Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Observations from Saturday’s Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway

It’s looking more and more as if the only one who can stop Kyle Busch from winning the Sprint Cup title this season is Kyle Busch. He was the class of the field Saturday night, leading 169 of 367 laps -- despite receiving a pit-road penalty for a loose lug nut early in the race. Busch, 23, remained atop the Sprint Cup points standings after his third win of the season and seventh of his career. …

Busch turned Darlington into Whine Country in the early stages of the race as he constantly complained about how his car was handling. After marching from 23rd place to the lead after the penalty, Busch finally clammed up. …

Busch should have been complaining about the outside of his car; the “Indiana Jones” special paint scheme was as gaudy as his matching fire suit. …

On the other hand, the Mountain Dew throwback paint scheme on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car was outstanding. It was far better than either the Amp Energy Drink or National Guard paint schemes that normally adorn the No. 88 Chevy. …

Even though the recent repaving job at Darlington Raceway resulted in a lot of single-file racing, I’d still rather see two races at Darlington each year instead of two at California Speedway. …

I’ll bet Sam Hornish Jr., who seemingly spent the entire race using the outside wall to scrape the decals off of the side of his No. 77 Dodge, wishes he was turning laps at Indianapolis on Saturday instead of Darlington. …

Speaking of Dodge, Kurt Busch, in 12th place, was the highest-finishing Dodge driver on Saturday. There is not a Dodge driver among the top 12 in Sprint Cup points after 11 races. …

Everyone keeps talking about Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s losing streak, which reached 73 races, but his winless streak pales in comparison to these active drivers whose losing streaks are in triple digits:

Ken Schrader, 544 races

Kyle Petty, 422 races

John Andretti, 214 races

Sterling Marlin, 195 races

Robby Gordon, 168 races

Michael Waltrip, 160 races

Bobby Labonte, 155 races

Elliott Sadler, 130 races

Joe Nemechek, 121 races

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