Four of the past 20 races at Darlington have finished under caution. Only Daytona, with five finishes under caution, ranks higher. Then, to further create the problem, they throw 42 other cars on the track. Darlington probably is the only track on the circuit where a driver can't relax for a second, even when the race is stopped under the red flag. If you get lulled to sleep at Darlington, then you're either crazy or a narcoleptic,'' said Kyle Petty, who has never finished better than sixth at Darlington.
Most races are a series of adjustments every pit stop.
Driver Mike Wallace said his first advice to a rookie would be to race the track and forget about everybody else. If I was a teacher working with a rookie driver going to Darlington for the first time, my lesson would be simple -cut class and head straight to Texas,'' he said. Many talk about the oldest superspeedway on the circuit as though it is a person. You can be riding around and having a pretty good day and all of the sudden she'll just reach out and slap you. Darlington is that old tough town in the Westerns, and you're just like the new sheriff with nothing but a badge, a gun and a little bit of courage.