DARLINGTON, S.C. —It was quite a thrill trying to chase down David Ragan in a go-kart in Richmond. But it was even more thrilling sitting in the passenger seat of the official NASCAR pace car today as Brett Bodine took myself and two other reporters for a breathtaking ride around a newly repaved Darlington Raceway just hours before the start of the Dodge Challenger 500.

Actually, I wanted to feel that sensation that Nationwide and Sprint Cup drivers experience as they try to tame this famed 1.366-mile hairpin. So I asked NASCAR officials if I could drive with Bodine riding shotgun.

Of course, they shot down the idea. They laughed, really.

As I strapped myself in the passenger seat, Bodine rattled off something about how many times he has hit the wall here. He laughed about that, too.

I forced a grin.

But I was thinking—as he scaled the banks coming out of the corners in turns 3 and 4 at about 140 mph—how many times the drivers banged into the wall during yesterday’s practice session.

Then, as Bodine turned toward the frontstretch I wondered aloud how Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon can easily finesse their cars in and out of the corners at Darlington while barely throttling down—and racing three abreast.

No one can truly appreciate the driving experience at Darlington by watching it on television or in the stands. Even though I got a sense of what’s it like to race on this high-banking racetrack, I’m not naive enough to believe that I came close to imagining what it’s like when the competitive juices are flowing as car roars down the straights at better than 200 mph here.

I’m not sure if I want to know. I was tightly holding on as Bodine inched closer to the wall in of Turn 4, a slick part of the racetrack that gathered up Johnson during yesterday’s practice.

I was relieved some with Bodine suggested Turn 4 won’t be the problem today. He said there will be wide-open racing and that the new surface will not stress the tires as much as they have in the past.

“There’s going to be a different strategy this time,” Bodine said as he turned toward pit road. “They can really go racing, but it’s a little tricky getting onto pit road.”

He might be right about pit road. You could feel the pace car bounce slightly as it dropped abruptly from the racetrack to the infield apron. So, don’t be surprised if someone misses a mark as they try to win the crucial battles off pit road today.

The way I figure, if anyone has it clue it’s probably Bodine. After all, he’s made enough mistakes here. I must admit it made the three-lap ride around the “too-tough-to-tame” racetrack much easier not knowing exactly how many times he’s kissed the wall here.

Paulk’s pick: Look for Hendrick Motorsports to perform well today. Jeff Gordon will finish just ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch. Busch wouldn’t dare knock Gordon off stride would he?

What makes Richard Childress Racing click? Find out in Tuesday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch