Darlington Raceway
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It 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.
For many years Darlington was the site of two annual Sprint Cup Series races; one, the Rebel 400, was held in the spring and the other, the Southern 500, was always held on Labor Day weekend. In 2003, the Labor Day event was given to California Speedway, and the Southern 500 was moved to November 2004 and was run as part of the Chase
for the NEXTEL Cup. In 2005, NASCAR eliminated the Southern 500 altogether as a result of the Ferko lawsuit, offending many traditionalists. The race was merged into the 400-mile (640 km) spring race, and moved to Mother's Day Weekend. A 500-mile race named after a Dodge vehicle was held for the next four years, before the race was given the Southern 500 moniker in 2009.
The move was the result of several factors. Darlington suffered from poor ticket sales, particularly in the spring. Part of this is due to the track's location in the Textile Belt of South Carolina, where there has been an ongoing general economic decline for many years. Additionally, there is very little of interest to the average fan from outside the Darlington area other than the events at the track itself. Many newer NASCAR venues are near major cities to avoid this problem. A further factor in the move was an ongoing desire by NASCAR to spread its events out over more of the country.
Darlington received a $10 million upgrade in 2008, the largest investment in the track's history. This followed a $6 million upgrade the previous year, which included an entire repaving of the oval for the first time since 1995. This silenced many concerns over the future of Darlington Raceway in NASCAR. Darlington Raceway has sold out its Mother's Day weekend Sprint Cup race four years in a row, which may enable the track to protect its place on the Sprint Cup Series schedule in future years.
In 2014, Darlington will swap dates with Kansas Speedway, and will be run in April.
For many years Darlington was the site of two annual Sprint Cup Series races; one, the Rebel 400, was held in the spring and the other, the Southern 500, was always held on Labor Day weekend. In 2003, the Labor Day event was given to California Speedway, and the Southern 500 was moved to November 2004 and was run as part of the Chase
for the NEXTEL Cup. In 2005, NASCAR eliminated the Southern 500 altogether as a result of the Ferko lawsuit, offending many traditionalists. The race was merged into the 400-mile (640 km) spring race, and moved to Mother's Day Weekend. A 500-mile race named after a Dodge vehicle was held for the next four years, before the race was given the Southern 500 moniker in 2009.
The move was the result of several factors. Darlington suffered from poor ticket sales, particularly in the spring. Part of this is due to the track's location in the Textile Belt of South Carolina, where there has been an ongoing general economic decline for many years. Additionally, there is very little of interest to the average fan from outside the Darlington area other than the events at the track itself. Many newer NASCAR venues are near major cities to avoid this problem. A further factor in the move was an ongoing desire by NASCAR to spread its events out over more of the country.
Darlington received a $10 million upgrade in 2008, the largest investment in the track's history. This followed a $6 million upgrade the previous year, which included an entire repaving of the oval for the first time since 1995. This silenced many concerns over the future of Darlington Raceway in NASCAR. Darlington Raceway has sold out its Mother's Day weekend Sprint Cup race four years in a row, which may enable the track to protect its place on the Sprint Cup Series schedule in future years.
In 2014, Darlington will swap dates with Kansas Speedway, and will be run in April.
Track Facts
Address: 1301 Harry Byrd Hwy, Darlington, SC 29532 Seating Capacity: 75,000 Opened: 1950 Surface: Asphalt Length: 1.366 mi (2.198 km) Turns: 4 Banking: Turns 1 & 2: 25° Turns 3 & 4: 23° Front Straight: 3° Back Straight: 2° Lap Record: 27.032 sec. (181.918 mph) Kurt Busch, Furniture Row Racing, May 10, 2013, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. |
NASCAR Events
Sprint Cup Series - Bojangles Southern 500 Nationwide Series - Camping World Truck Series - |
Track Records
Qualifying: Kurt Busch, May 10, 2013, 27.032 sec. - 181.918 miles per hour Race (500 miles): Dale Earnhardt, March 28, 1993, 3 hrs. 32 min. 29 sec. - 139.958 miles per hour Most Wins: 10 David Pearson Most Top 5s: 25Richard Petty Most Top 10s: 35 Bill Elliott Starts: 65 Richard Petty Poles: 12 David Pearson Most Laps Completed: 17582 Ricky Rudd Most Laps Led: 2648 Dale Earnhardt Avg. Start: 3.7 Fred Lorenzen Avg. Finish: 5.9 Denny Hamlin |
2014 Race Dates
April 12 Bojangles Southern 500
April 12 Bojangles Southern 500