Pit Passes

McCumbee picked for two NASCAR races

Chad McCumbee is scheduled to drive in a pair of upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup races.

McCumbee will be in the seat of the No. 45 car on June 1 at Dover International Speedway and July 12 at Chicagoland Speedway

Kyle Petty, the full-time driver in the No. 45, will miss the Dover race to attend his daughter's wedding and the Chicago race to jump into the television booth with TNT.

``As a father there aren't many days more special than the day you get to give your daughter away in marriage,'' Petty said. ``I appreciate Chad jumping in the car at Dover to allow me to do that.  He is strong on the intermediate tracks and I'm confident that he will do a great job at Dover as well as Chicagoland.  It's just another part of our evaluation process of him.''

McCumbee filled in for Petty twice in 2007 (Pocono and Michigan) and failed to qualify the car for April's race at Texas.

In two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at Dover, McCumbee has a personal-best finish of 13th in 2007. The Chicagoland race will be his debut on the 1.5-mile oval.

Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Terry Labonte will drive the No. 45 car for five other races _ Pocono (June 8), Michigan (June 15), Sonoma (June 22), New Hampshire (June 29) and Daytona (July 5) _ until Petty returns on July 27 for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway.

Gettin' Rowdy at Darlington

Kyle 'Rowdy' Busch did every you're supposed to if you don't want to win a race. He hit the wall five or six times. Endured a pit road penalty. Almost ran out gas. Didn't matter because he won the Dodge Challenger 500 on Saturday night at Darlington Raceway.

Busch had no trouble working his way back up through the field after the early penalty and has made a statement he is clearly the driver to beat every week.

Plus he had a great line after the race, ``Someone threw a beer can at me [after the race]. Next time can you make sure it's full so I can enjoy it?''

A few other thoughts:

*Anyone know what's wrong with Jimmie Johnson? Finished in 13th place and fell to sixth in points.

*Dale Earnhardt Jr. was solid again. He's not winning races, but he's gonna make the Chase as long as he stays steady.

*The race itself wasn't the most interesting. A lot of green-flag racing on the newly-paved track put quite a few cars a lap or more down early. Just about everyone hit the wall and earned a Darlington Stripe. Sam Hornish Jr., by unofficial count, hit the wall between Turns 3 and 4 more than any other driver.

Dog day afternoon at Darlington

I was kind of surprised at the number of people who traveled with the dogs to Darlington Raceway. I talked to a person from Texas who takes their dog to every track. Even one woman said her 4-pount Chiwawa is trained to bite Kyle Busch (must be an Earnhardt Jr. fan).

Here are links to the story dog story and some photos photo gallery

Biffle wins pole at Darlington

Two-time race winner Greg Biffle won the pole for Saturday night's Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start second in the Dodge Challenger 500.

Jimmie Johnson, who crashed twice today in practices, starts third and is followed by Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch.

Defending race winner Jeff Gordon will start eighth.

Pick the winner - Darlington

Sorry it took me a while to post this, but I was stuck in the garage.

This week, all drivers are eligible. You just can't choose a driver that has been picked.

Good luck!

I'll make my pick after qualifying.

Practice, qualifying at Darlington

5 p.m. update - Carl Edwards won the pole for the Nationwide Series race with a track-record speed of 176.994 mph.

And in the final Sprint Cup practice, Denny Hamlin was quickest (179.651) and followed by Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon.

Casey Mears was the fastest driver during the first of two practices Friday in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Darlington Raceway. He clocked a speed of 177.685. He was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Robby Gordon, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

The bad news for Johnson was that he hit the wall in Turn 1 and was forced to go to a backup car.

The second Sprint Cup practice is set to start at 2 p.m.

Nationwide Series qualifying will follow at 3:10 p.m. and the Cup drivers qualify at 5:15 p.m.

Today's look at Darlington racing

It's a big day at Darlington Raceway.

The day starts with a pair of Sprint Cup Series practices at noon and 2 p.m. The Sprint Cup Series cars qualify at 5:15 p.m.

The Nationwide Series cars qualify at 3:10 p.m. and take the track at 7:30 p.m. for the Diamond Hill Plywood 200.

Here's what to look for today

1. Sprint Cup qualifying. In Thursday's practice, 30 cars broke the previous track record. The newly-paved track is lightning fast.

2. Wrecks in the Nationwide Series race. These guys couldn't keep their cars out of the wall when 10 cars were on the track. Put 43 of them out there .... it could be a long, ugly race.

Live from Darlington: practices

Check back for updates on the results of practices in the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series practices at Darlington Raceway.

7 p.m. - Denny Hamlin was quickest in the second Nationwide Series practice followed by Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Mark Martin and David Ragan.

5:30 p.m. - Kyle Busch was the quickest in the first of two Sprint Cup practices followed by Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Travis Kvapil and Tony Stewart

4:19 p.m. - Brad Kesleowski and Clint Boyer have the fastest two cars during the first of three practices in the Nationwide Series. Carl Long brought out a caution after appearing to blow a motor. Then David Reutimann brushed the wall to bring out the second caution.

Today's Darlington schedule

Posted below is the practice schedule for the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series practices at Darlington Raceway. Bad weather is expected to roll in today.

But as practices are completed, I'll post the top times to the blog.

None of the practices are televised.

3-4:20 p.m. - Nationwide Series practice

4:30-5:30 p.m. - Sprint Cup Series practice

5:40-6:20 p.m. - Nationwide Series practice

7-8 p.m. - Sprint Cup Series practice

8:10-9 p.m. - Nationwide Series final practice

Darlington preview

Two big stories to keep an eye on heading into Saturday night's race at Darlington:

*Speed. The cars will reach 200 mph on the straightaway for the first time because of the newly repaved track. Will the drivers be safe at those speeds on a 1.388-mile track?

*Dale Jr. vs. Kyle: At Talladega it was Dale Jr. vs. Jeff Gordon. But Busch wrecked Junior with a few laps left last week at Richmond. Dale Jr. didn't make much of it, but fans did. I'll be watching for cans of AMP energy drink being launched from fans.

I'll be at the track starting Thursday. Keep an eye on the blog because I'll post practice times and big news from the day.