It was a very happy birthday for Kyle Busch last Saturday at Richmond, winning at the same track where the fans booed him in 2008 for taking out Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who was on his way to victory.
Busch became only the second driver in history to win on his birthday, matching the same feat that Cale Yarborough achieved twice, earning wins at North Wilkesboro in 1977 and Atlanta in 1983 on his birthday, March 27. It was Busch's first win since Week 5 of the series at Bristol and his third win overall this year, the most by any driver in 2009. Matt Kenseth is the only other driver with multiple wins, taking the first two races of the season at Daytona and Fontana.
Busch will try to go back-to-back for the first time this season, and this week's track is right up Busch's alley.
The Sprint Cup series heads to Darlington, South Carolina for the Southern 500, where Busch is the reigning champion. Busch bounced back from that chorus of boos at Richmond in 2008 with the win at Darlington, which was his second top-10 finish in four attempts there.
Darlington Raceway is one of the more unique tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit and only one race is held there a year. It is sort of egg-shaped in design, making it tough for crews to configure their cars to be effective at both ends of the track. Darlington also has a couple nicknames including "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough To Tame." The race itself is advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition."
Note: Remember to have your lineup set by noon on Saturday, May 9
Tier One Start -- Jeff Burton
If you still have Kyle Busch available, that is likely your best bet. For the rest of us however, a driver many of us likely still have available is Burton. Burton has finished in the top 10 in each of his last three races at Darlington and won there twice in 1999. He has the third-highest finishing position of any active driver at Darlington and is a good value pick for this track.
Others to consider: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch
Tier One Sit -- Kevin Harvick
Harvick is off to a very poor start this season and there's no reason to believe that he will turn things around this week at Darlington. Since finishing second at Daytona to start the season, he has only one other top-10 finish and has finished 30th or worse in each of his last three races. He hasn't finished in the top-10 at Darlington since 2004, making him a candidate certainly worth avoiding.
Others to avoid: Greg Biffle, Mark Martin
Tier Two Start -- Martin Truex, Jr.
Truex, Jr. is another driver off to a slow start to the 2009 season, currently sitting at 21st in the Sprint Cup standings. He should finish better than his current position in the standings at Darlington on Saturday. He has three career starts there with an average finish of 13th. Truex isn't a good option on too many weekends, so take advantage of his solid record at Darlington this week.
Others to consider: Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon
Tier Two Sit -- Clint Bowyer
Bowyer has failed to finish in the top-10 in each of his last three races and there's no reason to believe that this week will be any different. He has an average finish of 15.7 at Darlington with a top finish of ninth in three races.
Others to avoid: Matt Kenseth, David Ragan
Tier Three Start -- Bobby Labonte
Labonte is the only driver in Tier Three with a win at Darlington and has one of the best finishing percentages as well at 14.6. Labonte has struggled mightily this season, especially in his past few races, but could be prepared to break out of it with a strong performance in the Southern 500.
Others to consider: Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman
Tier Three Sit -- Brian Vickers
Vickers has a poor track record at Darlington, with a top finish of 16th in his career on the Sprint Cup. He has an average finish of 28.2 for his career and is simply not a desirable option on Saturday.
Others to avoid: Casey Mears, David Reutimann
Tier Four Start -- David Gilliland
Gilliland hasn't exactly been spectacular in two starts at Darlington with finishes of 30th and 20th. However, the pickings are pretty slim in Tier Four at this point in the season and anyone still available to you is a pretty darn good option.
Others to consider: Elliot Sadler, Juan Pablo Montoya
Tier Four Sit -- Paul Menard
Menard has also only run twice at Darlington and his results have not been favorable. He finished 31st and 36th. Those aren't exactly impressive numbers, and his current ranking of 33rd in the Sprint Cup standings isn't exactly blowing anyone away either.
Others to avoid: Aric Almirola, Travis Kvapil
Tier Five Start -- Sam Hornish, Jr.
It's pretty much impossible to suggest that the driver with the worst finishing average at a track is your best bet, but that's what I am going to have to do. Hornish, Jr. has two top-10 finishes in his last three starts ... that's the only reason there is to believe that he will have any success at Darlington, considering he finished 38th there last season in his only attempt.
Others to consider: Dave Blaney, Reed Sorenson
Tier Five Sit -- David Stremme
Stremme is having a decent season considering he's a Tier Five driver but he has had no luck so far in his career at Darlington. He did not make a start there in 2008 and has finishes of 25th and 34th the two times he has driven there.
Others to avoid: Kenny Wallace, Joey Logano
Ian's Starting Five
Tier One -- Jeff Burton
Tier Two -- Martin Truex, Jr.
Tier Three -- Bobby Labonte
Tier Four -- David Gilliland
Tier Five -- Sam Hornish, Jr.
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