By Mark Spoor, Turner Sports Interactive
March 18, 2004
11:44 AM EST (1644 GMT)
While Darlington Raceway is one of the most historic tracks in NASCAR, there's something different about "The Lady in Black" this year.
Darlington joins Richmond, Phoenix, Homestead-Miami, New Hampshire and Indianapolis on the list of tracks with the SAFER system, a steel and foam energy reduction system.
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The system absorbs some of the energy in a crash, lessening the impact for a driver. The barrier is made up of steel tubes and pads of hard foam and is affixed to the concrete wall.
The change, and how it will affect Sunday's race, will be one of the main topics of Sunday's NASCAR on FOX prerace show from Darlington.
Mark Martin said a couple of weeks ago at Las Vegas that Darlington's unusual shape may be too narrow in spots for the SAFER system to be fully effective.
"I applaud NASCAR, and SAFER barriers are wonderful," Martin said. "But for a race (at Darlington), we're going to be crippled if we lose two or three feet. I sure hope they are not putting barriers at Darlington, because there's not room there."
Hot spots: Darrell Waltrip will give viewers another installment of his "Hot Spot" feature this week, outlining a part of Darlington Raceway that could present drivers with some problems.
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| Jamie McMurray will be featured Saturday before the Busch Series event at Darlington. Credit: Autostock |
Jamie's got a mike: Jamie McMurray will be a guest on FOX's prerace show for Saturday's Busch Series coverage.
You may recall that McMurray lost a thrilling finish to Todd Bodine in last year's spring Busch race at Darlington.
Ask The Producer: This week's question comes from Scott A. Ferguson of Sherman Oaks, Calif.:
"Is FOX considering utilizing the overhead cable cameras that were so cool to watch in the NFL this year on some of the short tracks? If NASCAR wants to beat NFL, why not grab some more if their tricks?"
NASCAR on FOX producer Neil Goldberg says stay tuned:
"This is indeed a fantastic shot. We have been looking into tracks that could accommodate it and we hope to bring it to NASCAR in the near future."
Let your voice be heard: Each week, we'll pick one question to ask the producer of the FOX telecast. Why did they do things this way? Why did they talk to that driver? Any question that eats at you could be answered right here in the Viewer's Guide.
Send your questions to the e-mail box in this piece.
The Rant: This week, two users debate NASCAR's stance on drivers using offensive language on television interviews.
Bud Crihfield fires first:
"I go to the races to watch the race -- not the crashes, not the arguments, just the race.
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If there is contact resulting in a heated exchange let the fans wonder about what was said. There is no reason for NASCAR to sink to pro wrestling depths to gain ratings."
Roy Holladay has a different view:
"The broadcast news industry particularly when it is reporting on sporting events needs to feed the audience what the audience desires, or the news industry will not survive. Colorful language is a part of every day life.
"John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors put professional tennis on the map with their bad boy antics. As great a player as Pete Sampras was, he never ignited the fans' loyalty or disdain as Johnny Mac or Jimmy did and, consequently, never brought as much attention to the sport of professional tennis.
"Sports heroes are images upon which we project our feelings both good and bad."
Get in on the action: In "The Rant," we'll pick two e-mails each week to argue both sides of a TV coverage issue, be it a commentator's comment, a driver's comment, a pre-race feature -- basically anything you want to spout off about.
Come with an intelligent, passionate argument and you may see your take on NASCAR.COM.
Again, since we're into the season now, please keep your e-mails to television coverage issues.
More HDTV: NASCAR and HDNet announced a three-year partnership for NASCAR's first high definition television package earlier this week. The deal features 15 live high definition telecasts for a total of 18 races from the NASCAR Grand National Division, a tier of NASCAR regional racing series which includes the Busch North Series and West Series. HDNet will produce and broadcast the package in 1080i HDTV.
The package launches Sunday, April 25, with the Busch North Series race at Lee USA Speedway in New Hampshire.
Quote of the week: "Talk about from zero to hero..." -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Victory Lane after his win at Atlanta on Sunday.
On to this weekend's schedule:
Site: Darlington, S.C.
Track: Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile oval, 25-degree banking in Turns 1-2, 23 degrees in Turns 3-4. Frontstretch: 1,229 feet. Backstretch: 1,229 feet)
Race distance: 400 miles, 293 laps
TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED 3 p.m. ET Friday. Happy Hour: FX. 3 p.m. ET Saturday (tape delay). Race: FOX, 1 p.m. ET Sunday.
 | Last year |  | Craven and Busch beat and bang to the checkered flag
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|  | Sterling Marlin and Jimmie Johnson get together
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|  | It doesn't take long for the Lady in Black to strike
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Last year: Ricky Craven outdueled Kurt Busch in one of the most exciting finishes in NASCAR history to win the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400.
Last race: A week after turning the Las Vegas Cup race into a glorified test session, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Potential storyline: Look for Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman to be topics of discussion throughout the weekend. Gordon leads active drivers in career Darlington victories with six. Meanwhile, Newman, has an average starting spot of 4.5 in his four career Darlington starts.
Point to ponder: Darlington Raceway's spring event first took place in 1957 -- as a NASCAR Convertible Division race. NASCAR had the division from 1956-1959 with stars such as Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts, Joe Weatherly and Marvin Panch taking part. The division had proven itself as a viable and action-packed series, so NASCAR felt it was time to see what the "ragtops" could do on a superspeedway.
May 12, 1957 saw the birth of the "Rebel 300". It was the 14th event on the 1957 Convertible schedule. Former motorcycle champ Paul Goldsmith won the pole with a speed of 115.324 mph. Roberts came home the victor by a margin of two laps over Tim Flock. It was Roberts' first superspeedway win as he averaged 107.941 mph.
Site: Darlington, S.C.
Track: Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile oval, 25-degree banking in Turns 1-2, 23 degrees in Turns 3-4. Frontstretch: 1,229 feet. Backstretch: 1,229 feet)
Race distance: 134 laps, 200 miles
TV: Busch Pole Qualifying: 1:30 p.m. ET Friday. Race: FX, 1 p.m. ET Saturday.
| Last year |  | McMurray and Bodine race hard to the checkers
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|  | 2002 NCTS champ Mike Bliss hits the wall hard in Turn 2
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|  | Several cars bring out the caution flag early in the race
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Last year: Todd Bodine bumped Jamie McMurray in the final moments of the darlingtonraceway.com 200 and slid across the finish line to win the rain-delayed race. McMurray's car was pointed to the wall after the contact but still finished second.
Last race: Kevin Harvick held off a furious charge from Kasey Kahne in the final laps of the Sam's Town 300 to take the victory March 5 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Potential storyline: Harvick leads all Busch Series drivers with 520 points during the past six races. He has yet to finish outside the top five in any 2004 Busch Series race.
Point to ponder: By virtue of winning the August 2003 NASCAR Busch Series event at Darlington as a 19-year-old, Brian Vickers became the youngest driver ever to visit Victory Lane at the historic venue.
Mark Spoor is an associate producer of NASCAR.com. The Domino's Viewers Guide appears each Thursday during race weeks.
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