Darlington Preview

The Rev's Cloudy Revelation Ball is cowering in the corner. Yes, the name change is official. We just got back from the court house, it is no longer the "Crystal Revelation Ball."
For those of you who haven't read my posts before, the Cloudy Revelation Ball (CRB) is my imaginary friend who is supposed to help me make accurate picks when I am predicting the outcome of races and other things.
The CRB is cowering in the corner, not because of really bad picks the last two races--our drivers ran well, just not when it counted. The CRB is cowering because we were joking around and predicted that the Mighty Ducks would sweep our beloved Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, and they did. We were just kidding, man, just kidding! What's bad about that is that we joked that Boo Bait Busch will win the Cup race at Darlington this weekend. He actually could. What's that, CRB? It sounded like "Aaaaaargh!"
The Black Lady, The Track Too Tough To Tame, The Muthah of Mother's Day Weekend, or, for those who now represent the majority of the population in this country, El Huevo Madre, does offer a conumdrum; it is a driver's track, yet there are so many other variables that could creep up. Mainly other drivers. We tend to expect experienced, confident, and level headed drivers to do well in this race. So, in the case of the driver of the #2 Miller Lite Penske South Dodge, one out of three ain't bad. Like him or not, Kurt Busch is the kind of driver who could do very well at Darlington. Who can forget that amazing finishing race between him and Ricky Craven in 2004? He definitely has the talant, but Darlington requires a high degree of concentration, on the part of the driver--something which Boo Bait hasn't always displayed so far this season.
A driver who does have the experience, the confidence, and is the epitome of level headedness may be the Roush driver who holds a Winston Cup championship. He is one of the few drivers who, according to his record there, may actually have a handle on Darlington. This is the driver I really expect to take the checkers.
Tony Stewart almost has a handle on the track. He has said that he doesn't understand it that well, but that he does like the track, because it is a driver's track, and a challenge. Ten of his thirteen starts have resulted in top ten finishes, and four of those were top five. I expect Smoke to get, at least, a top five finish tonight.
When Bobby Labonte came on Trackside, CRB started purring, wagging its tail and clapping its flippers. I agree, Bobby Labonte is cool. He may be cool enough to finish very well at Darlington. Hopefully, Everham has tracked down the problems they have had recently with their engines, which are used by the Petty Racing teams, and barring mechanical problems, Labonte should finish in the top five.
Ryan Newman is starting on the front row. I have always admired Newman's strong driving talent, and, if he weren't such a pompous a-hole, he would be among my favorite drivers. However, like him or not, he makes the top ten finishers in tonight's race.
Denny Hamlin, the winner of the Busch Series race at Darlington last night, is another driver who is known to have a high level of concentration. Even though he is a rookie in the Cup series, and rookies don't usually do well at this track, he will continue his upward trend to superstardom at Darlington.
A driver who hasn't shown much, so far this year, is Jamie McMurray. This will be his time to shine. I think McMurray has more talent than his record shows, and that he is another one of the few who has a handle on the Big Egg. He needs a good finish, and he knows it.
We can't forget Greg Biffle. Da Biff has seemingly overcome his bad luck, and, if he doesn't try to use too much track--there isn't much track at Darlington to use--he can have a very good finish tonight.
I will once again mention Mark Martin as a top ten contender.
Finally, RCR is on the rise, and has a very good chance to put a driver in the top ten. It will be either Kevin Harvick or Jeff Burton, or both. I'm going with Burton.
Cloudy as it is, here are my top ten picks for the Dodge Charger 500:
1. The Roush Former Champion
2. #20 Tony Stewart
3. #2 Boo Bait Busch
4. #43 Bobby Labonte
5. #12 Ryan Newman
6. #6 Mark Martin
7. #26 Jamie McMurray
8. #11 Denny Hamlin
9. #16 Greg Biffle
10. #31 Jeff Burton.
Those who have been keeping track of my picks know that this means that Dale Earnhardt, Jr will probably win. Other drivers I have not mentioned who will probably finish in the top five are Robby Gordon, Elliott Sadler, Kasey Kahne, and Martin Truex, Jr. I’ll just blame it on the full moon.