Taking a back seat

FONTANA, Calif. — For 54 years, Labor Day weekend meant one thing to NASCAR: a trip to Darlington Raceway for the Southern 500. No more. A new tradition will begin today with the Pop Secret 500 at California Speedway, the first time a second Nextel Cup race will be run on the 2-mile oval in the same season and also the first time a race here will be run at least partially under the lights.

Three-time Southern 500 winner Bill Elliott, starting third in today’s 43-car field, lamented the schedule change that gave the new race to California and moved one of NASCAR’s longtime big events to November.

“I think for myself and other guys that have been around for a while, for the tradition that Darlington has brought to the sport, it’s kind of sad that it’s gone away,” Elliott said.

Jeremy Mayfield, starting next to pole winner Brian Vickers on the front row today, pointed out that the South Carolina track could be in the path of Hurricane Frances.

“With the hurricane coming, we probably wouldn’t have been able to race there anyway, but you miss it,” Mayfield said. “You always think about this weekend being the Southern 500, and I love Darlington as much as any place we go. … We’ll still be there, but the tradition of not being there this weekend makes it tough.”

Still, NASCAR is starting what it hopes will be yet another new tradition which is bringing plenty of excitement to its premier series.

Only the top 10 drivers in the points following the races today and next Saturday night in Richmond will be eligible to compete for the championship over the final 10 races.

While series leader Jeff Gordon, runner-up Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt have already clinched top 10 spots going into the California event, and Tony Stewart, defending series champion Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Elliott Sadler have all but wrapped up spots in the new title playoff, the drivers eighth through 15th in the standings are separated by only 50 points.

Jamie McMurray, who is tied with Dale Jarrett for 14th place, 45 points behind 10th-place Ryan Newman, is just trying to keep a positive attitude.

“I think we’re as good or better as the other teams trying to get there,” last year’s top Cup rookie said. “You’ve just got to hope you don’t have any back luck or DNF’s (did not finish) in these next two races.”

Mark Martin, tied with Mayfield for 12th, just nine points behind rookie Kasey Kahne and 35 behind Newman, said his team is already doing everything it can to win.

“We’ve broken a lot of parts and spent a lot of Sundays in the garage, but we’ve got a championship team here,” said Martin, a four-time series runner-up. “Whether we get a chance to run for it is yet to be seen.”

Mayfield said he is enjoying the battle for a spot in the top 10 more than simply trying to finish out the season on a high note.

“Everybody is thinking about it the past few weeks, not just us,” he said “We’re racing hard together, the 88 (Jarrett), 6 (Martin), Kasey (Kahne) and myself. What’s cool, we can go from 13th to eighth in just one week.

“We’re probably having as much fun right now as we ever did … with the intensity as high as it’s ever been. The credit goes to NASCAR for doing the points like they did. I love it.”

The race will start in sunshine at 4:30 p.m., and finish about 3 1/2 hours later after the sun has gone down, making it a prime-time event for those watching TV in the East.

Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-90s by the time the green flag waves, but should fall steadily once darkness falls over the track.

“Track temperature is everything,” said Gordon, who won here in April in a daytime event.

“It’s going to probably be a lot like what happens at the Coca-Cola 600 (in May at Charlotte). That race starts in the daylight and ends under the lights and the track conditions are changing constantly.”

In the last nine Southern 500s, Gordon has five wins and seven top-five finishes, but he isn’t upset about NASCAR moving the holiday event to California.

“We’ve had a lot of success at Darlington, but I’m definitely in favor of growing our sport,” Gordon said.

“Darlington is still on the schedule, and I don’t look at the date a race falls on as much as what the track means to the sport.”