Darlington Raceway

NASCAR's first superspeedway, Darlington Raceway, is known as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame." The first race to be held at this track saw 75 cars assemble to fight for a prize of $25,000, and qualifying took two weeks.

The egg-shaped oval has hosted the Southern 500, one of the three most prestigious races in the NEXTEL Cup Series, since the track opened in 1950. Johnny Mantz notched his only victory in NASCAR's elite series in the inaugural event.

Located just off Highway 151 on the west side of Darlington, S.C., the speedway measures 1.366 miles, with 25-degree banking in Turns 1 and 2 and 23-degree banking in Turns 3 and 4. Because of the asymmetrical shape of the corners at each end of the track, crew chiefs must arrive at a workable compromise in the set-up when preparing the cars for their drivers. Inevitably, even the best-handling cars are likely to pick up a "Darlington stripe," the result of contact with the concrete retaining wall at the exit of what is now Turn 2.

Built by Harold Brasington and later acquired by International Speedway Corporation, Darlington Raceway holds a NEXTEL Cup race in March in addition to the Southern 500, which is a Labor Day weekend tradition.

In 1997 a reconfiguration of the track moved the start/finish line from the frontstretch to the backstretch. Ward Burton holds the qualifying record at Darlington at 173.797 mph (28.295 seconds), set during time trials for the 1996 TranSouth 400. In 2002, Jeff Gordon tied Cale Yarborough for most Southern 500 victories with five.

NASCAR Flight Jacket NASCAR

NASCAR Uniform Jacket NASCAR

Buy Tickets for Darlington Raceway events