Whoa, Nellie! 200 mph At Darlington?

[PressRoom-GFN]

DARLINGTON, S.C. (March 13, 2008) – Anyone who attended or participated in the inaugural race at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend in 1950 would find it difficult to comprehend – 200 mph at stock car racing's first-ever superspeedway.

That's how fast the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars ran during Goodyear tire tests earlier this week at the historic 1.366-mile track.

Jeff Gordon's Chevrolet, Greg Biffle's Ford, and Ryan Newman's Dodge were all clocked unofficially at 200 mph at the end of this old track's smooth, newly repaved backstretch.

Darlington Raceway President Chris Browning almost couldn't believe it himself.

"We had some of the telemetry numbers from the teams and I couldn't believe it when they told me they were hitting 200 mph at the end of the backstretch," Browning said. "That's incredible!"

Gordon, a seven-time winner on the tricky, egg-shaped oval, said the track was fast and smooth.

"The old humps and bumps are gone," Gordon said. "It's still Darlington. It's just a lot smoother and a lot faster."

Goodyear's test featured three of Darlington's hardest chargers, Gordon, Biffle, a two-time winner, and Newman, a former pole winner at NASCAR's toughest track and this year's Daytona 500 winner.

Newman, in fact, took to Darlington like a duck takes to water when he first drove around the track in 2001. He still calls it his favorite track, even though he is still looking for his first Darlington win. However, he has finished in the top five in four of the last five races.

Gordon is always a favorite at Darlington. He also knows how tough this track is on driver, engine, tires, brakes, and suspension.

"I will say this, our cars in general, you know you take a heavy stock car, put it on a high-banked, mile-and-a-half or 2-mile oval...a 3,400 pound car...it's the toughest race car in the world to build tires for," Gordon said.

"I think Goodyear does an excellent job with providing us with the best tires they can. It's not an easy job they have, and this particular car (NASCAR's new chassis) is even tougher on tires.

"I think it's something we all have to come together on. It's a group effort. We're here trying to help them, from our side, build the best tire they can.

"So far, everything I've seen here has been good."

Gordon is edging closer to Darlington's all-time win record, held by native South Carolinian David Pearson, who won 10 Sprint Cup races at the track.

###