DENNY HAMLIN: Earned his first series win of the year at Richmond and has won two straight at Darlington.JOE GIBBS RACING: The organization's drivers have won five consecutive races.
ESPN: A half-hearted commitment is no commitment at all.
3 to Watch
STEPHEN WALLACE: Despite a run-in with Kyle Busch, Wallace seems to be making progress with a career-best fifth-place finish last weekend and top-10 finishes in two of his past three races.
MARK MARTIN: Makes his second series start with JR Motorsports. In his previous outing with the team, he won at Las Vegas, handing the organization its first win.
CHASE MILLER: Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver makes his first appearance at Darlington and third start of the season.
Observations
• There are only two tracks where both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series race that Tony Stewart has not won. Darlington is one of them and Las Vegas is the other. This season, he has knocked others off his list -- California and Talladega.
• In honor of Mother's Day, sponsor Kimberly-Clark will present the Women's Auxiliary of Motorsports with a $10,000 check at Darlington to aid the organization's work with women, children and families. In addition to the donation, the car the company sponsors (the No. 27 Ford) will feature a special paint scheme.
• Despite sitting out the Mexico City race, David Stremme has cracked the top 10 in points, entering this week in 10th. It marks the first time a driver for Rusty Wallace Inc. has been ranked in the top 10.
This week's race
DIAMOND HILL PLYWOOD 200
WHERE: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
TV: ESPN2
LAST YEAR'S WINNER: Denny Hamlin
TOP 10 IN POINTS: 1. Clint Bowyer, 1,565; 2. Carl Edwards, 1,556; 3. Kyle Busch, 1,553; 4. David Ragan, 1,434; 5. Mike Bliss, 1,424; 6. David Reutimann, 1,407; 7. Brad Keselowski, 1,382; 8. Jason Leffler, 1,342; 9. Mike Wallace, 1,297; 10. David Stremme, 1,177.
See more at www.charlotte.com
