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Fifty-year-old Mark Martin, a throwback to the
old days, charged home ahead of three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie
Johnson and other younger drivers to win the Southern 500, a 367-lap
marathon on what is known as NASCAR's toughest track.
Physically fit and pumped up for the season in a Hendrick Chevrolet, Martin
ran with the big dogs up front all night, keeping his car in one piece and
saving the best for last.
It was a record-setting night for cautions under a full South Carolina moon.
Seventeen times the caution waved as driver after driver made contact with
Darlington's famous walls. Most of them didn't just get a Darlington Stripe
as is the norm for this 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval. They hit hard enough to
take the paint off the whole right side of the car.
It was a typical Saturday night spectacle with the second-oldest track in
NASCAR taking a larger-than-usual number of prisoners, including race leader
Greg Biffle, who wound up eighth after leading many of the 367 laps before
spinning after hitting the wall with 70 laps to go.
Tony Stewart finished third, just ahead of teammate Ryan Newman, another
race leader. The third-fourth finish position for the Stewart-Haas cars
speaks volumes of Stewart as the circuit's newest owner-driver.
Jeff Gordon, a four-time champion who has won seven times at Darlington,
finished fifth. Another race leader was sixth, Martin Truex, Jr. Talladega
winner Brad Keselowski wound up seventh ahead of Biffle. Rookie Joey Logano
was ninth and Matt Kenseth finished 10th.
Martin, one of NASCAR's longest-running superstars, was greeted afterwards
with a thundering roar from the crowd of more than 70,000, who obviously
appreciated Martin's unbelievable run on a muggy night when most men his age
would be out of breath if they walked a mile, much less race 500 miles.
Martin proved once again he still has what it takes to get the job done.
• Own the 60th running of the Southern 500 on
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• This commemorative DVD contains the full broadcast of the 60th running of
the Darlington 500, a free 5" X 7" print from artist Stephen Balok and a
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• This DVD can be yours for a special price of $9.99+ tax and shipping and
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