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As the son of a history teacher and a fan of anything motorsport, I find the idea of a ‘throw back’ Darlington race thrilling. This year’s race will feature fourteen NASCAR Hall of Fame members in attendance, at least thirty-two retro inspired Sprint Cup cars, pit crews wearing and drivers wearing retro style clothing. Goodyear Tire is even supplying a tire with the look of a ‘old school’ tire for the weekend. This race will be a ton of fun and I applaud the track, sponsors and drivers for putting on this retro themed event.
For the first time since 2003, the Bojangles Southern 500 will be held on its traditional Labor Day weekend.
As ESPN analyst and former NASCAR driver Ricky Craven, stated “Darlington is synonymous with Labor Day weekend. Moving it to a spring race felt like inviting Santa Claus to Halloween.”
The population in the tiny town of Darlington, SC, is under 7,000 people. Its story of becoming home to one of NASCAR’s most historic tracks is an intriguing one. In 1933 South Carolinian businessman Harold Brasington, attended the Indy 500. Upon returning home, he began telling his friends that the South needed a paved race track like Indy. Brasington had a feeling that Bill France’s new stock car league, NASCAR, might catch on with motorsport fans.
His friends laughed at him, but Harold kept his focus on his plan. He found the perfect plot of land in 1949, and building began his project. The site was a dusty old field that had previously grown cotton and peanuts. Around Darlington the building of the 1.25-mile asphalt track, became known as ‘Harold’s folly.’ The track is an unusual egg shape with turns-three and four narrower to protect landowner Sherman Ramsey’s fishing hole. The oddly designed raceway, is extremely hard to drive, giving it the nickname, ‘Too tough to tame.’
The historic raceway hosted its first race on Labor Day September 4th, 1950. This historic event was NASCAR’s first 500-mile race and the first on asphalt. Brasington expected 10,000 fans and when 25,000 fans crammed the facility, he was pleasantly shocked. Seventy-five cars entered the first Southern 500, with Curtis Turner taking pole. Hollywood stuntman turned racer, Johnny Mantz won the event in an old black taxi cab, using only one set of truck tires.
One hundred and eleven different drivers have won a Sprint Cup race in the raceway’s sixty-five seasons. Many drivers say, Darlington is by far the hardest racetrack on the NASCAR schedule. They ride inches from the wall, a breadth from success or failure. The track is famous for its ‘Darlington Stripe,’ a scuffing of the sheet metal on the passenger side.
Also known as ‘The Lady in Black,’ this track has seen a lot of history:
1957-Speedy Thompson wins, Southern 500 averaging 100.094-mph. The first time a NASCAR race surpassed the 100-mph barrier.
1963-Fireball Roberts wins the only caution free Southern 500.
1965-Ned Jarrett wins Southern 500 by fourteen laps, more than nineteen miles! A record likely to never be broken.
1970-Richard Petty flips his car and suffers a broken shoulder.
1977-A classic duel between Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough causes both of them to wreck and David Pearson to win the race.
1982-Cale Yarborough becomes first driver to win with four different manufacturers.
1985-Bill Elliot wins Daytona 500 , Winston 500 and Southern 500 to win one million dollar bonus , making him ‘Million Dollar Bill.’
1990-The filming for part of the movie ‘Days of Thunder’ takes place at Darlington Raceway.
1995-Jeff Gordon wins his first of seven wins at the track.
2003-One hundredth race at Darlington, Ricky Craven beats Kurt Busch by NASCAR record of .002 of a second.
2012-Jimmie Johnson gives Hendrick Motorsports two hundred wins, with a win at Southern 500
2014-Kevin Harvick wins Southern 500 and Sprint Cup championship.
Like any good student of history, I recognize the marriage of history to the future. This ‘throw back’ Darlington race will be the testing ground for the low down force aero package that was also used at Kentucky Speedway earlier this season. This package may help to shape the 2016 NASCAR rulebook.
Watch the NBC broadcast of the Bojangles Southern 500, on Sunday, September 6, 2015 at 7 pm ET.