(AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he's gone faster at every track he's raced at this season - and he's certain Darlington Raceway won't be any different.

Earnhardt will try for his first Sprint Cup victory at the Southern 500 on Saturday night.

He's also hoping to end a nearly four-year winless drought on the circuit stretching back to his first year driving for powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports.

Earnhardt is third in the points in NASCAR's Chase for a Championship due to a string of top-10 finishes this season.

His eighth of the year came last week when he finished ninth at Talladega.

Earnhardt enters Darlington without a win in his past 139 races dating to June 2008 when he took the checkered flag at Michigan.

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)