NASCAR - Saturday Night Racing - Showtime Southern 500 from Darlington on FOX, 5/7/11, 730pm ET

Nascar.com ^ | 5/3/11

[NormsRevenge]

Darlington.. Saturday Night.

Join us and see who masters the 'egg'.

[NormsRevenge]

Welcome to this week's Nascar at FR race thread!

This Week, It's Saturday Night racing at the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington.

May 7, 2011



Click for Nascar race & news threads at FR

Race Menu for the weekend series

Sprint Cup Showtime Southern 500 - 5|7|11 - FOX Sat. 730pm ET
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Qualifying - SPEED - 5|6|11 5pm ET

Nationwide Royal Purple 200 - ESPN2 - 5|6|11 730pm ET
/~/
Qualifying - ESPN2 - 5|6|11 330 pm ET

Camping World Trucks Series is off 'til FRiday night 5/13/11 at Dover.

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Darlington Raceway
Track History
Believing that Bill France's fledgling NASCAR just might catch on, Harold Brasington set out in the fall of 1949 to shape a 1.25-mile speedway on land that had once produced peanuts and cotton. Brasington himself often manned the controls of bulldozers and grading equipment. His plan called for a true oval, but the racetrack's design had to be changed in order to satisfy the landowner, who did not want his nearby minnow pond disturbed. The west end of the track (Turns 3 and 4) was narrowed to accommodate the fishing hole, creating Darlington's distinctive egg-shaped design.

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FRFL'ers - Deadline to select your drivers is May 6 2:00am PDT

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The FR Canteen

24 X 7

God Bless Our Troops and Their Families!!

[NormsRevenge]

Darlington race thread is up Ping!!

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Darlington 101: What to Lookout for on SHOWTIME Southern 500 Weekend
http://www.darlingtonraceway.com/Articles/2011/05/Darlington-101.aspx

Bigger coolers now allowed.. :-}

[NormsRevenge]

Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall To Be On Display At Darlington Raceway

http://www.darlingtonraceway.com/Articles/2011/05/Traveling-Wall.aspx

Darlington, S.C. (May 3, 2011) — Veterans and active members of America’s armed services travel great distances and make great sacrifices to preserve and protect freedom and liberty and now race fans can honor these service men and women during the SHOWTIME Southern 500 weekend at Darlington Raceway.

The American Veterans Traveling Tribute (AVTT) Traveling Wall will visit Darlington Raceway on Friday, May 6 from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 7 from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Fans are invited to attend a special wreath laying ceremony at the Wall at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 6.

The Traveling Wall is an 80 percent scale version of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. Across its 370-foot length the wall contains every single name etched on the original. At its apex the memorial is an impressive eight-feet tall. The traveling wall was completed in early 1998 and began traveling that year. AVTT’s traveling wall is the largest Wall replica traveling the United States.

The mission of the project is to travel the nation to honor, respect, and remember men and women who served, and to pay specific tribute to those who gave all in that service. Since the tribute is mobile it allows people to honor and respect veterans and active military personnel without having to travel great distances to do so.

[NormsRevenge]

Four crew members fired from Truex’s team
Driver threatened action during Richmond race; new team debuts Saturday

http://www.nascar.com/news/110503/mtruex-crew-change/index.html

Weary of having fast race cars and little to show for it in the Sprint Cup points standings, Martin Truex Jr. reached a breaking point during last Saturday night’s race at Richmond International Raceway.

When a loose wheel sidetracked his hopes at RIR, Truex threatened to have his entire pit crew fired. Four of them paid that price Tuesday when they were replaced in an effort to improve the driver’s race results. The new crew will be in place for this Saturday night’s Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

“We had a very good car at Richmond. It was the best car I’ve ever had there,” Truex said in a team release. “The last five weeks have been very tough on this team. We’ve run well and have very little to show for it.”

Truex attempted to bite his tongue after earlier incidents, but found he could not do so after mishaps on pit road ruined a potentially strong finish at Richmond. After running in the top five much of the night and even leading Laps 246-257 of the 400-lap event, he ended up 27th after first having to pit for a loose wheel and then learning later that he had to return to the pits again for a loose lug nut on yet another tire.

The poor finish left Truex 22nd in points heading into Darlington.

[saganite]

Woo Hoo! Payback time. Montoya in the wall before the race is half done! Sick ‘em Ryan!

[Wneighbor]

Yeah! I’m ready! I’m a mom, it’s for me. :-)

[TexasCajun]

I went to my first NHRA Drag Race last Sunday.

It was fun, the pits were very accessible as were the drivers. But...

No Thanks, I prefer a 400-500 mile drag race with 42 cars bumping, griding and trading paint.

The cars didn't even have numbers on 'em.

[sternup]

Good time slot....Not a good day for NASCAR to be competing with the “OTHER RACE” of the day.....mint julep anyone????

[B4Ranch]

What race are you watching?

[MtnClimber]

I have been to Darlington once for a NASCAR race that was won by Bill Elliott in the early 1980’s. Interesting track for spectators. I had two drivers taken out in wrecks at Richmond. Horrible points. Hope My picks stay out of THE BIG ONE!

[NYTexan]

Thanks Nork!

Bigger coolers is cool!

[kickonly88]

But two fuel cars have more horsepower than the cars in the first ten rows of a NASCAR race. Drag racing fits my attention span better. I will admit, Nascar drivers are the best drivers in the world but you can’t beat motorcycle racers for pure craziness.

[NormsRevenge]

2,700 cubic inches *-? That’s a lot of cooler. :-}

They started doing it at a number of tracks so far...

• Larger Cooler Size – Fans will now be permitted to bring in coolers measuring 14x14x14 (2,700 cubic inches) – six times larger than the size previously permitted. These coolers can typically hold up to 36 cans of Coca-Cola or other beverages. Coolers must be soft-sided and be free of wheels or telescoping handles but may have removable plastic liners.

Now where to put the couch?

http://www.icollector.com/images/271/12912/12912_0734_1_lg.jpg

[NormsRevenge]

Custom cooler made into a couch sold in 2007 for $1,000

[NormsRevenge]

40 qt. racing cooler anyone.. 240 pound limit.. whew .. I barely make it.

[SouthTexas]

I’ve always wanted one of those. :)

Vancouver and Nashville tied 2-2, six minutes left in the 3rd.

I know I’ve been slacking on hockey scores, work is interfering with my play.

[NYTexan]

LOL...vendor grade!

[saganite]

That’s a prediction. Ryan owes Pablo a meet ands greet with the wall.

[TexasCajun]

Yes, the horsepower of those top-fueler is mind-boggling.

[WestCoastGal]

New chassis this week finally (There has been one other). Mark Martin has had a new chassis every week so far this year. I guess Jr's hand me downs were really junk as we thought. It's been surmised that was the deal struck for MM agreeing to take on McScrewUp.