Notebook: No dearth of story lines at Darlington

Darlington, S.C. -- Ricky Craven has a list of things he'd like to accomplish before he retires from NASCAR. There are the usual races: Daytona, Charlotte, New Hampshire. Well, OK, New Hampshire probably isn't at the top of most drivers' lists, but since Craven is from New England, he'd love to win there.

	Ricky Craven accepts congratulations from Kurt Busch after their battle at Darlington. Credit: Autostock

Then there's Darlington.

Mission accomplished.

"I promised my wife that I'm not going to do this forever," Craven said. "I know what I want to do before I'm done. I know how many races I want to win, and I know what will satisfy me, and this was an awesome place.

"Growing up in New England, Darlington, S.C., was a million miles away, so the idea of winning here is quite different than winning at New Hampshire. It would be more reasonable for us to win at New Hampshire. We've got a history there. But this will be the greatest race of my life. There is no question. Martinsville was special, but winning at Darlington -- it's just personal."

Craven first saw Darlington Raceway 11 years ago, right after he, wife Cathleen and daughter Riley moved South. Craven got a chance to hitch a ride in a van around the legendary track with legendary driver David Pearson.

"He shows me where I need to get off the gas and how much brake I need to use," Craven said. "(He told me, 'You don't worry about that wall. If you're up high enough it won't hurt too bad.' That was on a Thursday. That Friday we won the pole in the Busch Series."

Craven has loved the tough old track ever since.

"I'm not the world's greatest race car driver, but it suits me perfect," Craven said. "I like sliding around. I love being up against the wall. I'm not nearly as good as Jeff Gordon is here or David Pearson or some of these legends, but I'll tell you -- I wouldn't mind running 36 times a year here. Right now, I'll settle for two."

Cheers for Darlington

Craven, obviously, is all for keeping two Winston Cup races at Darlington.

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"Personally, it would be devastating (if Darlington lost a date)," Craven said. "Personally, I would vote it down every single time. Personally, I think it's a mistake. But from a business standpoint, the greatest way to prevent that is just to fill the seats. If (Sunday) the product was good and it was an exciting finish, then maybe that will help.

"I would consider this Fenway Park. This is a place -- maybe this is The Masters. From that standpoint, I would vote it down every single time. This is a great racetrack. Personally, you know how I feel. I'll go to bat, but it is a business."

Craven isn't alone.

"It's a great racetrack," Michael Waltrip said. "This is the kind of race track we need. Tracks that are real wide and real easy to drive, somebody hits the setup. At a tight, little, narrow place, it just seems like everybody slides, and they slide into each other."

Mistake in pits costs Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the most laps in Sunday's race, staying out front for 91 of the race's 293 laps. But he ended up sixth after a botched pit stop caused him to lose track position.

	Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on the rebound after a slow start. Credit: Autostock

On lap 191, loose lug nuts on the right-front wheel forced Junior back to the pits to correct the problem. With less than 100 laps to go, he found himself in 11th place.

"I had a great car and we had 'em covered except for some trouble in the pits," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Yeah, we're good enough. ... "(Darlington) has really been an Achilles heel for us in the past. I feel real confident about this run today. I'm pretty happy."

Earnhardt Jr. has rallied his team from its poor start, when he finished 36th and 33rd in the season's first two races. Since then, he's finished second, third and sixth to move to fourth in the Winston Cup points standings.

"We've just got to do it every week," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I've just got to be patient when the car ain't really working. I've got to be patient and that's what we did (Sunday). This is a tough track, and it's hard to like. You know what I mean? It's like you can't live with it, and you can't live without it, I'll tell you that."

Darlington stripe ruins Stewart's day

Tony Stewart didn't exactly leave Darlington with a smile on his face, but at least he remembers leaving -- unlike last year, when a hard crash forced him to spend a night in a local hospital.

	Tony Stewart quietly had a top-10 day at Darlington. Credit: Autostock

This time, Stewart ran well despite a scrape with the wall early in the race. He didn't lead a lap, but Stewart and his Joe Gibbs Racing team worked on getting the car as good as possible. In the end, it wasn't bad, and Stewart had a 10th-place result -- his fourth top-10 of the season.

"I had a really good car until I got up in the fence in (turns) 1 and 2, and just couldn't get myself off of it, I guess," Stewart said. "With so much oil and oil dry being up there, they can't get it all off the track. It's just that at a track that's that narrow you don't have much room for error there and you run so close to the wall.

"I probably should have just tried to give myself a little bit of extra room there the first couple laps. I thought I did, but evidently that lap I didn't leave myself enough room. When I got up close to the wall it really took off up the hill a little bit.

"But we fought back and got another top-10 out of it. It's not what we wanted, by any means. But going into the race, that is the best car I've ever had here, so I'm excited to come back here. I feel like we've got a good shot to run up front again when we come back."

Single-car teams shine at Darlington

Sunday's Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 as a celebration of sorts for single-car teams. Craven won with his single-car PPI Motorsports operation, and Dave Blaney finished third with his single-car Jasper Motorsports team.

But both Craven and Blaney brushed aside the single-car talk.

	Blaney is working with a new crew chief this year -- Bootie Barker. Credit: Autostock

"I don't think it's much of a factor, to tell you the truth," Blaney said. "We give up a little bit on information as far as testing and your teammates testing and stuff like that, but if the crew chiefs don't think alike and the drivers don't drive alike, it's not that big of a deal anyway. So I don't think we give anything up. If we do, I'm not gonna admit to it."

Craven said he doesn't see his team as an underdog in the world of multi-car efforts.

"We look at ourselves as a single-car, focused team," Craven said. "Dave Blaney, the last two weeks has done a great job. He's a good driver. That team is doing some great things, and I think it's good for the sport. I really, really think it's good for the sport. I think it would be terrible if a single-car team weren't able to win. I'm not sure that would be the direction that we all need to go. I think a single-car team has a place in Winston Cup racing."

Nadeau's poor luck continues

A third-place starting spot was supposed to bode well for Jerry Nadeau. Instead, a broken oil pressure fitting ruined a good day, and Nadeau's Pontiac ended up 35th. It was an eventful race for Nadeau, who also spun in Turn 1 on the fifth lap.

But it was the $10 fitting that caused him the most trouble.

"That put us out of the race," Nadeau said. "It was really unfortunate because we had one great race car this weekend. In fact, we've had good runs every week, but we just can't seem to buy any luck."

Nadeau hasn't finished higher than 22nd this season and finds himself 36th in the points standings.

"We easily had a top-five car (Sunday)," Nadeau said. "Everyone did their job, the pit stops were outstanding. You just have to suck it up and take the positives to Bristol next week. Our day will come."

Sadler slips to seventh

	Elliott Sadler "settled" for a top-10. Credit: Autostock

Jeff Gordon looked to have things his way before he made a mistake and kissed the wall. Elliott Sadler, then running second to Gordon, saw visions of Victory Lane dance in his head. But only for an instant.

"It was just a stupid driving mistake," Sadler said. "I was following Gordon and pressuring him pretty hard, and he got up in the wall. I was thinking, 'Man, now is my chance,' so I just matted it wide open and tried to go under him, and I hit the wall the same lap and same corner he did."

Sadler's Ford suffered suspension damage from the contact with the wall, and he was relegated to a seventh-place finish.

"I'm sorry for the guys," Sadler said. "That was our chance to win the race. They gave me a first- or second-place car, and I finished seventh with it, but we'll take a top 10. We sat on the pole, and if we keep getting top 10s like this, eventually the driver won't mess up, and we'll get a win."