NASCAR O'Reilly
BUSCH: Darlington: Round 11 preview
NASCAR Busch Series aids Darlington history under the lights DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 3, 2005) -- Already labeled as the track "Too Tough to Tame," yet another challenge awaits at Darlington Raceway on Friday night. That's right. Friday ...
Edited: Apr 16, 2008, 12:40 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
NASCAR Busch Series aids Darlington history under the lights
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 3, 2005) -- Already labeled as the track "Too Tough to Tame," yet another challenge awaits at Darlington Raceway on Friday night.
That's right. Friday night.
The first race under the lights at the historic track will be contested by the drivers and teams of the NASCAR Busch Series. And Darlington's trademark unpredictability -- now heightened by the flip of a switch -- will play directly into the hands of the season to date.
A prime example: Although Carl Edwards (No. 60 Charter Communications Ford) held on to the lead in the points standings for the sixth consecutive week, he lost 42 points off that advantage to Clint Bowyer (No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet), who now stands in second place. Edwards finished out of the top 10 in a race for the first time this season at Talladega (33rd), while Bowyer managed to bypass Reed Sorenson (No. 41 Discount Tire Co. Dodge) despite his 19th-place finish. Sorenson finished 32nd for the second consecutive race and fell from second to third in the standings.
In fact, drivers ranked in positions two through 10 prior to Talladega find themselves in different slots heading to Darlington. One of those -- Greg Biffle (No. 66 Duck Tape Ford), the defending champion of this race, dropped out of the Top 10 and was replaced by Jon Wood (No. 47 Clorox/Wisk Ford).
However, David Stremme (No. 14 U.S. NAVY Dodge), who gained the most places in the standings following his third-place finish at Talladega and finished fifth in this event last year, is not at all deterred by the venue famous for tagging drivers -- veterans and rookies alike -- with a "Darlington stripe."
"We're on a real roll coming into Darlington," Stremme said. "We've had two third-place finishes in a row, and we're looking to do at least that well this week. It's going to be a really challenging event as we run under the lights for the first time. This team thrives on challenges, so we'll really enjoy whatever is thrown at us this weekend."
Talladega race boasts near-record numbers ... Based on preliminary national results from Nielsen Media Research, the Aaron's 312 at Talladega last Saturday was the second-most viewed non-Daytona NASCAR Busch Series event in broadcast history, based on both average number of households and viewers who tuned in. An average of 5.0 million viewers and 3.6 million households watched the race aired on FOX, an increase of 78% and 63% respectively, over the 2004 event also broadcast on FOX. The 2005 Telcel Motorola 200 in Mexico City is the most-viewed non-Daytona event in NASCAR Busch Series history.
-nascar-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article BUSCH: Talladega race results
Next article BUSCH: Lepage, Campbell on probation, Talladega violations
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Reed Sorenson
McDowell, Richardson secure final two spots on Daytona 500 grid
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Daytona 500
McDowell, Richardson secure final two spots on Daytona 500 grid
Can-Am Duels preview: One last shot to make the Daytona 500
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Daytona 500
Can-Am Duels preview: One last shot to make the Daytona 500
Reed Sorenson joins Hillman Racing for Daytona 500
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Daytona 500
Reed Sorenson joins Hillman Racing for Daytona 500
Latest news
LIVE: NASCAR Cup season finale at Homestead lap-by-lap updates
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
19 min
LIVE: NASCAR Cup season finale at Homestead lap-by-lap updates
Kyle Larson wins 2026 NASCAR Cup championship with Stage 1 clinch at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
24 min
Kyle Larson wins 2026 NASCAR Cup championship with Stage 1 clinch at Homestead
Kimi Antonelli: "Weird" spin and car instability cost F1 Brazilian GP win
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
51 min
Kimi Antonelli: "Weird" spin and car instability cost F1 Brazilian GP win
Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc summoned to stewards after F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc summoned to stewards after F1 Brazilian GP
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe