Fill your lineup with guys successful at Darlington

We have more Saturday night racing on tap this weekend with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Mother's Day weekend has become the backdrop for when the Cup Series visits the Track Too Tough to Tame. The 1.366-mile oval has some unique characteristics which place it halfway between a superspeedway and an intermediate track. The relatively steep banking and unusual turns make the racing style as unusual as the track itself. Saturday night you'll see most drivers hugging the outside walls and running the high groove for the entire race. As it turns out, this is usually the fastest way around the egg-shaped oval in South Carolina. The following is our weekly power ranking for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

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1. Jeff Gordon
Gordon has experienced his ups-and-downs in recent seasons, but one thing has remained steady and that's his performance at Darlington. The veteran Hendrick Motorsports driver is the only competitor in the Cup Series to crack the top five in each of his last four Darlington events. During that span he has one victory and two runner-up finishes.

2. Greg Biffle
Of all the drivers in the Roush Fenway Racing stable, you want to have Biffle in your fantasy racing lineups this weekend. The Bif has been incredibly dominant at the South Carolina oval in recent seasons. He has led 30 percent of the laps run in the last four Darlington races, and has two wins during this span. Biffle was well on his way to challenge for a third victory at Darlington in this event one year ago before an engine failure took him out of the race.

3. Kyle Busch
Busch was the benefactor of Biffle's engine failure last season. The Joe Gibbs Racing star went on to lead 169 laps and take the victory in Biffle's absence. We expect Busch to find that same groove again Saturday night. The No. 18 team has given him fast cars on the one-mile plus tracks this season.

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Mike Bell likes the chances of some past winners to repeat their recent success at the Lady in Black.

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4. Jimmie Johnson
We've not had Johnson this low in our weekly power ranking all season. However, it is somewhat warranted given his recent Darlington performances. Despite having more than 180 laps led and two top-five finishes in his last four events at the egg-shaped oval, Johnson hasn't been to Victory Lane at the facility. This track tends to generate parity among the top drivers in the series, so the defending Cup champion blends a little with the pack this week.

5. Denny Hamlin
The other Joe Gibbs Racing star has made his mark on the Track Too Tough to Tame. Hamlin owns three career starts and three career top-10s at Darlington. With close to 200 laps led in those starts, you can consider Hamlin an outside contender for the win on Saturday night.

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt Jr. and his inconsistent No. 88 team have made shaky fantasy racing starts this season. However, Darlington could be an up-tick weekend for the NASCAR icon. Earnhardt is a master of the high-groove racing style that is so successful at Darlington. His statistics at the oval show this to be true. Earnhardt is the only driver in the series other than Gordon to have four consecutive top-10s at the track entering this weekend's event.

7. Mark Martin
The wildly successful season for Martin should continue this weekend. Despite racing part time the last couple years, he has made all four starts during that time at the South Carolina oval. Martin hauled in a pair of top-10s while racing for Jack Roush in 2005 and 2006, and there's no reason to believe he can't duplicate that effort for current owner Rick Hendrick.

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8. Carl Edwards
Darlington has been a good track in recent seasons for Roush Fenway Racing, and Edwards has his share of that success. The driver of the No. 99 Ford owns a pair of top-five finishes in his last two starts at the 1.366 mile oval. While his season has been a series of ups-and-downs, we think that he'll come to Darlington with a smile on his face this weekend.

9. Tony Stewart
Smoke has better tracks in his racing resume, but we're more excited about him this weekend than his usual trip to Darlington. The reason being is that the No. 14 Chevy has looked strong on the larger ovals this season. Four of his seven top-10s to this point have come on tracks one-mile in length or larger.

10. Ryan Newman
Newman joins his boss, Stewart, in the power ranking this weekend due to his solid record at the South Carolina oval. Rocket Man managed to pilot his old No. 12 Dodge for former boss Roger Penske to three top-10 finishes in the last four Darlington events. Newman also led laps in each of those, so there's no mistaking his racing talent on this track.