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Darlington Raceway is a 1.366-mile oval-shaped racetrack located in Darlington, South Carolina. The racetrack is one of the most historic tracks in NASCAR and is known as “The Lady in Black” due to its walls that are covered with a black asphalt sealer that rubs off on the race cars, leaving a black streak or “Darlington Stripe” on the sides of the vehicles.
Darlington Raceway was built in 1949 and has been hosting NASCAR Cup Series races since 1950. The first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway was the Southern 500, which was won by Johnny Mantz. The track has since hosted some of the most memorable races in NASCAR history.
In 1960, the first-ever live televised NASCAR race was broadcasted from Darlington Raceway, which was won by Johnny Beauchamp. In 1985, Darlington Raceway became the first superspeedway to install SAFER (Steel And Foam Energy Reduction) barriers to improve driver safety.
Darlington Raceway is an oval-shaped track that is 1.366 miles long. The racetrack has a unique egg-shaped layout, which makes it one of the most challenging tracks in NASCAR. The turns on the track are tight, and the surface is rough, which makes for a bumpy ride for the drivers.
The track’s unique design also means that the drivers have to be very careful when navigating the corners. The turns at Darlington Raceway are banked at 25 degrees in turns one and two, and 23 degrees in turns three and four. The frontstretch and backstretch are both 1,229 feet long.
Darlington Raceway has a seating capacity of 47,000, which is smaller than some of the other racetracks in NASCAR. Despite its smaller size, the track has a rich history and is known as “The Lady in Black” due to the black asphalt sealer on the walls that rubs off on the race cars, leaving a black stripe on the sides of the vehicles.
This unique feature of the track is what gives it its nickname, and it has become one of the most iconic and recognizable tracks in all of motorsports.
In 2008, Darlington Raceway underwent a major renovation that included repaving the track surface. The new surface was designed to be smoother and faster than the old surface, which was rough and bumpy.
The repave also included widening the track in some areas and adding SAFER barriers to improve driver safety. The renovation was completed in time for the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series race, and the track has continued to be a popular venue for NASCAR events ever since.
Darlington Raceway has hosted some of the most memorable races in NASCAR history. One of the most famous races at the track is the 1979 Southern 500, which was won by David Pearson and Richard Petty. The race is known as the “The Pass in the Grass” because of a dramatic move by Pearson in the final laps of the race.
Another memorable race at Darlington Raceway was the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400. This race saw a heated battle between Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven in the final laps. The two drivers traded the lead several times, and the race ended with Craven winning by just .002 seconds, the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history.