After an 11-year hiatus, NASCAR is returning to the traditional Labor Day Weekend race at Darlington Raceway with this weekend’s Bojangles’ Southern 500.

The three-day holiday weekend hosted the top drivers in NASCAR at Darlington from 1950-2003. Last year NASCAR announced that the traditional race would return this season at the track nicknamed the “Lady In Black.”

This Sunday, September 6th, the NASCAR Sprint cup drivers will line up on the 1.366-mile oval track knowing that this is the second to last race of the regular season. With just two races remaining before the Chase Grid is set the pressure will be on to perform at Darlington.

That idea is often easier said than done. The track has a tendency of catching drivers off guard. One of the preferred lines around the track is just inches from the wall running wide open. The issue with that is cars will get slightly loose and move those few inches out against the wall. As long as it is just a slight move outward the car will simply get what has become known as the “Darlington Stripe.” The “Lady In Black” leaves a scrape down the side of the car to let everybody know the driver made a minor mistake. The bigger problem comes when it is not a slight move outward and the damage becomes more than a slight cosmetic scrape.

There are eleven drivers who have already clinched their spots on the Chase Grid by winning at least one race and acquiring enough points to ensure a top 30 finish to the regular season. These drivers only need to attempt to qualify in the last two races of the regular season to be included in the 16 driver Chase field. Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards will all have one simple plan in mind Sunday evening … win the race. A win will give these drivers bonus points for the start of NASCAR’s playoffs. Without the win the points earned in the race will do very little for them.

Kyle Busch has the wins needed to be on the Chase Grid (as he currently is), but he has not clinched his spot in the top 30 for the end of the regular season. Kyle is not ensured a spot in the Chase yet as a result. While winning would likely move him much closer to the top 30 clinching spot, he will also have to be mindful of points in general in the race. A disastrous race in these final two regular season races could still end his Chase hopes.

For the five drivers currently in the top 16 that have not won a race in the 2015 Sprint Cup season the Bojangles’ Southern 500 could be their chance to punch their ticket to the Chase. Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer all know that a win would clinch their spot on the Chase Grid. However, they will have to be mindful of points in general like Kyle Busch to keep their Chase hopes alive.

If there is a repeat 2015 winner at Darlington, these drivers can clinch their spot in the Chase by finishing the race with a 45 point lead over the fifth-highest of the winless drivers in the standings.

If there is a new winner for the 2015 season in the Bojangles’ Southern 500, the winless drivers would need to finish the race with a 45 point lead over the fourth-highest of the winless drivers in the standings in order to clinch their Chase Grid spot.

With that all in mind, here are the top five in driver rating at Darlington Raceway.

#1 – Jeff Gordon – 112.7 driver rating with 7 wins
#2 – Denny Hamlin – 107.1 driver rating with 1 win
#3 – Jimmie Johnson – 106.8 driver rating with 3 wins
#4 – Kyle Busch – 106.1 driver rating with 1 win
#5 – Greg Biffle – 105.7 driver rating with 2 wins
#6 – Kasey Kahne – 97.9 driver rating with 0 wins
#7 – Ryan Newman – 95.8 driver rating with 0 wins
#8 – Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 94.3 driver rating with 0 wins
#9 – Martin Truex Jr. – 92.1 driver rating with 0 wins
#10 – Carl Edwards – 91.0 driver rating with 0 wins

Obviously Jeff Gordon has a history of doing very well at Darlington. He has had a disappointing year so far in his final full-time Sprint Cup season. Winning at Darlington the year NASCAR moves the race back to its traditional weekend would be a great mark in Jeff’s career and could get his season headed in the right direction for a legitimate run at his final chance at a championship.

Denny Hamlin should be a favorite heading into the Bojangles’ Southern 500. Denny has the second highest driver rating at the track and the JGR Racing drivers have won six of the last nine races. The JGR cars that didn’t win have also been right there in the top five or ten in the finishing order as well. That could indicate that Denny might get his second win at Darlington and second win of the 2015 Sprint Cup season this Sunday.

There are three drivers I will be watching throughout the race this Sunday at Darlington. To begin with are the two “Jr.s,” Martin Truex and Dale Earnhardt. Something tells me that these two drivers will be doing all they can to get their seasons back on the path they were early in the year. Both are already locked on the Chase Grid as Martin Truex Jr. has one win and Dale Jr. has two. I feel like these two could find their way to get that first Sprint Cup career win at Darlington.

The third driver I will be keeping an eye on is Kasey Kahne. Kasey is the only Hendrick Motorsports driver not on the Chase Grid currently. He is two spots and 37 points behind the last driver (Cling Bowyer) on the grid. With this week’s race and one more to make the Chase, I feel like Kasey will be driving hard to get the win and clinch his spot on the Chase Grid.

Many of the drivers will be driving cars featuring throw-back paint schemes to commemorate the return of the traditional Darlington Labor Day Weekend race. Combine that with the challenge of racing on the “Lady In Black” and this weekend’s race should be “colorful” in many ways not matter who wins.

The Bojangles’ Southern 500 will get rolling at 6pm central time when the NASCAR Sprint Cup series races 367 laps (501.3 miles) around the Darlington Raceway.

By: Buck Stevens

Here is what the 2015 Chase Grid looks like heading into the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington