| As told to David Newton, NASCAR.COM
May 12, 2006
09:59 AM EDT (13:59 GMT)
Nextel Cup rookie Clint Bowyer rebounded from a rough weekend at Talladega to finish 10th at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night. It was Bowyer's third top-10 in 10 races, moving him up three spots to 15th in the point standings.  | | |  | CLINT BOWYER | |
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Now Bowyer heads to arguably NASCAR's toughest track, Darlington Raceway, where a year ago he finished 10th in his only start in the Busch Series. The nickname says it all, 'Too Tough To Tame.' My first impression when I got to Darlington Raceway was, 'Oh, no. How do these guys get around here without wrecking?' It's a very unique track because it's shaped like an egg instead of oval and hard to get around. You've got to respect it, and if you don't, it'll bite you. Obviously, they've made a lot of upgrades and changes over the years, but you drive around the track you can see how old it is and sense the history that's there. I know NASCAR has talked of leaving there in the past, but I hope it's there for a long time. I like going to tracks that are totally different from any others. A driver who can run well at Darlington should have a pretty good career. The guys who win championships are the ones who can drive Darlington. The big thing is to have the right side of your car still on at the end of the race so you can go after a win. Like everybody, I got my "Darlington Stripe" [mark on the right side of the car from brushing the wall] my first time out. Actually, it was more than a stripe in the Busch car. It was the full side. Reed Sorenson and I were having a really good race there last year. They say you can't really race two-wide there. Well, we were two-wide for about the last 12 laps. It was a lot of fun. We didn't wreck. It actually was unbelievable we didn't wreck. We were beating and banging pretty hard. I had him pinned into the wall for a while, and he had me pinned into the wall. We both pretty much got out of control, but managed to keep it going in the right direction. It's just a cool racetrack, a lot of history. It's one of those tracks I heard about growing up in Kansas. That famous finish between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch [the closest finish in NASCAR history, with Craven winning the 2003 event by .002 seconds], that's something you won't ever forget. The key is to race the racetrack. You can't worry about cars around you, because tires fall off so fast. You'll see a guy take off and blow by you and have a straightaway on you, and within five or six laps you're catching him and passing him. I know I've only raced there once and I talk like I know what I'm talking about, but from what I've learned you've got to save your tires and you've got to have a car that is strong 30 or 40 laps into a run. That's not easy to do. The tough part is to set up the car because both ends of the track are so different. You've kind of got to give up one corner to get into the next. Turns 3 and 4 are easy to get into the wall. There's no grip. You just slide and slide and slide, and when you get within eight inches of the wall you find grip. Hopefully, you haven't pushed it too hard by then and popped the cushion. Night racing is different because there's a shadow around the wall that you don't see at a lot of places. You definitely see it coming. I like to say when you hear your exhaust getting pretty loud, that's when you know you're getting close. It's good when your right rear end just gently brushes the wall. It's no fun when you lose traction and have to run the car up the track and knock the right front end out. Those are the ones that hurt. As long as you barely touch it and keep on the gas, you're OK. My dad [hospitalized last week to have his appendix removed] should be back at the track. Missing last week's race at Richmond was tough. My mom will be there, too, walking me across the stage for driver introductions like a lot of the moms will for Mother's Day weekend. As soon as the race is over I'm headed to the Bahamas with my girlfriend and my best friend from back home and his girlfriend. The week after Darlington is a good one to take off because it's such a hard track to drive and because by then the schedule has worn you down. The Bahamas is a perfect place to go. Cell phones don't work. Nothing works. You can totally get away. Nobody knows who you are and doesn't care who you are. | 
