Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Darlington Raceway
The Lady in Black
The Track Too Tough To Tame
"A NASCAR Tradition"
Location Darlington, South Carolina
Time zone GMT-5
Capacity 65,000
Owner International Speedway Corporation
Operator International Speedway Corporation
Broke ground 1949
Opened Labor Day 1950
Architect Harold Brasington
Major Events NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Oval
Surface Asphalt
Circuit Length 1. Darlington is a city in and the County seat of Darlington County, in the northeastern part of the U International Speedway Corporation ( ISC) is a Corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of NASCAR race tracks Labor Day is a United States Federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September The NASCAR Nationwide Series is a Stock car racing series owned and operated by the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing. 366 mi (2. A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States 198 km)
Turns 4
Banking Turns 1 & 2: 25°
Turns 3 & 4: 23°
Front Straight: 3°
Back Straight: 2°
Lap Record 27. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand 405 sec. (179. 442 mph) (Greg Biffle, Roush Fenway Racing, May 9, 2008, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series)

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. Gregory Jack Biffle (born December 23, 1969 in Vancouver Washington) is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver who drives the #16 3M Roush Fenway Racing (formerly Roush Racing) is a racing team competing in NASCAR racing The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of Stock cars in the United States. A race track (or 'racetrack' or 'racing track' is a purpose-built facility for Racing of animals (eg The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of Stock cars in the United States. Darlington is a city in and the County seat of Darlington County, in the northeastern part of the U 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.

Contents

History

Harold Brasington was a retired racer in 1948. He had gotten to know Bill France, Sr. while competing against France at the Daytona Beach Road Course and other dirt tracks in the Southeast and Midwestern United States. William "Bill" Henry Getty France Sr "Big Bill" ( September 26, 1909 &ndash June 7, 1992) was the co-founder of NASCAR Daytona Beach Road Course was a Race track that was instrumental in the formation of NASCAR. This article concerns auto racing motorcycles, horses, and dogs also race on dirt tracks He quit racing in the late 1940s to concentrate on farming and his construction business. [1] He began planning a new speedway after he noticed the huge crowds while attending the 1948 Indianapolis 500. Results of the 1948 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Monday May 31, 1948. [1] He thought "If Tony Hulman can do it here, I can do it back home. Anton "Tony" Hulman Jr ( February 11 1901 - October 27 1977) was a businessman from Terre Haute Indiana and graduated "[1] He bought 70 acres from farmer Sherman Ramsey, and started making a race track from a cotton and peanut field. The acre is a unit of Area in a number of different systems including the imperial and U Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp The peanut, or Groundnut ( Arachis hypogaea) is a species in the Legume family Fabaceae native to South America, Mexico [1] He was forced to create an egg-shaped oval with one corner tighter, narrower, and more steeply banked because he promised Ramsey that the new track wouldn't disturb Ramsey's minnow pond at the west side of the property. [1] Brasington was able to make other turn at the east side of the property wide, sweeping, and flat as he wanted. [1] It took almost a year to build the track. [1]

Darlington Raceway during the 2006 Dodge Charger 500.
Darlington Raceway during the 2006 Dodge Charger 500.

Brasington made a deal in the summer of 1950 with France to run a 500-mile (800 km) race in Darlington on Labor Day that year. The first Southern 500 carried a record $25,000 purse, and was co-sanctioned by NASCAR and its rival Central States Racing Association. The Southern 500 is the annual spring NASCAR Sprint Cup race held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington South Carolina, USA [2] More than 80 entrants showed up for the race. [2] Brasington used a 2 week qualifying scheme similar to the one used at the Indianapolis 500. The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, and historically known simply as "The 500" is an American [2] Brasington was also inspired by Indianapolis when he had the 75 car field aligned in 25 rows of three cars. [2] These practices have 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. The race was won by Johnny Mantz in a car owned by France. Johnny Mantz ( September 18, 1918 Hebron Indiana &ndash October 25, 1972) was an American Racecar driver.

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 65,000; although 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.

Darlington has something of a legendary quality among drivers and older fans; this is probably due to its long track length relatice to other NASCAR speedways of its era 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. The title of how the track earned the moniker The Lady in Black was 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. This article is about tires used on road Vehicles including pneumatic tires and solid tires. 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".

Races

For many years Darlington was the site of two annual Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup series) 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. The Southern 500 is the annual spring NASCAR Sprint Cup race held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington South Carolina, USA Naming rights are the right to name a piece of Property, either tangible property or an event usually granted in exchange for financial considerations Labor Day is a United States Federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September In 2003, the Labor Day event was given to California Speedway, and the Southern 500 was moved to November of 2004 and was run as part of the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. The Auto Club Speedway of Southern California (formerly California Speedway) is a two-mile low-banked D-shaped oval Superspeedway in Fontana California The Chase for the Sprint Cup, originally known as "The Chase for the Championship" during its creation and then "The Chase for the Nextel Cup" (from 2004 to 2007 is In 2005, NASCAR eliminated the Southern 500 altogether, which offended many traditionalists. The race was merged with the 400-mile (640 km) spring race and moved to Mother's Day Weekend, with a 500-mile (800 km) night race sponsored by Dodge taking their place. Dodge is a United States -based brand of Automobiles Sport utility vehicles and Trucks manufactured and marketed by Chrysler LLC

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. International Speedway Corporation ( ISC) is a Corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of NASCAR race tracks

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 chronically unemployed and underemployed generally cannot afford NASCAR event prices. South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. 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 an hour 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. Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U Kansas Speedway is a speedway in Kansas City Kansas, adjacent to the Village West area Gateway International Raceway is a race track in Madison Illinois, USA just minutes from Downtown St Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas, is a 1200 acre (4 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 and resurface the track, 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 each year from 2005-2008.

Future

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.

On March 1-2, 2007 the USAC Silver Crown Series held an open test at Darlington Raceway. Shortly after the test, the USAC Silver Crown Series held a race at Darlington on May 10 as part of Darlington's NASCAR weekend. This race marked USAC's return to Darlington after a 51 year absence.

It was announced on April 5th, 2007 that Darlington would receive a $10 million upgrade, the largest investment in the track's history. This announcement, as well as last year's $6 million upgrade, which will include an entire repaving of the oval for the first since 1995[3]. This announcement silenced any concerns over the future of Darlington Raceway in NASCAR. Some construction will be ready for the 2007 Dodge Avenger 500 with the rest of the enhancements, including the repaving of the oval, added after the race. On May 10, 2008 it was announced that Darlington Raceway has sold out its Mother's Day weekend Sprint Cup race for the fourth year in a row further protecting its place on the Sprint Cup Series schedule in future years. [4]

See also: List of NASCAR race tracks. NASCAR national series race tracks The following is a list of race tracks currently used by NASCAR as part of its Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series,

Current Races

Records

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Fleischman, Bill; Al Pearce (1999). The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide (1998-99). Visible Ink Press, 7.  
  2. ^ a b c d Fleischman, page 8
  3. ^ Autoracingdaily.com article about resurfacing
  4. ^ WPVI: Darlington Improvements. Retrieved on 2007-04-05. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop

External links

A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system.
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic