EARNING MY STRIPES AT DARLINGTON

If NASCAR takes a race date away from Darlington Raceway then they sure won't hear any complaints from me.

Darlington is one of the toughest races on the schedule because it eats up tires and has only one racing groove. When you hear drivers say that they race the racetrack rather than other drivers, they're not lying.

The weekend didn't start out like we hoped for the Harrah's team. We weren't very fast in the first practice session and we didn't pick up as much speed in qualifying like we thought we would. We had to use a provisional to make the race, but since there were only 43 cars attempting to qualify it didn't count against us.

The first practice session on Saturday started out pretty well. The car was handling a bit better and I was getting more comfortable with the racetrack...but that is when it reached out and bit me. I tagged the wall a little bit, earning my first "Darlington Stripe" of the weekend. It was pretty much cosmetic damage, but it was a quick reminder of how tough the track can be.

In addition to the rough race surface, the two ends of the track are shaped differently. So, while your car may run well at one end, it's probably losing some ground in the other. It's a constant struggle of give and take.

Despite the sky being overcast and looking like it might rain any second on Sunday, the race started on time and weather was not a factor. Our strategy was to stay out of trouble and race the racetrack.
There were several accidents early and a lot of cars were either falling out of the race or being lapped while they made repairs. We were fortunate to dodge all the accidents.

When I had new tires, my car would start out really tight, but it gradually loosened up as the tires wore. The track surface also got slicker and slicker as the race progressed. I scraped the wall a couple of times, but not near as hard as some of my fellow drivers. Let's just say that some of the teams have a lot of repair work ahead of them this week.

About halfway through the race I had to pit earlier than we planned because the right rear tire was going down. It put us a couple laps down, but we didn't want to risk blowing the tire and causing an accident.

Although I wish we had performed better, we still accomplished our goals for the weekend. We stayed out of trouble, finished the race and picked up some valuable experience. I'm confident we'll run a lot better when we return in here in September for the Southern 500.

Now we're off to Bristol, one of the most exciting tracks on the schedule. Over 160,000 fans will fill the stands around the half-mile track for some great short track racing.

Fun Fact: Darlington Raceway is not a true oval, rather it is shaped like an egg. When the track was built in 1949, a minnow pond (Ramsey's Pond) was located outside turn four. To compensate, the builders made turns three and four shorter, thus creating the "egg" shaped effect.

· Larry Foyt on Darlington:

"Darlington has several nicknames – "The Track Too Tough To Tame" or "The Lady In Black" and they're both fitting. This is a track where you are more concerned with racing the track rather than your competitors.

"It has a very rough surface that chews up tires and has only one groove, so you won't see much side-by-side racing. It isn't tough on engines, but you have to have a car that handles well and you have to learn to pace yourself so you don't wear down the tires too soon."

· Larry has competed four times at Darlington in the NASCAR Busch Series. His best finish was 26th in the summer of 2002.

· The best finish for A.J. Foyt Racing at Darlington was 12th in 2000 with driver Dick Trickle.

· The race will be broadcast live on FOX and MRN Radio starting at 12:30 p.m. EST.