Darlington demands skill, total focus
— -- It's seldom that I go anywhere that if I'm recognized, a discussion of my Darlington win doesn't take center stage.
Most reference that win in the 2003 spring race because of the dramatics associated with the closing laps and the close finish. But for me, carrying home the trophy meant I won at the track most drivers consider the most challenging in NASCAR.
That win has forever associated me with the track, appropriately nicknamed "the track too tough to tame."
Like most people, success for me as a driver at Darlington came hard, and at a price. While you never truly conquer the Lady in Black, you enter each weekend at the South Carolina track with the objective of being the least punished.
Here's how you do it.
What to watch for
1. Embrace the challenge. The first time I entered Darlington Raceway in 1992, in my rookie season in what is now the Xfinity Series, I thought: "Nothing I have accomplished in a race car has prepared me for this."
This track was the most unusual and unorthodox of any large track I had ever been to -- along the lines of the one-mile Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania, only worse.
The results my first year reflected my attitude toward the Lady in Black. I didn't like her; she didn't like me.
It wasn't until I accepted Darlington as the ultimate challenge, rather than the ultimate burden, that I gave myself a fighting chance.
And the two people I need to thank for changing my attitude toward the track are my Charlotte friend Ron Miller, and David Pearson, whom Ron connected me with after my first-year struggles.
In 1993, Pearson, generally regarded the best-ever at the egg-shaped track -- or Mr. Pearson, as I referred to him on that day -- took me around the track in a van, demonstrating with the steering wheel and pedals how he navigated Darlington. He showed me where, as well as why, I needed to do certain things. It was an amazing and priceless opportunity -- the equivalent of being a young amateur golfer at Augusta and being coached by Jack Nicklaus.
I capitalized later that day with a pole position and finished ninth. From then on, it became personal between me and the Lady in Black. It was the most fun I have ever had in a race car.
You can't win at Darlington if you can't enjoy Darlington.
2. Earn your stripes. At most tracks, scraping the wall is considered a mistake, an error or a failure. At Darlington, it's a ringing endorsement of your willingness to reach for that last 2 to 3 percent.
Most Darlington stripes come from not recognizing the car's limits during practice or qualifying. In the race, Darlington stripes come from not recognizing the track's limits, and ultimately stepping beyond them, resulting in paint from the right side of your car being etched into Darlington's concrete or SAFER barriers.
The best at this track flirt with receiving a stripe nearly every lap. Those not as well-equipped for this type of challenge inevitably find themselves on pit road while repairs to the car are made.
3. Race the track. "Race the track" is what we do every week, but the difference between Darlington and so many others is the minimal margin for error here.
The corner entry speed at Darlington is not significantly lower than that of Michigan. But the distance between the right side of the car and the wall is dramatically different.
If you carry too much speed into the turn at Michigan, you have what seems like an acre of racetrack to correct and recover. If you carry too much speed into the turn at Darlington, you correct, but you don't recover.
This track is so narrow for its size that it requires perfection from the driver. You concentrate on your braking points and turning points, rehearse them, repeat them, then adjust those points as your tires wear and speed diminishes.
Darlington requires 100 percent of your attention 100 percent of the time. Don't get preoccupied with racing another competitor. On this day, your greatest challenge won't come from Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick or Kurt and Kyle Busch. Your greatest challenge comes from the track.
The Bottom Line
I'm not picking a winner this week. The winner has already been determined.
The South Carolina racetrack, with more nicknames than a family of 12, has appropriately been reacquainted with her date of origin. The tradition of the Southern 500 during Labor Day weekend has been re-established -- corrected, if you will -- and we who consider ourselves invested in this sport are the winners.
