Dale Earnhardt Jr. made big news this week by announcing he's leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the year. Junior has five top-10s in 12 races at Darlington, and he has a solid shot at another this weekend. So does Ryan Newman, who in eight Cup races at Darlington has seven top-five starts, and four top-five finishes.

Veteran Jeff Burton of Richard Childress Racing could land a top-five finish. He's run real well at Darlington with eight top-fives and 13 top-10s in 24 starts.

Bobby Labonte is my darkhorse. It appears he's made some gains of late with the COT, and he has 11 top-10s in 26 Darlington starts.

Keys to success at Darlington
Patience is needed for Darlington's racing groove, which historically had been real narrow, and got even narrower after the installation of SAFER barriers in 2004. A driver has to wisely pick his battles and race the track more than his competitors especially in the early part of the 501-mile test.

A key is a driver knowing he can't take anything at Darlington -- he has to wait for the track to give it to him. Any driver hoping to tame Darlington must have solid tire management and car control. The race surface is rough and the layout tight, making Darlington an extremely demanding track.

The tires just get eaten up, and if a driver tries to run too hard the first few laps after a tire change then that set of tires may last for only about 50 laps. But if a driver takes it easier on a new set of tires they may last for about 70 laps.

Qualifying takes on an added importance since no driver wants to start in the back because of the increased likelihood of getting caught up in a wreck. At Darlington, drivers must focus on the track and not on each other.

With the track banked in the corners any debris that is blowing around is going to roll down and collect on the apron of the track so entering the pits can be a problem since drivers have to be extremely careful not to get caught up in any debris that has collected and spin out, especially when pitting under a green flag.

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