Fantasy Nascar : Too Tough to Tame: Darlington, Part 2 : Fantasy Nascar

How, oh how, can we top the bumping and grinding glory of Bristol under the lights last weekend?
We travel to the track that is �too tough to tame�. That�s how.
Last weekend was spectacular. It was the kind of race that gets your blood boiling and reminds you again and again how wonderful it is to be a race fan. It is the find of race that reminds you of the emotion that drivers feel as they strap into the cars each weekend. It�s a race that leaves you with an unexplainable high. But we must move on, and to Darlington, or the illustrious lady in black, no doubt.
There is a long list of people who have won a few races at Darlington. Yet, the race of people who tend to dominate again and again, year after year, is much slimmer. This fact makes Darlington a tough track to pick, much as it seems to be a hard track to race. Yet, I will try.
Three current Cup favorites seem to have a handle on the lady. I won�t say they have tamed her, for that may just be a feat that has yet to be done, as it seems the lady wins most of the battles, but they seem to do alright. Those three are the Burton brothers and Jeff Gordon.
First, Jeff Burton has won at Darlington twice, and has 8 top 5s and 11 top 10s in 17 career starts at Darlington. He has placed in the top ten in 6 of the last seven races here, including sweeping both of the 1999 races. Burton sits in 13th place so he isn�t exactly racing for a championship berth at this point, but every victory wins in Burton�s long-term plan of getting there. I look for him to be a threat on the track.
And pulling up the other end of the Burton clan, brother Ward also seems to have a hold on this track. He has placed in the top 10 in 5 of the last seven races. He won in 2000 and claimed the victory lane spot in this race last year. Ward has had a lackluster year, since his win at this year�s Daytona 500. Yet, he is still racing hard. He currently sits in 27th place overall in the standings, yet we know Ward races for each race, regardless. Along with his brother, Ward may be a threat to the lady in black on Sunday.
The third of the three standards for Darlington � Jeff Gordon � has quite a bit more riding on his race this weekend. He broke a long losing streak with a win last weekend at Bristol and he is looking to make his win last week only the beginning of a streak. Gordon, who regardless of a long string of losses and lousy luck currently sits in third place in the standings, just 111 points behind cup leader Sterling Marlin. With Gordon�s record at Darlington, a set of back-to-back wins is definitely a possibility. He has placed in the top 10 in 5 of the last 7 races, including a win in 99. Overall, in 19 career starts at Darlington, he has 5 wins, 10 top 5s and 13 top 10s. While it may not be exactly what I want to see, Gordon will probably be in the top five this weekend.
Other people to watch are Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett and Bobby Hamilton. All three of them have 4 top 10s in the past 7 races at Darlington. Tony and Dale Jarrett are racing for a bit more, as they currently sit in 4th and 10th, respectively, in the cup standings. Hamilton sits in 25th place, with only 2 top 10 finishes this season. Yet, each week is a new week, and each track is drastically different. All three of these guys have a good chance of making it a good week for they have a date with the lady in black.
The long-shot pick of the week, who I will have in my standings, is Steve Park. Last year, Park survived the worst accident of his life, a horrific collision with Larry Foyt under caution during the Busch series race at this track. The wreck left him with a high-grade concussion, badly slurred speech and blurred vision. He was on the sidelines for more than six months, and many wondered if he would ever return to racing.
Well, he did. And this weekend he returns to the track that nearly took his life, and I would be willing to bet, he wants to tame it. Park has 3 top 10s in the last 7 races here and I am willing to put my support behind this amazing athlete and person.
So pull our your Sunday best, we have a date.