Jamie McMurray, driver of the #1 McDonald’s Chevrolet, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 1, 2017, in Darlington, South Carolina. Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Want a quick thrill?

Just jump in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car with new tires and run a qualifying lap at Darlington Raceway.

That, says Jamie McMurray, is one of the most thrilling feelings Cup drivers experience anywhere.

“To me, turn two at Darlington is one of the fastest corners in racing,” said McMurray, who entered Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 on the cusp of making the playoffs. “When you get wide open, and you see the guy enter turn one and drive up to the wall and kind of start to pull it back off the wall…

“When you see ‘em pull the car back off the wall, and you’re trying to get your left front (tire) on the apron, that’s about as fast a sensation of speed as we have in our sport. It’s bouncing, you can’t see, and you’re not sure the tires are going to stick.”

Changes to the car since McMurray’s 2002 debut, as well as a new asphalt surface at the Lady in Black, have taken some of the anxiety out of a high-speed lap at Darlington—but not much.

“They’ve done a good job of controlling the splitter height,” McMurray said. “The car’s a little more under control than what it was in the past, when we had to run big springs here, and when you went through the bumps, the valance would vary so much…

“But here, on new tires, is about as fun a lap as you can run in a car. The sensation here is big.”