More Thanks!

I'm simply overwhelmed by the range of the readers on this site. If you look carefully, at the bottom left hand corner of the page, you will see a number. That's my stat counter, and you folks have really been generating numbers lately.

I don't know your names, or your addresses, or anything personal about you, but the stat counter does allow me to see your general locale. From Fairbanks, Alaska, to Los Angeles, California, to Miami, Florida, to Goose Creek, South Carolina, you've all been checking in, and I appreciate it. I also appreciate our Canadian neighbors who check in often, as well as our friends in England, Ireland, Germany, Korea, and other places overseas.

I post regularly on the Dale Jr. Pit board, and that's where a lot of hits are coming from. A lot of hits also come from Google, Yahoo, and AOL. I don't advertise on this site, and have no plans to do so, but you folks make me feel like I must be doing something right, so I'm going to keep going. As always, criticisms and comments are welcome, all you have to do is leave a comment below. I don't moderate them, within reason. I might edit out a few bad words if you choose to use them, but I'll leave your thoughts intact.

Back to racing. Darlington promises to be a wild race, with very fast track speeds, and some very likely Darlington stripes on the right sides of a lot of cars. Greg Biffle will start on the pole, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. starting 2nd. I don't know how much of a difference starting position makes, because Carl Edwards started on the pole for last night's Nationwide race, and elected to start on the outside, which was his right. Carl hit the wall on lap one, and then hit it again within a couple of laps and severely damaged his car. Darlington is going to take it's share of paint off the sides of the cars tonight.

I imagine when it's all over, You will not be able to read any of the lettering on the walls at the track. There will be black streaks basically all the way around the track. I noticed crews out painting the wall this morning, and they'll all be out there doing it again after the race is over.

The new pavement is making for some wicked fast speeds, and great grip, which is something that no one driving the race has ever experienced at Darlington. If last night's Nationwide race is any indication, tonight's Cup race is going to be an old fashioned barn burner. Tempers will likely become a factory tonight, as they were at Richmond last week. It will take a lot of control of both the race car and emotions to be successful at Darlington Raceway tonight.

I'm going to say an early prayer for all the drivers and crew members tonight. I hope they all walk away from their cars under their own power tonight, and I pray that all the fans at the track stay safe as well.

Racing at Darlington. It's about as good as it gets!