

Jeff Gordon has the best average start among Saturday's starters with a 6.76, and he padded that with his outside pole run.

Starting Grid

Start	Driver	Avg. Start at Track
1	Matt Kenseth	21.38
2	Jeff Gordon	6.76
3	Ryan Newman	9.00
4	Sam Hornish Jr	13.50
5	Joey Logano
6	Jeff Burton	21.30
7	Kasey Kahne	10.00
8	Kurt Busch	11.23
9	Carl Edwards	15.00
10	Marcos Ambrose
11	Greg Biffle	8.22
12	Mark Martin	13.07
13	Casey Mears	19.56
14	Kyle Busch	18.20
15	David Ragan	18.00
16	Martin Truex Jr	25.50
17	Clint Bowyer	14.75
18	Tony Stewart	17.18
19	Elliott Sadler	11.41
20	Jamie McMurray	16.00
21	David Reutimann	21.67
22	Max Papis
23	Denny Hamlin	14.00
24	Kevin Harvick	16.23
25	Juan Montoya	28.33
26	Dale Earnhardt Jr	15.87
27	Bobby Labonte	15.69
28	Robby Gordon	30.86
29	Regan Smith	22.50
30	David Gilliland	33.67
31	Brad Keselowski
32	Joe Nemechek	25.48
33	Dave Blaney	22.54
34	David Stremme	22.67
35	Brian Vickers	20.86
36	Michael Waltrip	23.19
37	Scott Riggs	23.50
38	A J Allmendinger	28.00
39	Tony Raines	38.00
40	Paul Menard	34.67
41	Reed Sorenson	28.00
42	Jimmie Johnson	12.00
43	Sterling Marlin	15.74

F1: Williams goes to Hell

Williams Racing will have additional backing from Hell Energy Drinks, according to a team press release. This Hungarian manufacturer has aspirations of becoming the No. 2 brand behind Red Bull.

Our View: It's great to see new "sponsors" in the sport because they bring a new vibe to the series.

Nationwide regulars run strong at Darlington

A Cup veteran, Matt Kenseth may have won the Diamond Hill Plywood 200, but Nationwide Regulars acquitted themselves well. Jason Leffler finished second, rookie Erik Darnell was fourth, rookie Justin Allgaier was fifth, Mike Bliss was seventh and Scott Wimmer came home in 10th.

Our View: It's been quite some time before three Nationwide Regulars finished in the top five and since these drivers command a lower salary cap, fantasy owners got a lot of bang for their buck.

Nationwide: Kenseth wins Darlington

Kyle Busch dominated the Diamond Hill Plywood 200, but a cut tire on the final caution flag handed the victory to Matt Kenseth. It was his 25th win in the series.

Our View: With a handful of laps remaining, Kenseth was catching Busch, but the fans were denied a great battle by Busch's misfortune.

F1: Ferrari Spanish GP preview

The season may already have four races under its belt, but the emotional start to the year happens when the series runs its first European race, according to a press release from Ferrari.

Our View: Ferrari will be challenged with a new chassis and aero-package this week and their thoughts about how this will impact Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa can be found in this release.

Yahoo! qualification story

After two wild practice sessions and an equally dramatic time in qualification, it's hard to find a favorite this week. Here are our best guesses: check out this week's Yahoo! qualification story (.pdf).

Matt Kenseth may be the only truly happy driver on Friday night; he set a new track record and sits on the pole.

Kenseth breaks track record, on Darlington pole

Matt Kenseth earned the Darlington in fine fashion. He eclipsed Greg Biffle's mark of 179.442 set last year and earned a rare pole.

Our View: Kenseth is not known as a strong qualifier, but when he starts up front, he is hard to beat. With a smooth driving style, he has to be considered one of this week's favorites.

F1: Massa loves Spain

Felipe Massa told press this week: "in terms of the car, we have made a good improvement since the last race, but you have to remember that the other teams are not sleeping and they have also been working a lot to improve their own position," according to a team press release.

Our View: In six previous starts on the Circuit de Catalunya, Massa has amassed an average finish of 5.3 in six starts. He also has a victory on the Valencia Street Circuit, which makes him a master of Spain.

Happy Hour stripes

Here is a partial list of the cars that received stripes in Darlington's Happy Hour:

In Happy Hour:

Sam Hornish Jr. scraped the wall and spun
David Stremme slammed the wall; into backup
Denny Hamlin got a light stripe
Max Papis striped his car
Greg Biffle striped his car
A.J. Allmendinger striped his car
Scott Speed got another stripe
Reed Sorenson changed an engine
Bobby Labonte striped his car
Marcos Ambrose big stripe (backup?)

Martin quickest in Darlington Happy Hour

Mark Martin posted the quickest average speed in Happy Hour practice, with a speed of 176.310 mph during a short seven lap stint.

Our View: Martin is usually one of the drivers who spends a lot of time on track, but with approximately 20 incidents in both sessions, he can be forgiven for not spending a lot of time on track Friday.

F1: Drivers side with Ferrari

Max Mosley may believe Formula 1 can survive without Ferrari, but most of the drivers in the sport do not agree, according to Yahoo! Sports.

Our View: Drivers are concerned that politics will damage the sport, but that has never kept this fiery sanction from following their own council. “Without Ferrari it’s not Formula One anymore,” Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella said Thursday ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Gordon sets fastest lap in Happy Hour

Jeff Gordon posted the single fastest lap in Happy Hour practice, with a speed of 177.633 mph.

Our View: If he can back that up in qualification (assuming that session is not rained out), this could be his first Darlington pole since the 2000 Mall.com 400. He has a total of two poles.

IRL: Doornbos crashes in practice

Robert Doornbos made contact with the turn two wall shortly before 1 pm during Friday's practice session at Indy.

Our View: With the incredible speeds these cars are turning, it takes a long time to get comfortable on the rectangular track.

Allmendinger brings out caution

We've stopped blogging each time a car received a Darlington stripe (partly because the frequency of posting about these incidents has Blogger thinking I'm a spammer), but A.J. Allmendinger did enough damage to bring out a caution flag at the 32 minute mark.

Our View: The durability of this car makes it hard to wave a red flag over every effected driver. Allmendinger, however, does not have a very good Darlington record, so he should be avoided on Saturday.

Practice 1 stripes

Here is a partial list of the cars that received stripes in Darlington's first practice session:

In Practice 1:
Kurt Busch scrapped the wall and spun.
Tony Stewart striped his car
Jeremy Mayfield striped his car
Brad Keselowski striped his car
Scott Speed crashed his primary and then striped the backup
Dave Blaney spun
David Reutimann crashed and rolled out a backup
Kasey Kahne striped his car
Sam Hornish Jr. striped his car

Vickers posts single fast lap

Brian Vickers posted the single fastest lap in Darlington's Practice 1, with a speed of 174.167 mph, which makes him a frontrunner to earn his third pole of the season.

Our View: His average speed of 165.340 during 42 laps, however, was well down the grid and he will need to pick up the pace in Happy Hour if he wants to be considered a favorite for the race.

Biffle wins Practice 1

Greg Biffle posted the quickest average speed at Darlington, with a 171.756 mph during 41 laps.

Our View: Biffle's single fastest lap of 174.117 was second on that grid, which gives him a great combination of speed and consistency. He's won back-to-back races in 2005/2006 and this makes him a favorite to take another.

F1: Spanish Grand Prix quotes

Formula1.com has posted quotes pertaining to the Spanish Grand Prix on their site.

Our View: Fantasy owners always want to take drivers' comments about their car with a grain of salt because no one wants to speak ill of their ride, but this can be an interesting way to take their temperature.

Reutimann destroys car

David Reutimann destroyed his car at Darlington in Practice 1 at the one hour, 17 minute mark.

Our View: He will join Scott Speed in rolling out a backup car. There is simply no way to make a comfortable lap on this track.

Speed crashes in Practice 1

Scott Speed became the first driver to sustain significant damage at Darlington in the first practice session. He not only "striped" his car, he looped and crashed. Speed will have to roll out a backup car.

Our View: This is an even bigger issue for Speed since he is one of the drivers required to qualify on time. As a rookie, however, Speed would not be a great value even if he makes the show.

Mayfield also crashes

Add Jeremy Mayfield to the list of drivers in the wall at Darlington in the first practice session. He slapped the wall moments after Tony Stewart.

Our View: Mayfield was not expected to run well, however, so this will not impact fantasy owners very much.

Stewart flattens right side in Practice 1

Moments after the track went back to green following Kurt Busch's spin, Tony Stewart slipped into the wall in turn four and flattened the side of his Chevrolet.

Our View: Just in case you thought the "Lady in Black" had a better attitude since it was repaved, she's just as cantankerous.

Busch off to an exiting start in Darlington practice

Kurt Busch got the first practice session off to an exiting start. He spun on the backstretch in the first minutes of the session, but made only slight contact with the wall.

Our View: Busch has run strong here in the past, but this just proves how difficult this track is to navigate.

IRL: Day 1 practice times

Marco Andretti may have posted the fastest lap (at 225.478 mph) in the first day of practice, but where did everyone else settle in? Check out the full practice grid at Motorsports.com.

Our View: Notably, Robert Doornbos was the fastest rookie with a seventh-best speed of 223.593 mph and Danica Patrick was the fastest female driver at 223.253 mph. She settled into eighth on the grid.

Nationwide: Logano's turn

Joe Gibbs Racing is giving Joey Logano a great chance to win the Nationwide Darlington race, according to NASCAR.com. He will campaign a car that has won the last three editions of this race.

Our View: Denny Hamlin took the No. 20 to victory lane in 2006/2007; Tony Stewart won in that same car last year. However, Logano will attempt to keep that streak alive in his first-ever attempt on the "Track Too Tough to Tame."

F1: Raikkonen in new chassis

Kimi Raikkonen will race a lighter Ferrari in the Spanish Grand Prix, according to Formula1.com.

Our View: The lighter car will allow him to make better use of the KERS system. His teammate Felipe Massa has not struggled nearly as much in his heavier version. While Raikkonen hasn't been all that strong this year, he has steadily improved from 15th to sixth in four races.

Kurt Busch

What a difference a year makes. Last year, in the first 10 races of the season, Busch managed only an average finish of 23.6. This year, he's more than doubled his performance, with an average finish of 9.7 and is battling for the point lead. It may be one of the most incredible turnarounds in recent memory, and it has made him one of the top fantasy choices nearly everywhere.

Better still, with a worst finish of 23rd and only two finishes outside the top 15 in the first 10 events, the down side of starting him has been practically non-existent, which makes him an even better value for your roster. Given the struggles he experienced in 2008, however, there is no guarantee that he will keep his momentum alive all season, so now is the time to ride this dark horse pony until he goes lame.

Updated: 5/7/2009

Track	Avg. Fin	Avg. Start	Attempts
Cup
Talladega Superspeedway	12.12	23.29	17
Phoenix International Raceway	12.46	15.00	14
Auto Club Speedway	12.93	12.00	14
Bristol Motor Speedway	14.18	20.47	17
Homestead - Miami Speedway - old	14.33	14.33	3
Texas Motor Speedway	14.77	18.23	13
New Hampshire Motor Speedway	15.50	15.31	16
Pocono Raceway	15.69	13.94	16
Chicagoland Speedway	17.25	22.13	8
Darlington Raceway	17.58	11.50	12
North Carolina Speedway	17.63	16.38	8
Daytona International Speedway	17.88	23.29	17
Indianapolis Motor Speedway	18.00	18.25	8
Atlanta Motor Speedway	18.59	16.94	17
Richmond International Raceway	18.71	20.47	17
Infineon Raceway	19.13	9.38	8
Michigan International Speedway	20.13	13.50	16
Las Vegas Motor Speedway	20.44	5.67	9
Kansas Speedway	20.75	19.50	8
Lowes Motor Speedway	20.88	22.65	17
Watkins Glen International	21.38	11.25	8
Dover Downs International	21.41	10.47	17
Martinsville Speedway	21.78	18.72	18
Homestead - Miami Speedway Progressive	25.80	17.40	5
Nationwide
Watkins Glen International	2.00	1.00	2
Dover Downs International	3.00	32.00	1
Las Vegas Motor Speedway	4.00	4.00	1
Phoenix International Raceway	4.00	3.00	1
Texas Motor Speedway	4.50	12.50	2
Chicagoland Speedway	6.00	3.00	1
Michigan International Speedway	21.00	6.00	1
Lowes Motor Speedway	21.50	6.00	2
Truck
Auto Club Speedway	1.00	1.00	1
Dover Downs International	1.00	1.00	1
Milwaukee Mile	1.00	1.00	1
New Hampshire International Speedway	1.00	5.00	1
Daytona International Speedway	2.00	34.00	1
Mesa Marin Raceway	2.00	6.00	1
Michigan International Speedway	2.00	4.00	1
Pikes Peak International Raceway	2.00	7.00	1
Watkins Glen International	2.00	7.00	1
Richmond International Raceway	3.00	1.00	1
Phoenix International Raceway	4.00	6.00	1
Texas Motor Speedway	4.50	4.50	2
Evergreen Speedway	5.00	3.00	1
O'Reilly Raceway Park	6.00	3.00	1
Homestead - Miami Speedway - old	9.00	17.00	1
Portland International Speedway	11.00	2.00	1
Nashville Speedway USA	12.00	12.00	1
Memphis Motorsports Park	13.00	13.00	1
Nazareth Speedway	14.00	15.00	1
Chicago Motor Speedway	19.00	3.00	1
Gateway International Raceway	21.00	17.00	1
Martinsville Speedway	23.00	22.00	1
Kentucky Speedway	29.00	36.00	1

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