Pick 'em: Darlington

By NASCAR.COM
May 10, 2008
08:53 AM EDT

type size: + -

Each week the staff at NASCAR.COM will pick a race winner, a dark horse for the checkers and the ain't-got-a-chance driver (no scrubs; someone with a Q score).

Our scoring system: Experts receive as many points as the "winner" pick gets in the race.

Dodge Challenger 500

Writer	Winner	Here's why ...	Dark Horse	No Chance	Points

Bill Kimm	Jeff Gordon	The Gibbs boys are the best in the garage, there's no denying that, but this is Darlington and with a new surface, you have to go with experience. Gordon is the man here, and is due for a breakout race.	Kasey Kahne	Kevin Harvick	1,553
Joe Menzer	Dale Jr.	OK, so he breaks the winless streak one week later than he should have -- and it says here that he'll do it by out-dueling Kyle Busch down the stretch in a script that could be written by NASCAR. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.	Bobby Labonte	Kevin Harvick	1,442
Josh Pate	Denny Hamlin	Two starts have given Hamlin a 10th-place finish in his debut and a runner-up last year, a race he should have won had it not been for Jeff Gordon's pit strategy. Best way to rebound from last week's mistake is to win.	Mark Martin	Kevin Harvick	1,428
Duane Cross	Jeff Gordon	The road to Victory Lane goes through the 24 pit. Book it: He is in the top 10 at the end of the day, points-wise.	Bill Elliott	Jeff Burton	1,395
Raygan Swan	Kyle Busch	I guess if I pick anyone from Joe Gibbs Racing, I'll be in good shape so I'll go with Kyle Busch. Denny has a bum hip, and Tony's average finish in Darlington is 11th.	David Ragan	Dale Jr.	1,354
Dave Rodman	Kyle Busch	The guy's hot, and beating Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin, Stewart and Biffle to do it will only fan the flames.	Dave Blaney	Jeff Gordon	1,309
Mark Aumann	Denny Hamlin	Second there a year ago after leading more than half the race, and the racing gods owe him big-time.	Martin Truex Jr.	Kevin Harvick	1,276
Jarrod Breeze	Kyle Busch	The haters only add fuel to the fire.	Kasey Kahne	Elliott Sadler	1,241
David Caraviello	Jimmie Johnson	Why? Because it seems like every time I cover a race, Jimmie Johnson wins. It happened at the last race I covered, in Phoenix. Oh, and he's pretty good here, too, with two wins and eight top-10s in nine career starts.	Kurt Busch	Dale Jr.	1,194