FANS CHOOSE RECORD-SETTING FINISH IN 2003 AS TOP DARLINGTON MOMENT

The fans of Darlington Raceway have spoken and the results for the most memorable moment at the track “Too Tough to Tame” have been determined. Voting began in February and over 5,000 fans visited DarlingtonRaceway.com to vote for their favorite moment.

Fans selected the 2003 win by Ricky Craven as the most memorable in Darlington Raceway history. Craven battled Kurt Busch to the finish line by .002 second to win the race. This small margin of victory set a NASCAR record that still stands.

“Moments like these keep race fans coming back to Darlington Raceway year after year,” said track President Chris Browning. “The racing at Darlington is exciting and unpredictable and fans know that any race at Darlington could be the one that’s talked about for years to come.”

Bill Elliott’s win in the 1985 Southern 500 that netted him the first-ever Winston Million bonus finished second, Jeff Gordon’s first career win at Darlington in the 1995 Southern 500 ranked third.

The poll, posted on DarlingtonRaceway.com, gave fans 12 different historic moments in Darlington Raceway history to choose from.
The top moments that fans could choose from included:
• 1950, Inaugural Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway
• 1965, Ned Jarrett wins Southern 500 by largest margin in NASCAR history, 14 laps
• 1967, Richard Petty records his 55th career Sprint Cup victory in the Rebel 400
• 1968, David Pearson and Cale Yarborough record their first Darlington victories
• 1977, Darrell Waltrip wins his first Superspeedway race in dramatic fashion
• 1980, David Pearson wins his 10th and final race at Darlington Raceway
• 1982, Dale Earnhardt breaks his 39 race winless streak and wins the Rebel 500
• 1985, Bill Elliott wins the first ever Winston Million in the Southern 500
• 1995, Jeff Gordon wins his first race at Darlington Raceway in the Southern 500
• 1999, Jeff Burton wins the historic 50th running of the Southern 500
• 2003, Ricky Craven beats Kurt Busch by .002 second- setting a NASCAR record
• 2005-2006, Greg Biffle wins back-to-back events at the Lady in Black

Darlington Raceway or the track “Too Tough to Tame” as it is known to many, is where the purest of NASCAR competition meets true southern hospitality. A NASCAR staple since 1950, Darlington Raceway has seen some of motorsports most talented drivers thunder to Victory Lane. In 2009, a NASCAR tradition, the Southern 500® presented by GoDaddy.com, will return as Darlington Raceway celebrates 60 Seasons of Racing.

Be a part of history when Darlington Raceway celebrates 60 years of racing in 2009. Tickets to the 2009 Southern 500® presented by GoDaddy.com, as well as the NASCAR Nationwide Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200 are on-sale now. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Darlington Raceway ticket office at 866-459-RACE or online at http://www.darlingtonraceway.com/tickets/.

Raceway Chevrolet Goes to Bat for Laverne Ard Park

Raceway Chevrolet sponsors Laverne Ard Park with equipment, clinics and helps raise thousands of dollars with a Chevrolet giveaway

Pamplico (April 29, 2009) – Giving something back to the community, Raceway Chevrolet announced today that they are partnering with Laverne Ard Park to provide the league’s players and coaches with equipment, instructional clinics and a chance to raise $10,000 in funds for the 2009 season. The program demonstrates Chevrolet and their dealerships as America’s brand bringing together American’s pastime and America’s favorite car company.

In support of the community’s youth baseball program, Raceway Chevrolet will provide the league with kits filled with equipment bags, ball buckets, coaches’ clipboards and t-shirts.

Offering additional support to the community, Laverne Ard Park will have the opportunity to raise as much as $10,000 through the Chevy-Vehicle Raffle where a new Chevy Malibu and Chevy Traverse, along with autographed Cal Ripken Jr. memorabilia, will be given away. Raceway Chevrolet and other area Chevrolet dealerships are donating the two cars being raffled off. All proceeds from the raffle go to participating leagues and communities.

“Chevy and Baseball. It’s a great combination of America’s brand and America’s game,” says John Isgett of Raceway Chevrolet. “What better way to help our kids than with donating equipment, instruction and memorabilia from Cal Ripken. We are excited to be part of the effort this year and to support the youth and families in our community. We definitely anticipate a fun-filled season at Laverne Ard Park.

2008 marked a great year for Chevrolet and local communities. Last year in the Southeast alone, 437 Chevrolet dealerships helped out more than 477 local communities and their baseball programs by raising over $3.5 million. For more information about Chevy Youth Baseball, visit www.ChevyYouthSports.com.

Take Stock of the Southern 500’s Return

August has got racing on the brain for many Darlington residents. In addition to the Historic Racing Festival scheduled for the end of the month, Aug. 30-31, there have been two especially significant announcements regarding the track in the last few weeks. First, Darlington Raceway Track President Chris Browning announced that the Mother’s Day Race will now be the Southern 500, a revered name in racing — and Darlington — history. As locals celebrated race’s return while still wishing it still applied to its historic Labor Day date — moved to California’s Talladega Speedway in 2004 — a second announcement came from NASCAR that the Labor Day date was moving again, this time to Atlanta Motor Speedway. This shuffling of the schedule has some natives wondering why the date couldn’t come back home to Darlington.

Weigh in on the Southern 500 and its new date by posting your comments here.
Look for more comments in the Aug. 28 edition of the News and Press.

Photos from May 8 practice

Photos courtesy of NASCAR media