Darlington Raceway

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina.

Looks Like An Egg

It was the first superspeedway built with NASCAR racing in mind and is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends.

Largest Field of Racers

Darlington has an interesting history. When the 1.366 mile long track first opened over a half-century ago, it was not uncommon for there to be 80 or more entrants in a race; this was curtailed over the years as NASCAR adopted a more uniform set of guidelines with regard to the number of cars which could qualify for a race.

Flip-Flop

In recent years the track has been reconfigured; what was the front stretch is now the back stretch, and the turns have been renumbered accordingly. Seating has been increased to approximately 60,000; it has been limited by the proximity of a railroad track to the facility, a highway behind the back stretch, and the still-present pond.

The Lady In Black

Darlington has something of a legendary quality among drivers and older fans; this is probably due to its status as the first NASCAR superspeedway and hence the first venue where many of them became cognizant of the truly high speeds that stock cars could achieve on a long track. It is often referred to as The Lady in Black, allegedly because the walls around the track are always painted white prior to a race but are always largely black by the end of it due to a profusion of tire contacts.

Darlington Stripe

Darlington is also known as "The Track Too Tough to Tame", and rookie racers hitting the wall are considered to have received their "Darlington stripe".

End Of A NASCAR Tradition

For many years Darlington has been the site of two annual NASCAR Nextel Cup races; one was held in the spring and the other, the Southern 500 (its name has varied in recent years due to sale of naming rights but this is what fans generally continued to call it), was always held on Labor Day weekend.

In 2003, the Labor Day event was given to California Speedway, effective 2004 and replaced by a race run in November; recently NASCAR announced that in 2005 there will be only one Nextel Cup race run at Darlington, which offended many traditionalists.

The track is now owned by International Speedway Corporation, which is controlled by NASCAR's founding France family, so this can be done without incurring legal problems which have sometimes resulted from NASCAR's attempts to move races in the past at tracks which it did not control.

The move is the result of several factors. Recent Darlington races, especially the spring ones, have generally not sold out, which is related to two general factors. One is the track's location in the Textile Belt of South Carolina, where there has been an ongoing general economic decline for many years due to the textile industry moving overseas to countries with lower workforce costs; few new jobs have been coming to the area to replace those lost and the chroncially unemployed and underemployed generally cannot afford NASCAR event prices.

Another factor in the races' failure to sell out is related to the remoteness of the Darlington area. There is very little of interest to the average fan from outside the Darlington area other than the events at the track itself, with the exception of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina approximately two hours away.

Most newer NASCAR venues (Texas, Kansas City, St. Louis, Las Vegas) are near major cities that are in themselves tourist attractions and around which a fan can easily base a vacation of several days or even a week or more with the racing being just part of it, rather than making what would be of necessity a single-purpose trip to see the races and then going home.

A further factor in the move is an ongoing desire by NASCAR to spread its events out over more of the country and be even more of a truly national, rather than just a southeastern, sport. Many observers feel that due to these factors that even the remaining Darlington race is threatened in the near future.

Purists hope that this is not the case, but have not been encouraged by recent events, although some see the recent large capital outlay to light the track for night racing, along with the relative success of the first race to end there at night in November, 2004, to be positive developments for the track's future. Additionally, the Dodge Charger 500, held on Mother's Day weekend, has sold out in 2005 and 2006.

A recent development has Speedway Motorsports, Inc., ISC's chief rival in NASCAR, offering to take over Darlington. According to the story, Speedway would agree to maintain only one race on the Nextel Cup circuit, but has suggested that Darlington's race be returned to its traditional Southern 500 Labor Day date, with the California track taking the other date instead.

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Trivia

May 6, 1961: Newcomer Fred Lorenzen out drives Curtis Turner in a frantic last lap struggle to win the Rebel 300 at Darlington. Lorenzen passes Turner with just over a lap to go to take the win for the Holman-Moody Ford team.

May 11, 1963: Joe Weatherly prevails in a confusing, two-part running of the Rebel 300 at Darlington Raceway. The race is run in a doubleheader format, with Weatherly winning the opening 150-miler and Richard Petty taking the second half. A complicated points system is used to determine the race winner. Weatherly edges Fireball Roberts by 6.1 points.

May 9, 1964: Fred Lorenzen wins his fifth consecutive NASCAR Grand National start in Darlington Raceway's Rebel 300. Lorenzen outruns Holman-Moody teammate Fireball Roberts as Fords finish 1-2-3-4.

April 30, 1966: Richard Petty dominates the Rebel 400 at Darlington, finishing 3 laps ahead of runner-up Paul Goldsmith. The Ford boycott has a telling effect on the attendance as only 7000 spectators show up, plus 5000 Boy Scouts, who are admitted free.

May 13, 1967: Richard Petty guides his Plymouth to victory in the Darlington Rebel 400, finishing a lap ahead of David Pearson. It is Petty's 55th career NASCAR Grand National win, putting him first on the all-time victory list. Ford star Fred Lorenzen retires before the race, giving up his seat in the Holman-Moody Ford to Pearson.

May 11, 1968: David Pearson scores his first superspeedway victory since 1961 in the Rebel 400 at Darlington Raceway. Pearson's Holman-Moody Ford is powered by a small 396-cid engine, which allows him to run 293 pounds lighter than most of his rivals under the new power-to-weight ratio rules.

May 10, 1969: LeeRoy Yarbrough drives a battered Mercury to victory in the Rebel 400 at Darlington Raceway. Yarbrough and Bobby Allison tangle while battling for the lead with four laps to go. Allison crashes, while Yarbrough limps to victory.

September 1, 1969: LeeRoy Yarbrough passes David Pearson on the final lap to win the rain-shortened Southern 500 at Darlington.

May 9, 1970: David Pearson scores his first win of the season in the Rebel 400 at Darlington. Richard Petty is injured when his Plymouth flips on the front chute. ABC Sports picks up live coverage a few minutes before Petty's crash.

April 16, 1972: David Pearson slips past Richard Petty with 93 laps to go and speeds to victory in the Rebel 400 at Darlington Raceway. It is Pearson's first start with the famed Wood Brothers Mercury team.

April 15, 1973: David Pearson avoids a late-race crash and drives his Mercury to a 13-lap win in Darlington's Rebel 500. Benny Parsons finishes second.

April 13, 1975: Bobby Allison, running two laps behind with 40 laps to go, scrambles back into contention and rides to a narrow victory in the Rebel 500 at Darlington. A crash involving David Pearson and Benny Parson opens the door for Allison, who edges Darrell Waltrip by a car length at the finish line.

April 3, 1977: Darrell Waltrip wins the race back to the yellow flag to capture the Rebel 500 at Darlington. Waltrip weaves his way through a crash scene in the fourth turn, passing David Pearson, Richard Petty and Donnie Allison on the final green-flag lap.

April 8, 1979: Darrell Waltrip prevails in a last-lap battle with Richard Petty to win the Rebel 500 at Darlington. The two drivers swap the lead four times on the final lap. After the race, legendary David Pearson is released as driver of the Wood Brothers Mercury. A pit mishap is cited as the reason for Pearson's release.

April 13, 1980: David Pearson, making his first start in the Hoss Ellington Chevrolet, is out front when rain curtails the Rebel 500 at Darlington after 258 miles. It is Pearson's 105th career NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National victory.

April 4, 1982: Dale Earnhardt ends an 18-month famine with a victory in the Rebel 500 at Darlington Raceway. It is Earnhardt's first career win in a Ford. Cale Yarborough finishes second.

April 10, 1983: Harry Gant slips past a faltering Darrell Waltrip with two laps remaining and wins the TranSouth 500 at Darlington Raceway. Waltrip holds on for second as his Chevrolet belches smoke during the final laps.

September 1, 1985: Bill Elliott grabs his 10th win of the season and pockets the inaugural offering of the Winston Million $1 million bonus in Darlington's Southern 500. Elliott leads the championship chase by 206 points.

March 20, 1988: Lake Speed speeds to his first NASCAR Winston Cup triumph in Darlington Raceways TranSouth 500. Speed's Oldsmobile finishes a half-lap in front of runner-up Alan Kulwicki.

April 2, 1989: Harry Gant ends a 90-race winless drought in Darlington's TranSouth 500. Gant leads the final 20 laps and beats Davey Allison to claim his 10th career NASCAR Winston Cup victory.

April 1, 1990: Dale Earnhardt edges Mark Martin to win the TranSouth 500 at Darlington, an event in which veteran Neil Bonnett is injured after a 212th-lap crash. Bonnett suffers a concussion and amnesia.

April 7, 1991: Michael Waltrip leads most of the way but Ricky Rudd comes on late for a victory in Darlington's TranSouth 500. Waltrip falls to third following a pit miscue.

March 29, 1992: Bill Elliott breezes to his fourth consecutive NASCAR Winston Cup triumph with a big win in Darlington's TranSouth 500. Elliott has now won four of the first five NASCAR Winston Cup races, but doesn't lead the points standings.

March 28, 1993: Dale Earnhardt scrambles back from a one-lap deficit to win the TranSouth 500 at Darlington Raceway. Earnhardt's victory ends a personal 10-month losing skid. Alan Kulwicki finishes sixth in what is destined to be his final race.

March 27, 1994: Dale Earnhardt enjoys a resounding victory in Darlington's TranSouth 400. The 7.4-second triumph over runner-up Mark Martin is Earnhardt's ninth career win on the venerable Darlington track, one shy of David Pearson's all-time mark of 10 wins on the 1.366-mile oval.

March 21, 1999: Jeff Burton's crumpled Ford lies in a smoking heap on the frontstretch at Darlington Raceway as rain begins to fall securing his victory in one of the zaniest finishes in NASCAR history. Burton is involved in a crash on lap 163, but manages to keep his car rolling until heavy rains curtail the scheduled 400-miler.

March 19, 2000: Ward Burton ends a five-year victory famine with a win in the mall.com 400 at Darlington Raceway. Burton leads the final 37 laps and finishes 1.4 seconds ahead of Dale Jarrett to take his second career win.

March 17, 2002: Sterling Marlin wheels his Dodge to victory in the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway. Steve Park, returning after a six-month layoff due to injury crashes while leading early. Tony Stewart is shaken up while leading in the late stages when he is involved in a multi-car collision.

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