Racing legends were at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday to unveil an exhibit that’s 75 years in the making.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. β There are few racing venues with as much prestige as Darlington Raceway.
The 1.3-mile egg-shaped track is in its 75th year hosting races. Darlington is home to the annual Southern 500, one of NASCAR’s crown jewel races. The race’s grueling 500-mile length was a monumental task when it began in 1950.Β
Darlington’s rough track surface, high-banked turns, and abnormal track design have proved “too tough to tame” for most drivers on the NASCAR circuit.
To capture Darlington’s mystique, the NASCAR Hall of Fame unveiled an exhibit to honor the track’s history.
NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Mark Martin spoke during a ceremony for the event on Tuesday. Fellow Hall of Famers Bobby Labonte and Donnie Allison were also in attendance.
“The track is so challenging because the corners are different,” Petty said. “You don’t race the cars [at Darlington], you race the racetrack… I’ve always looked forward to Darlington because, to me, that’s where NASCAR got their big start.”
The new exhibit captures the essence of Darlington and its legendary stories.Β
The track was constructed in an oblong shape in an effort to not disturb a nearby fishing pond. It was the first paved NASCAR track over one mile in length.Β
With a then NASCAR record $23,325 purse on the line and an unthinkable 500-mile challenge set for Labor Day 1950, the inaugural Southern 500 was the first in a long list of exciting races at Darlington. An unprecedented 75 cars started the race but only 29 finished. Johnny Mantz won the race by nine laps over NASCAR legend Fireball Roberts. Lee Petty, Richard’s father, finished sixth.
“He was down there about three weeks just to qualify,” Petty said. “He came back home to put a new carburetor in the car and went back to the racetrack.”
Lee Petty never won at Darlington but Richard Petty won three times at the track, all between 1966 and 1967. Richard, who is also known as “The King,” won a record 200 NASCAR Cup Series races but Darlington’s tricky corners proved even too much for him for most of his career.
Richard’s victory in the 1967 Rebel 400 at Darlington was the 55th Cup Series win of his career, breaking his dad’s record for most wins. With 145 wins after that, it’s a record he’ll likely hold forever.
Martin, though, found Darlington slightly more tame but still challenging. He won 12 times at the track, tied with Dale Earnhardt for the record. Of Martin’s Darlington wins, two were in the Cup Series (1993, 2009), eight were in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and two were in IROC competitions.
“It’s the most challenging race track, I think, on the circuit,” Martin said. “There are so many things that are hard to control for that long of a distance.”
Martin is deeply appreciative of Darlington’s place in NASCAR history and believes it’s paramount to keep the sport connected to its roots.
“I hope that we never lose touch with what that first race in 1950 meant, and what this facility has meant to the sport, to the fans, and to the competitors,” Martin said. “It’s very important for the NASCAR Hall of Fame to be able to have a display here and show the roots all the way back to the very beginning.”
Even though he won at the track several times, Martin admits he did not tame “The Lady in Black” but said the track was good to him. He called the 1992 Southern 500 “the one that got away.” The race ended early because of rain, relegating Martin to a second-place finish behind Darrell Waltrip because of pit strategy. It proved to be Waltrip’s final win.
The Darlington Raceway 75th Anniversary exhibit features the original sanctioning agreement between the track and NASCAR, Buck Baker’s championship jacket from 1952, Bill Elliott’s $1 million check for winning the Winston Million in 1985, and much more.
NACAR returns to Darlington on April 6 for the Goodyear 400. The race is NASCAR’s “throwback weekend” with practically every car running paint schemes honoring the sport’s past. Petty said it’s something he looks forward to every year.
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