Southern 500 back – at least in name
Darlington Raceway is bringing back the name, if not the traditional date, of its signature race in 2009. The race held at Darlington on May 9 will be known as the Southern 500.
The Southern 500 began when Darlington opened as NASCAR's first superspeedway in 1950 and continued on Labor Day weekend until 2004. The track then lost one Cup date each year and in 2005 its remaining race moved to Mother's Day weekend.
"The Southern 500 is synonymous with Darlington Raceway," track president Chris Browning said. "Combining the tradition of the Southern 500 and Mother's Day weekend under the lights at Darlington is a real treat for NASCAR fans everywhere."
Darlington is trying to begin a new Labor Day weekend tradition this year with the inaugural Darlington Historic Racing Festival on Aug. 30-31. Drivers and race cars from throughout motorsports history will be there for the festival.
As of this week, the Indianapolis 500-winning cars from 1951, 1961, 1962 and 1977 have been added to the festival lineup.
Tags: darlingtin, Darlington Raceway, labor day, Southern 500
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