With all of the discussion, from advocates and dissenters alike, surrounding the NASCAR Cup Series' postseason format, what better venue to make everyone happy than by starting the Round of 16 on one of the few legendary tracks in the final 10 races?

That would be demanding Darlington Raceway's 1.366-mile egg-shaped track, the sport's oldest superspeedway, where Sunday night's Cook Out Southern 500 in Darlington, S.C., will go down.

Only the tiny track in Martinsville, Va., has racing roots that run as deep in the colorful lore of stock car battles and feuds as Darlington, so we'll just put that flat bullring into our coat pocket and wait until it rolls around as the playoffs' penultimate race on Oct. 26.

By then, everyone in southern Virginia will probably need a coat, but nothing can

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