|| *Comments on Darlington Raceway:* View the most recent comment <#78> | Post a comment <#post> 1. Anonymous posted: 02.22.2010 - 12:34 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) The track "Too tough to tame" is one of the toughest tracks to win on. The Southern 500 at this track was the first race alongside the now dead Daytona Beach & Road Course race to gain national fame in the US. Was also the first track in NASCAR to host a 500 mile race. 2. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 02.27.2010 - 10:21 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) One of the best oval tracks in the world. So much history. Sadly, NASCAR/The idiots at ISC took the traditional Southern 500 labour day race weekend from Darlington and moved it to NASCAR's most boring track California. Famous for the Darlington stripe, since they repaved it because of the higher speeds there has been even more of those. Also has featured some of NASCAR's greatest races such as the 2003 race which featured the closest finish in NASCAR history 3. Cooper posted: 03.14.2010 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 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. 4. RACER101 posted: 03.21.2010 - 11:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree with TeamPlayersBlue ISC was so stupid California is boring and Darlington needs that second date back. 5. Eric posted: 04.13.2010 - 7:23 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) David Pearson won the most races here with 10 and Dale Earnhardt Sr. was 2nd with 9 races here. It is very difficult race track. Tire management is the key at this track. 6. Smokefan05 posted: 05.10.2010 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) They may have changed the surface, but she is "too tough too tame." She can make your life good or she can make it hell. Depends on what mood she is in. ;) 7. AutoRockinRacing94 posted: 06.09.2010 - 10:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Rock and Darlington have a lot of things in common, like tire managements 8. AnonymousEFR posted: 04.05.2011 - 8:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Darlington didn't allow triple digit numbers in the Southern 500. There was only three exceptions. 9. Rusty posted: 05.16.2011 - 5:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm glad to see Darlington doing well after it looked like it was doomed to suffer the same fate as Rockingham. It's gotten to a point where they could be able to host two Cup weekends again, but they probably never will again as NASCAR is more likely to look to new markets. But I'm happy that it appears we'll have Cup racing at Darlington still, I thought for sure it was doomed to be removed like the Rock was. 10. RACE34 posted: 07.25.2011 - 2:22 am Rate this comment: (2) (2) Funny how nobody says bad things about this track when I have seen alot of single file racing the last two years! 11. RACE34 posted: 07.31.2011 - 1:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I didn't mean what I said up on the last comment I was just sick of hearing people complain but Darlington is one of the coolest tracks! 12. JG24FanForever posted: 09.23.2012 - 6:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is the pinnacle of Oval Track racing. 13. racefangurl posted: 03.10.2015 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Darlington's definitely a driver track. Drivers have to be at least decent to win at it, based on what I know about it. 14. joey2448 posted: 08.19.2015 - 4:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As this year's Southern 500 approaches (back to being held on Labor Day for the first time since 2003!), there are a ton of old throwback paint schemes being introduced. To put it simply, it is AWESOME! Among the various schemes are: Brad Keselowski's No. 2 Ford (Miller High Life...similar to Bobby Allison's 1983 championship car) Austin Dillon's No. 3 Chevy (American Ethanol...similar to the colors Richard Childress ran in the late 70s and 80s) Kevin Harvick's No. 4 Chevy (Budweiser...the company colors, primarily yellow, used way back in the day) Denny Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota (Sport Clips...but the design is a throwback to Cale Yarborough) Tony Stewart's No. 14 Chevy (Bass Pro Shops...a throwback that recreates the brand's first complete boat motor and trailer package, the Bass Tracker, which was introduced in the late 70s) Ricky Stenhouse Jr's No. 17 Ford (Cargill...this will be a throwback to David Pearson when he drove the 17 car, a blue and brown design) Ryan Newman's No. 31 Chevy (Caterpillar...a design that mimics the look of the company's heavy equipment from the 70s, primarily yellow and black) Kurt Busch's No. 41 Chevy (Haas Automation...a throwback to the team's first Cup series car in 2004(?) Kyle Larson's No. 42 Chevy (Mello Yello....yes the design inspired by Kyle Petty's Felix Sabates owned cars in the early 90s) Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Chevy (Lowe's...the company logo that was used prominently throughout the 40s and 50s) David Ragan's No. 55 Toyota (Aaron's...the white car with red racing stripes is a throwback to the No. 77 car David's father, Ken Ragan, drove in the 80s) 15. JRacingFast posted: 09.02.2015 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anyone know why they described to switch the front and back stretch stretch around? Also I'm kind of glad that this track only has one date....call me crazy but it brings more of a anticipation and luster that it only gives guys one chance to win at the lady in black! 16. joey2448 posted: 09.03.2016 - 7:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Petty had one of the best quotes of all time after crashing in a race here in the 90's, saying, "This place is so bad they ought to fill it with water to the brim and stock it with fish for a bass-fishing tournament. But I tell ya what, as bad as this place is, you could fish here all day and not catch a thing!" You could tell Kyle wasn't a fan of the joint, hahaha! 17. Tide1732 (GO ENFINGER!!!) posted: 04.07.2017 - 2:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No 'Throwback Cars' this year? 18. Seibaru posted: 04.07.2017 - 2:47 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Hold your Bermudan Lamborghinis, Tide. There are still five months until the Southern 500. 19. Watto posted: 04.07.2017 - 7:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, the theme to this year's throwback has already been announced and it's 1985-1989. People just haven't unveiled their cars. They usually don't this early. Heck, most teams probably don't know what they'll be running yet. 20. kup posted: 11.22.2017 - 10:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR CUP Darlington Raceway 1950-2017 # races: 114 UPS: universal points system. Driver's UPoints = Miles / Aver.Finish 2 540 Bill Elliott 23 873 / 9.4 1 679 Dale Earnhardt 19 139 / 11.4 1 676 Mark Martin 21 288 / 12.7 1 639 Richard Petty 23 434 / 14.3 1 464 Ricky Rudd 24 017 / 16.4 1 431 David Pearson 17 169 / 12.0 1 349 Jeff Gordon 15 652 / 11.6 1 302 Darrell Waltrip 22 395 / 17.2 1 300 Terry Labonte 22 095 / 17.0 1 242 Bobby Allison 17 270 / 13.9 1 095 Cale Yarborough 17 733 / 16.2 1 078 Jeff Burton 13 582 / 12.6 1 056 Dave Marcis 21 330 / 20.2 1 040 Denny Hamlin 6 031 / 5.8 1 005 Rusty Wallace 16 785 / 16.7 998 Ken Schrader 18 258 / 18.3 955 Sterling Marlin 18 054 / 18.9 949 Buddy Baker 17 649 / 18.6 909 Geoffrey Bodine 15 087 / 16.6 895 Kyle Petty 20 318 / 22.7 861 Harry Gant 12 491 / 14.5 859 Bobby Labonte 14 266 / 16.6 850 Jimmie Johnson 8 927 / 10.5 846 Tony Stewart 10 917 / 12.9 835 Benny Parsons 13 451 / 16.1 794 Dale Jarrett 14 059 / 17.7 782 Buddy Arrington 14 067 / 18.0 776 Ryan Newman 9 078 / 11.7 764 Michael Waltrip 17 124 / 22.4 718 Dale Earnhardt Jr 10 345 / 14.4 718 Matt Kenseth 11 052 / 15.4 635 Kevin Harvick 9 709 / 15.3 605 Brett Bodine 13 434 / 22.2 21. Me posted: 05.15.2018 - 10:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Pearson at Darlington, 47 starts, 10 poles, 10 wins, 24 top 5s and 30 top 10s. Best I ever saw at getting thru turns 3 and 4 there (before they flipped the track). 22. joey2448 posted: 08.30.2018 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Question: What does everyone think of the years Darlington ran a 500-mile race from 2005 to 2008 without the "Southern 500" moniker? I mean, those years the race had several names from the "Dodge Charger 500" to the "Dodge Challenger 500", but do we still count those races in the historical records for the Southern 500? For example, does Jeff Gordon have six "Southern 500" wins, or just five? Because his 2007 win here was not technically run with the "Southern" moniker. But it was still a tough 500-mile race. 23. Danish Pie posted: 08.30.2018 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The name is pretty irrelevant in terms of historical significance. It wasn't until 1950 that the name 'Indianapolis 500' was adopted, doesn't mean the first 31 running's of the event don't count. It could be refereed to as the annual 500 mile race at Darlington, if you wanted to be all inclusive. 24. Pancakes posted: 08.30.2018 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @23 The Cleveland Browns won 8 world championships but for some reason they don't count just because they missed the title "Super Bowl" by 2 seasons. 25. Danish Pie posted: 08.30.2018 - 9:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I see the point you're trying to make, but that's different from the point @22 brought up, because the NFL Championship game pre-1966 didn't become the Super Bowl, it was a different game. It was more than a name changing. Anyone who knows anything about the NFL recognizes that the Browns have in the past been crowned champions of the league, as you said, multiple times. They've never won the Super Bowl, though. If someone says "The Browns have never won a Championship," that's just historical ignorance. 26. Danish Pie posted: 08.30.2018 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, want to quickly correct on post 23, 1950 was the 34th running of the Indy 500, not the 32nd. 27. joey2448 posted: 09.02.2018 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I consider the Chicago Bears as having won nine NFL championships, even though they have just the one Super Bowl trophy, so yeah, I can include the 2005 to '08 Darlington races as Southern 500's. 28. George Costanza posted: 09.02.2018 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) 27. I'm glad you think like that as well. Makes me feel better as a fan of the Detroit Lions, four time NFL champs! ;) 29. Sector posted: 09.02.2018 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) They were 500 mile races. There wasn't any other Darlington races during that span. So those who says drivers such as Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Regan Smith that luck out really didn't. Just because the name isn't the same, doesn't mean it's not prestigious. Look at the name changes the 600 race at Charlotte had. 30. joey2448 posted: 03.26.2019 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Darlington's Southern 500 will now host the NASCAR Cup series playoff opener starting in 2020. The Southern 500 will still be held on Labor Day weekend but with the schedule changes NASCAR released, it will now be race 1 of the first round of the 2020 playoffs. 31. Sector posted: 03.26.2019 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @30 I personally think, even with the throwback weekend, the historic Darlington should be the season finale instead of at the beginning of the Playoff. It seems very fitting Darlington be the finale, more so than Phoenix, or now known as ISM Raceway. 32. Gabriel posted: 04.04.2019 - 7:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I will say that in the SHORT TERM, moving Rockingham's lone date to give Texas a second date, and getting rid of the 400 mile race at Darlington to give to California (now Auto Club) a second date were good moves. For the first few years of those 2nd races being on the schedule, they were massive sell-outs and cash cows for NASCAR. Let's also not forget that the Generation 4 car was producing nothing worse than average races at both Texas and California. HOWEVER in circa 2007-2008, a combination of the brand new CoT and the recession caused both the racing and attendance respectively to dip, and California was back to it's lone date (shortened to 400 miles) by 2011. Therefore, LONG TERM the move was a disaster. Only reason Texas still has two races is because of that whiny track president Eddie Gossage.... although the race here in 2019 was the best start to finish since the Gen 4 era, I doubt Texas will have two races when we get to 2021, unless both races sellout... At least Darlington is back on it's Labor Day date where it truly belongs. It will be awesome to see it in the playoffs. Also, Rockingham is undergoing renovations and hopefully it will be on the schedule in some form in 2021! 33. Corey posted: 05.23.2019 - 7:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I am thankful that Darlington started truly honoring the history of the sport when they got the Labor Day race back. They way the entire NASCAR industry got involved makes it one of those must see races of the year. 34. JohnG posted: 07.20.2019 - 1:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @32 I don't see Rockingham returning. The 2011 Truck race had nobody there. It would cost too much money to bring it back and after the first few races I think the buzz in attendance would die down. 35. Canadianfan posted: 12.11.2019 - 2:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bojangles' will not be the sponsor for the 2020 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. A fast food staple across the South, Bojangles' was first named the title sponsor in March 2012. However, a new logo for the Southern 500 appeared on Darlington Raceway's website on Tuesday. Bojangles' name was not included. ?We've enjoyed a terrific relationship with Bojangles' since 2012 and we look forward to their continued involvement in NASCAR for many years to come. Like Darlington, they are truly an authentic Southern brand,? Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp said Tuesday. ?Bojangles' has enjoyed a long and successful partnership with the team at Darlington Raceway. While we will no longer be the title sponsor for the Southern 500, NASCAR remains an important part of our sports marketing strategy, and we look forward to announcing our plans for 2020 in the near future,? a statement from Bojangels' read. 36. 12345Dude posted: 02.07.2020 - 7:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Random question. When NASCAR used to race at Darlington twice a year, why was the Southern 500 considered the major race, compared to the other Darlington race? I understand the history of racing at Daytona and why the Daytona 500 February race is considered the major race. I understand why the World 600 is considered the major race at Charlotte, which is because of Memorial Day. I understand why the late April/early May Talladega race was considered the major race (which has gone away for some reason) over the other Talladega race. Indianapolis only has 1 race. But I don't understand why the Southern 500 was considered more prestigious than the other Darlington race. Was it because of Labor Day? I don't feel like Labor Day is that much of an important holiday. 37. Corey posted: 02.07.2020 - 8:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @36 It was the first 500 mile event in NASCAR history having first run in 1950. The other event began in 1960 and was only 300 miles at the time. Also the importance of Labor Day was probably much greater back in the 1950's then it is now. Most people just see it now as a free 3-day weekend. And, some people don't even get that. 38. Mile501 posted: 02.08.2020 - 6:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I would say the Labor Day holiday is part of it. Plus, it has generally been the only one of the two Darlington races that was 500 miles, though from the 1970s-early 1990s they ran 500 miles in both events. 39. 12345Dude posted: 02.08.2020 - 11:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Interesting about it being the first 500 mile race. I did not know that. I Googled some stuff about Labor Day, I guess it could have been because of Labor Day. I didn't realize Labor Day even stood for anything before the Google search. 40. Sector posted: 02.08.2020 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I understand why the World 600 is considered the major race at Charlotte, which is because of Memorial Day." To add to this, it's also NASCAR's home track. "Indianapolis only has 1 race." Had Indianapolis haven't had the past it does with IndyCar series, Indianapolis is basically just another track. In the NASCAR world it really doesn't mean much, but the overall Motorsports it's huge and that's why it's high on everyone's list. 41. JSPorts posted: 04.20.2020 - 1:04 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Top 10 drivers since 2017: 1st: Kyle Larson 2nd: Kyle Busch 3rd: Erik Jones 4th: Kurt Busch 5th: Brad Keselowski 6th: Kevin Harvick 7th: Martin Truex, Jr. 8th: Joey Logano 9th: Chase Elliott 10th: Denny Hamlin 42. OangeWaffle43 posted: 04.20.2020 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Man. If Darlington ends up being the first race back, we're in for one heck of a schedule. It's gonna be that one outier year haha. Daytona, Las Vegas, Auto Club, Phoenix, Darlington? Charlotte? Texas (in June)? New Hampshire? Kansas? Dover? Daytona again? Homestead? I don't know I'm just making this up. But it's gonna be wack. People 100 years from now are gonna look at the NASCAR schedule and be like, "Why was there a huge break and then random races? Oh yeah, that was the Coronavirus." 43. Unser1 posted: 04.20.2020 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If teams can't travel far I wonder if they could throw in a race in at Rockingham. If fans are banned anyway suddenly the lack of adequate spectator facilities doesn't matter. 44. Corey posted: 04.20.2020 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @42 Darlington? Are they going to swap dates with another track? Or will this place be running two events this year at the expense of another track? 45. RaceFanX posted: 04.20.2020 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Assumedly it could be replacing a race that has to be cancelled, such as Sonoma where restrictions on crowds across California (especially in the hard hit Bay Area) may deem any attempt to reschedule the race there this year moot. 46. Timothy_Eklund posted: 04.20.2020 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I just can't see nascar racing at rockingham on such short notice. Especially considering most of us don't even know what condition the track is in. If it is decent shape and the safer barriers are in good condition, maybe. 47. JSPorts posted: 04.20.2020 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) NASCAR isn't racing at Rockingham. They're going to try to honor their contracts with the current tracks before they go out and sign new ones. I get that people would like to see that happen, but it's completely unrealistic. 48. Corey posted: 04.20.2020 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @45 If Sonoma is the race that needs to be cancelled, then Insee the date going to another SMI facility, not ISC. They could do a double header at Loudon. 49. Ryan posted: 05.01.2020 - 2:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Darlington is going to go from having just one race a year on its schedule for the last 15 years (2005-2019) and then have three races there in 2020. Crazy. Definitely not complaining, this is my favorite track and I'm excited for it. There has been talk for the last few years that NASCAR may go to midweek races and now it's a reality because of COVID-19. It's kind of twofold, though. NASCAR is having to do it because of the coronavirus, however, they get to try midweek races because they have to and it will be interesting to see if it passes the litmus test. 50. Ryan posted: 05.01.2020 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So Darlington is going to hold a 400 mile race on Sunday the 17th which will be 293 laps. On Wednesday the 20th it will be a 500 kilometer race which should be 228 laps. Midweek races were eventually going to happen I believe, but the Coronavirus sped up the process and it will be interesting to see if the NASCAR community likes it. 51. WardBurtonFan posted: 05.02.2020 - 12:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) I hope NASCAR doesn't decide to give these tracks like Sonoma and them that had cancellations any new dates in 2021, as the west coast racing has gotten boring in recent years, outside of 2016 Phoenix Spring or 2016 Sonoma. Las Vegas was the only track that provided excitement when it was slick in the desert heat and being a summer affair, but they moved the timeslot and it wasn't a good race after that. 52. joey2448 posted: 05.02.2020 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So with the change in the 2020 schedule, this means Darlington will host a Cup race with a distance shorter than 500 miles for the first time since March 2004. Maybe it's the purist in me, but that's going to be cool. The traditional 400-mile spring race that Darlington held for many years was 293 laps, while the Southern 500 has been 367 laps for most of it's tenure. Also, this 500-kilometer distance should make for a 227-lap race, if my math is correct. 53. Ryan posted: 05.03.2020 - 5:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @52 500 kilometers is 310.686 miles. If the race is 227 laps then the race will be 310.082 miles/499.0286062 kilometers which would be short of 500 kilometers. To get to 500 kilometers the race would have to have 228 laps which would be 501.2269701 kilometers. What's crazy is 366 laps almost makes 500 miles at Darlington (499.956), however, the race must go 500 miles so it has to go 367 laps which makes the actual mileage for the race 501.322. 188 laps at Talladega is 500.08 miles. I guess they could make it 227 if they wanted. The Roval race is 400 kilometers, however, the race is 109 laps and only makes 399.954171 kilometers falling short of 400. 110 laps would be 403.62348 kilometers. 54. Canadianfan posted: 05.06.2020 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) From Adam Stern: @NASCAR has not yet announced the name of next week's Cup race at Darlington because it is currently in the market looking for a new title sponsor. ? NASCAR is looking for one company to sponsor both Cup races and the Xfinity race there, but not yet clear if that will happen. 55. Sector posted: 05.21.2020 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With Darlington being the spot to return to racing, they has had great finishes and racing all week long across two Cup races and one Xfinity race. I sincerely hope we see a return to 400 miles of racing with the revamp schedule in 2021 onward. This being my all time favorite racetrack, it would be great to return to two dates a year, and hopefully the excellent reviews and racing brings that back. 56. Anonymous posted: 07.17.2020 - 10:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) South turns were banked 26 feet before the 1953 event. 57. Anonymous posted: 07.17.2020 - 2:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) (reshaped and tweaked up to 26 feet after 1952) 58. Canadianfan posted: 07.17.2020 - 2:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @56 and @57 Don't you mean degrees? or are you saying width? 59. David posted: 07.17.2020 - 2:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I would assume 26 degrees banking; whatever the case, the speeds here did noticeably increase immediately after that change (or some other) was made. 60. Canadianfan posted: 07.17.2020 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @59 I do know they widened original turns 3 and 4 for 1969. 61. Canadianfan posted: 07.17.2020 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In the book NASCAR The Complete History there is a photo of the 1968 Southern 500 looking at turn 4 and you can see the racing groove is about 1.5 lanes wide. 62. TheDewCrew posted: 08.06.2020 - 12:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trucks are making a return to Darlington. Could we see a 3 series throwback weekend? That would be awesome 63. DaveDavidson posted: 08.06.2020 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you thought the Pocono truck races had a lot of cautions wait until Darlington with no practice! 64. QFH-BOBO83329521 posted: 08.06.2020 - 11:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @63 Unless you're talking about the Trucks, Cup and XFinity both ran a combined total of 3 races here at Darlington in May without practice. 65. Canadianfan posted: 08.07.2020 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) May allow fans depending on what happens. It would be capped at 10,000. 66. Canadianfan posted: 08.08.2020 - 9:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @65 Make that 8000 fans. 67. 12345Dude posted: 09.28.2020 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anyone know why they flipped the front and back stretch in 1997 here? And why did they do it to Atlanta? I've never heard why they did these 2 things. To any fans who saw Atlanta and Darlington before their reconfiguration, which version did you like better? 68. Corey posted: 09.28.2020 - 11:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @67 I was around for both of those transformations, but can't remember the exact details so this is speculation. In both cases it might have been simply construction. The backstretch at Darlington allowed for a larger main grandstands to be erected and so the decision was to build them bigger and make it the front stretch. The track had two pit roads at the time, so tit didn't require to much infield work. Atlanta was a process of a larger track re-configuration. Before it switched Atlanta is closer to what Homestead is now. A high-banked 1.5 mile oval. The decision was made to turn it into a quad-oval, but I believe the construction time would have taken longer then the time between the races in 1997. The added benefit is that they would have less demolition of existing structures on the backstretch and could start construction before the Spring race. Aside from pit road and the infield most of the outer structures on the old front stretch grandstands remained until a tornado came through and destroyed it in 2005. 69. Canadianfan posted: 09.28.2020 - 11:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @67 There is a road (Harry Byrd Highway) very close to the back of the frontstretch grandstands which prevented any expansion of said grandstands. Atlanta I can't find an answer. 70. Ryan posted: 09.29.2020 - 1:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @67 The biggest reason at Atlanta was money. Bruton Smith who owned Atlanta along with Bristol and many others decided to make suites for the track and wanted to reconfigure the track to look a lot like Charlotte and newly Texas. A lot of people liked these tracks then because they produced a lot of good racing. Unfortunately, the cars from about the mid-90's was so dependent on aerodynamics and it made it difficult to pass on a lot of these tracks. I hated to see them reconfigure Atlanta because it was such a great race track and produced some great racing (most notably the 1992 finale). It was a driver's track and you could run different lines around the track to a driver's or car's preference. You could finesse the track or run it hard. It was a fun track. That being said, Atlanta produced two photo finishes in 2000 and 2001 kind of escaped the "tough to pass" title. Dale Earnhardt won his first 500 mile race on the new configuration besides on a restrictor plate track since his 500 mile win in 1996 at the old configuration. He said he he hated to see them change the track (I'm sure because he was so successful there), but liked the new one as well. The track went from 1.528 miles/328 laps to 1.54 miles/325 laps for 500 mile races. For Darlington, it wasn't reconfigured, but just about everything else was renovated like Atlanta. The track added a new grandstand and a tower filled with new suites right after the Spring 400-mile race won by Dale Jarrett in time for the Southern 500 in 1997 when Jeff Gordon won the Winston Million Dollar Bonus. There were splinters and cracked wood along the grandstands. The rusty sheet-metal roofs on the garage area had curled off their foundations. The bathrooms needed renovated as well. The track also paved new parking lots. The track planted Palmetto trees along access roads and Azalea bushes like at the Masters Golf tournament in the infield. The also built new garages. Again, the reason was money (just about every business decision comes down to) and the fear of possibly losing race dates (which they ended up losing one eventually anyways). N. Wilkesboro had just lost their dates the year before and Darlington wanted to keep up with the new tracks such as Texas, California, and Las Vegas by renovating the old track. 71. TheWackyRacer posted: 09.29.2020 - 8:03 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @70 the 2001 Atlanta spring race is one of the greatest last 25 laps in NASCAR history. There was 5-6 battling for the win and they were all running different lines. The track was perfect by then , because the surface was old and it made for great racing. When a surface gets old the racing is way better imo. Then they will inevitably repave the track , and the racing will typically suck for a few years. 72. Ryan posted: 09.29.2020 - 10:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @71 I agree with that. I watched it and mentioned it in @70 and remember like it was yesterday. Harvick was able to take advantage of Jerry Nadeau and Dale Jarrett running side by side who were having a hard time getting around the other and made it 3-wide coming off turn 4 making the pass. He was then able to hold off a hard charging Jeff Gordon. Earnhardt, Jr. may have had something for them if not for the flat tire late. The 1992 race is one of the top 5 races of all time. I actually believe it's a driver's track now much like Darlington with how beat up the surface is now and managing tires is important. 73. 12345Dude posted: 10.29.2020 - 2:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cool thanks for the detailed responses. I thought they flipped the front stretch and back stretch at Darlington and it changed how the racing was there, I guess I was wrong. 74. RacingDude00 posted: 12.11.2020 - 11:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) They just announced they are moving the throwback weekend to the spring for the 2021 season 75. TeamDCRfan posted: 12.11.2020 - 11:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Kind of a Dumb move. Part of the fun of Throwback week is that it leads up to the Southern 500. 76. Corey posted: 12.11.2020 - 11:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) They just ruined what they had going for them. The whole throwback aspect around the Southern 500 is what was making that race really special. 77. Mile501 posted: 12.11.2020 - 3:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can see both sides to this. The Southern 500 is historic and special all on its own. I can see the logic in wanting to make the spring race special and meaningful in its own way. 78. Canadianfan posted: 04.14.2021 - 1:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) From Adam Stern: @Goodyear will be the title sponsor of the Cup Series throwback event at Darlington next month, its first ever race entitlement in North America. ? The race will be the Goodyear 400 and the company will provide special tires with blue streaks/white lettering for the event. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: