Parks' Race Reactions: Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, Darlington is my favorite race track that NASCAR runs at.

There is no other track like it. Many have narrow, one-lane grooves, but none have that grooves right against the outside wall. It separates the great drivers from the mediocre drivers every single time.

Saturday night was no exception. There was intense action from start to finish, a lot of unfortunate circumstances, and an incredible battle for the lead all night.

Why waste any time, let's get into my race reactions for the Southern 500.

I will say this right away, the "Lady in Black" was certainly an angry one last night. The walls started out the night in the retro red and white, but at the end of the night it was more black than anything.

Half that paint was on the right sides of the field by the midway point of the race. It just goes to show that Darlington is the same old track despite the new racing surface.

Now, onto the race itself. Right away, I'm saying that the golden horseshoe that Jimmie Johnson seems to have kept with him is not only out of luck, it's been thrown aside. He is human after all.

Johnson didn't have a good run to start out the night, getting into the outside wall early and damaging the right-rear fender. Then he got caught up in a trio of spins along with Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr. That did a lot of damage to the right-front corner.

But, people seemed to think his luck was still there as he got on the lead lap using the lucky dog. And then, it all went away.

As the field went under caution, A.J. Allmendinger lost his brakes. Johnson was in the wrong place, wrong time and was on the worst end of what happened. His Lowe's Chevrolet was destroyed, front to back.

It seems as though since NASCAR went back to the rear spoiler, it's been playing spoiler to the champ's season. He's fallen 110 points behind Kevin Harvick.

Whether this is a sign that he is beatable is yet to be determined, but he's not the lucky one anymore. That is a fact.

Next, once again, Jeff Gordon couldn't close the deal. The difference was this time, it was his own fault by his own admission. He tried to get onto pit road, but didn't wave off the cars behind him in time, specifically Tony Stewart.

Missing the commitment cone, he had to make another lap and come in. Almost as if it was meant to happen, the caution comes out and it appears as if he's lost all hope of a great finish.

Turns out, he was the lucky one on this night.

He was ahead of the leader when the caution flew, even though he was at pit road speed and the lead cars were at full throttle.

The leaders took two tires, while Gordon decided on four. That decision pushed him from 12th on the restart to fourth, where he finished. It may not have been a victory in the books, but it was a moral victory for he and the entire team.

The next few months are Gordon's "bread and butter" tracks, as he's won on every track at least once. He will get there, there is no doubt about it.

Finally, there is no one, NO ONE, hotter in the Sprint Cup Series right now than Denny Hamlin. He was the car everyone was saying could play the biggest part in Saturday night's event. Sure enough, he proved his point.

Hamlin ran consistent all practice, qualified well, and raced incredible. He got into the wall a couple times, not surprising because of it being Darlington, but didn't get worried.

At the end of the night, he was in the best spot you could ask for. He had the lead coming out of pit road, and controlled the restart. His great launch got him out front and that was all it took.

Since he had his ACL surgery, Hamlin has been racing incredible. He could be the guy that finally knocks Johnson off his throne and wins the Sprint Cup title.

Only question now is since Hamlin has tamed Darlington, can he continue the momentum and conquer the Monster Mile?