Ocala.com Bloggers
- Broken News
- Bill Thompson
- Digital Editor
- Eric Barnes
- Frame 37
- Ocala.com Multimedia
- Marion Politics
- Newsroom
- Observations
- Naseem S. Miller
- OcalaDay
- Joe Byrnes
- Read My E-Mail
- Allen Parson
- Running Wide Open
- Joe Vanhoose
- Speaking of Business...
- Dr. Philip R. Geist
- The Bowling Blog
- Debbie Whitten
- The Green Zone
- Dave Rhea
- The Sports Blog
- Gregory Broome
- What is that?
- Newsroom
 |
Search Blogs
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Blog Archives
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Behold the revival of Darlington
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Location: Blogs Running Wide Open |
 |
| Posted by: Joe VanHoose |
5/11/2007 4:10 AM |
There are some places that just feel like home, and such is Darlington Raceway to NASCAR. This weekend’s race at the track “Too Tough To Tame” won’t be heralded by NASCAR or hyped by the sanctioning body’s public relations team, but it should be.
Darlington was the first super speedway – before Daytona, Charlotte, Talladega, etc. – to host a NASCAR race, which it did in 1950. In fact, even into the late 1970s, the Southern 500 at Darlington on Labor Day weekend was the premier race in the sport, not the Daytona 500.
But the NASCAR powers that be, in their never ending pursuit for larger television markets and more money, tried to kill off the old lady three years ago. They stripped the track of its Southern 500 and moved the race date out west to California. They gave Darlington one date on Mother’s Day weekend, a weekend that was always taken off in fear of poor ticket sales.
But Darlington took its death sentence and shocked all the experts, now selling out three years straight. The night race has led to a revival in popularity, which has led NASCAR to put millions of dollars into track renovations.
That’s not to say Darlington has lost its charm. The preferred line is still six inches off the outside wall, the pavement still wears out a new set of tires in two laps, and most of the drivers finish the race with in a car with a flattened right side – the result of bouncing off the wall and earning a Darlington Stripe. Indeed, this is still the coolest, cruelest and most-storied track in NASCAR.
As much as NASCAR President Brian France may not like it, he couldn’t take the sport out of its home. Then again, home always has a way of surviving.
|
|
| Permalink |
Trackback |
Comments (2)
Add Comment
|
Re: Behold the revival of Darlington |
By Daaaaaalllleee on
5/14/2007 6:11 AM |
| Van Hoose is a silly name. |
|
|
Re: Behold the revival of Darlington |
By Joe on
5/14/2007 8:50 AM |
| So is Daaaaaallllleee. You have won the award for most unusual comment ever. |
|
|
|
|
|