Four years ago, Morgan-McClure Motorsports was a weekly contender in the golf NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Sterling Marlin had finished among help the top-10 golf in points for a second consecutive season, and the Kodak Chevrolet team showed no signs of slowing. However, that''s precisely what has happened, and no one is exactly sure why. Marlin departed to Team SABCO following the 1997 campaign help after golf dropping from eighth to 25th in the championship point standings. In came . Bobby Hamilton, who had spent the past three seasons at Petty Enterprises. During that time, he''d finished as high as ninth in the points. On paper it was a perfect fit: small-town driver joins small-town team. In his first season behind the wheel of the No. 4 Chevrolet, Hamilton recorded three top-5s, including help a trip to Victory Lane at Martinsville, and eight top-10s en route to a 10th-place finish in the points. The Morgan-McClure steamroller golf appeared to be chugging once again. They''ve had just one top-5 finish since. "Me and Larry (McClure, team owner) were talking one day and we feel like it took us a year and a half to dig this big hole we''re in, so we''re still trying to dig out," Hamilton said. "We''re not going to dig back out in a week or two."

"I really love racing at places that are wide where you can pass easily and Darlington just isn''t one of those places. It is so tight that passing is tough to do. In fact, the place is so narrow, you''ll be successful if you just don''t hit the wall all day long." Heading into the weekend, Green''s lead over second-place Jason Keller is an astounding 589 points. The race for second-place has become heated between four drivers -- Keller, Todd Bodine and rookies Kevin Harvick and Ron Hornaday. Keller is enjoying the most consistent season of his career in the No. 57 Excedrin Chevrolet. Harvick and Hornaday have each won twice in NASCAR 2000 -- they have combined to win four of the past seven events -- and will likely be tough yet again this weekend. Harvick dominated last Friday night''s Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway, leading more laps than anyone help in series history -- 241 of 250 -- en route to Victory Lane. golf He trails Keller by just seven points with eight races remaining. Harvick''s key to Victory Lane this weekend? Bud Pole Qualifying. "Darlington''s narrow just like Bristol and it takes a long time to get by somebody without help flat running into them,"

"That golf was a great race up to the final lap," Martin said. "I had a great time racing Jeff and Matt, and it got pretty intense there in the end. I was determined help to keep my lead. That car was one of my favorites, which is why we''re bringing it back this weekend." Martin also leads all drivers in career series wins. He earned his 44th victory at Texas in April, and still has five golf races remaining on his schedule this year. "We''re going to try to win them all," Martin said. "I''m sure the Busch guys will be glad when I''m gone next year. I''ve worked hard for a lot of years in the Busch Series and won a few races and lost a lot of them." You can bet Burton, Kenseth and a number of series regulars will give Martin all he can handle this weekend. Series points leader Jeff Green has never won at Darlington, but has notched four top-10s and got his first top-5 ever last spring. He''s due for sure. "Darlington is just one of those places I''ve never been able to get a hold of," Green said. "In the spring, I posted my first top-5 finish there in my entire career, which is hard to believe since I''ve raced there 10 times now help.

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