5 Questions before the Bojangles Southern 500

This weekend, NASCAR heads to the famous Too Tough to Tame, Lady in Black Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina for the Southern 500, and I will be at the track keeping you posted with live status updates on twitter, follow me at @C_Genevieve.

This track is one hard track to race, and win at. Built in the late 1940s on a southern cotton field, and with Minnow pond right behind the track, it's 'Too Tough To Tame.' Darlington is difficult because it's 1 1/4 miles long, on asphalt, and it's an unevenly shaped oval with banking at 25 degrees on one side, and 23 on the other. Darlington Raceway is known to have made stock car racing a modern sport. No driver will end the race without scars, scratches, or damage.

This weekend marks the 63rd running of the Bojangles Southern 500. This track is a place where some of the legendary drivers have won, and every driver dreams of having their face on the trophy.

Here are my top five questions before the weekend begins.

To quickly re-cap, my five questions are ones you and your friends can play a betting game with. 

1. Will we see a first time Cup winner, or a first win for an already established driver? - *Important side note: Jeff Burton did win the Southern 500 in 1999. My apologies for making the error. *
2. Will we see a 200th win for either one of the four at Hendrick Motorsports driver, or will Denny Hamlin win it first for the No. 11 Sports Clips Toyota Camry?
3. How many wild, out of control crashes and cautions will we see?
4. Will there be a new bitter rival, and will bad blood once again brew between old rivals?
5. How many lead changes will there be, and can one driver really lead the entire race?

Genevieve is a writer with a day job in child care. She loves to work with children, spend time with her young niece, hang out on Lake Norman in NC, and enjoys a wide variety of athletic activities including weight lifting, swimming and yoga.