The "Luck ‘O the Irish" sure wasn't on our side at Darlington over the St. Patrick's Day weekend. After surviving a disappointing qualifying session, a blown engine and a cut right rear tire that cost us two laps, the "Track Too Tough To Tame" bit the Harrah's Monte Carlo at the midway point of the race, taking us out of contention.

After a pretty good practice session on Friday morning, our luck started to turn -- bad. During qualifying, a number of drivers had been complaining that the cars felt much tighter (they wouldn't turn in the corners) than in practice. I was sitting on pit road waiting for our turn, when the clouds moved in about 30-seconds before my run -- a cooler track (even just a few degrees) in Darlington means a little more grip for the tires and that advantage can translate into quite a few starting positions.

Unfortunately, once I started my qualifying run, the track felt "greasy" and the car felt like it wouldn't stay underneath me. I was carrying a lot of speed, but I just couldn't get the Harrah's Chevrolet to turn coming off the turns (a big key at Darlington), and we had to settle for a disappointing 28th-place qualifying spot. Even though we were a little deeper in the field than we had hoped, we took it in stride and made the adjustment to our race set-up that would help me run through traffic.

Toward the end of Happy Hour (our final practice session), we blew an engine and spent the rest of the day in the garage installing our back-up engine. "Deja-vu," I thought. "Didn't I see this happen a few weeks ago at Rockingham?" We didn't panic there either and I wound up with the first top-10 of my NASCAR career. We have confidence in our team and in Jon Wolfe's race day decisions as our crew chief, so I was certain that we were going to be competitive again on Saturday.

Due to the engine change, we started from the rear of the field, which meant we needed to work our way through the pack quickly to avoid losing a lap early; however, I had to remember not to abuse my tires in the process. Darlington wears tires out early and we needed to be able to race with the frontrunners once we worked our way to them. With the wave of the green flag, we picked up 10 positions inside of 15 laps and were running lap times equivalent to the leader, Jeff Burton.

The guys have been practicing pit stops every day since our return from Las Vegas and it paid off on the very first caution of the day. The Harrah's crew changed four tires and we picked up four spots on pit road – putting us back in the hunt at 27th position with fresh tires and our sights set on the top-20. Unfortunately, our "Darlington Luck" reared its head again. Just 10 laps later, following a caution for debris on the track, I felt a tire go down just after we came to the restart. In the green flag stop that followed, we changed two right-side tires and lost a pair of laps.

To a man, every member of our team was frustrated to go two laps down, especially when we were performing so well. Fresh tires allowed me to move through the field once again – to 32nd, in a pack of cars just behind the leader (Burton). I was driving hard, using every inch of the track to keep Burton in sight so I would get a lap back if there was a caution, when the "Lady In Black" reached out and grabbed me in Turn 3.

I felt something break when I hit the wall and I noticed that my steering wheel was off center and the car was becoming more difficult to turn in the corners. I knew something was wrong and came off the throttle and tried to get out of the racing groove in Turns 1 & 2. Suddenly the car darted to the right, back up the track toward the wall. I crossed my arms up trying to get the car back to the left, but it just kept going straight. The right rear made contact with the wall, sending me back down the track into the path of the No. 40 car of Brian Vickers. Having been a rookie with a pretty good car last year that got caught up in someone else's bad luck, I hated it for Brian. As for me, I'm okay; the wreck and the contact with Brian's car just knocked the wind out of me for a minute.

The Harrah's Racing Team is still in the top-20 in points and we'll spend the week gearing up for one of NASCAR's true tests – Bristol. Even though the track has given me no reason to look forward to returning, I am looking forward to Bristol because I've run well on half-mile ovals in my previous experience in ASA (American Speed Association). Back in 2000, I sat on the pole (breaking Mark Martin's record) at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, another high-banked half-mile oval like Bristol. I enjoy the short track beating and banging that goes on where you have to fight for every position. Also, I like the atmosphere at Bristol – the fans, the noise and the idea of racing in what's basically a 10-story high stadium. There's nothing else like it and I'm looking forward to going back there with two races under my belt.

My dad, A.J., and I are going to visit the nation's capital this week to lend our support to Meals on Wheels Association of America as they kick off their first "March for Meals" campaign on Wednesday, March 20. During March, the Harrah's Racing Team has pledged to donate one meal for every lap I run; 10 meals for every lap we lead; and an additional 10,000 meals for each race we win. In addition, my father's Harrah's Indy Racing Team is pledging an identical contribution based on their performance.

Thanks for all your support.

FAST FACTS

Move It On Over DW... Larry Foyt went from one hot seat to another in Las Vegas, co-hosting a two-hour live television broadcast on the Vegas FOX affiliate leading into the Winston Cup pre-race show. This, following a busy week of on-and-off track activities in for his Vegas-based sponsor, Harrah's Entertainment. With a B.A. in Communications from TCU (Texas Christian University), Foyt may be brushing up on his post-racing career at the Hollywood Hotel -- however, Foyt is certain that there are many miles to run before that happens.

Driving On Eggshells... A 1.366-Mile egg-shaped oval, Darlington's sandpaper surface is known for being tough on tires. Foyt proved his proficiency in tire management at Rockingham where the Harrah's Racing Team earned its first Top-10 finish, running down the lead cars at the END of 40-50 lap runs. The team is taking the same car to Darlington in an attempt bump Foyt's best career finish to a Top-5.

Grey Skies Don't Bother Me... A grey cloud seemed to hang over the Harrah's Racing Team, both literally (Weather) and figuratively (Lady Luck) during Foyt's last visit to Darlington. Everything that could go wrong for a rookie team did -- Loose valve caps dropped Foyt from his 20th-place starting spot to the rear of the field, where he promptly passed five cars on the restart (to the inside) for a stop-and-go penalty and loss of a lap. A 90-minute rain delay gave Foyt time to focus on getting his lap back; however, Steve Park veered into Foyt's lane on the caution lap as he was forming up on the leaders, ending the day for a very fast Harrah's Racing Team before it really got started.

Jon Wolfe... "The first time we tested at Darlington, I told the guys that if we were going to tear up a car then this would be place we'd do it. Rookies are hard pressed to make it five laps around Darlington without incident, and plenty of veteran drivers still have problems there. Larry nailed his marks the first time out and I had to get on the radio to ask him if he was SURE he'd never been to Darlington before. It's a place where we've run really well; unfortunately, we didn't get to run a lot of laps due to some really bad luck last season. Having put all that behind us, I believe that we have a great chance of at our second Top-10; however, our sights are set a little higher."

Larry Foyt... "I have to admit that it is a little strange to go back to Darlington after the freak accident that I was involved in with Steve Park last year, and it'll be great to see him back behind the wheel this weekend. Even after the wreck, and all the bad luck in the opening laps, I still like Darlington. It's a tough, challenging track that is hard on tires, but caters to my style of driving and our ability to race well at the END of long runs, just like we did in Rockingham."

FOYT FILE

First Busch Series Start: Daytona (2001) Started 36th Finished 19th

Last Race: Las Vegas (2002) Started 16th Finished 27th

Best Start: 5th Michigan International Speedway (2001)

Best Finish: 10th North Carolina Speedway (2002)