Several cars earn stripes during Darlington practices

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Darlington Raceway's retro red-and-white paint job saluting the track's 60 years of racing couldn't hide the black stripes left by dozens of Sprint Cup Series cars scraping the wall during Friday's practice sessions.

Several drivers caused significant damage to their cars in the first practice session and the final session was just as rough; by the end of the final practice three drivers -- Scott Speed, David Reutimann and David Stremme -- were in backups.

The Lady unkind

Ten drivers hit the wall in the first practice including Scott Speed and David Reutimann. David Stremme was one of 10 to earn a stripe in the final session at Darlington.

• Video: First practice
• Video: Final practice

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was 21st on the speed chart in final practice, struggled with his setup and said the reason for so many scrapes and spins was because "the tire is real hard" and "is slick."

Several drivers also noted the amount of dirt and sand accumulated on the track, reducing the grip.

"One of the things that made it pretty slick [Friday] was, the tires aren't really wearing that much. They're not making ball rubber, they're just making rubber dust," said Sam Hornish Jr., who also spun. "So if you get out of the line a little bit, it's just like you're on sand."

Greg Biffle, who had not received the infamous "Darlington stripe" in about three seasons, said his luck finally ran out.

"I got a little stripe on the car down there in [Turns] 1 and 2 on new tires, so that's to be expected," he said. "I guess every once in a while you need to know where the edge is so I certainly found out [Friday]. Thank goodness it didn't hurt the car any, it just beat the side up a hair."

The pain in Carl Edwards' arms while driving in both practice sessions reminded him of just how tough the track is and just how much it has changed since the re-paving project was completed in 2008.

"I was driving through Turns 1 and 2 and I noticed my forearms hurt because I was squeezing the wheel so tight," Edwards said. "This place is very fast and very treacherous now that they've re-paved it. There's not much forgiveness at this place because it's so fast and there's so much grip."

Jimmie Johnson may have two Darlington victories but it doesn't matter. The track he remembers is long gone.

"The race track then was so much different and I can tell you a lot of things I've done wrong," he said. "A lot of times you end up caught up racing people in traffic and you get sucked into things and situations where you make mistakes. As soon as you feel like you've got the perfect line and know the grip level and have everything just right, something changes and you're in the fence."

Johnson was third in final practice, clocking in at the 1.366-mile oval at 27.714 seconds (177.441 mph). Jeff Gordon paced the session at 27.684 (177.633), followed by Jeff Burton at 27.688 (177.608). Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin rounded out the top five. Brian Vickers led the first session.

Speeds
• Practice 1 | Practice 2