Before there was the hype of Daytona or the cult following that is Bristol there was Darlington.Built to rival the Indianapolis 500, Darlington's unique design and shape made it more than just a race track...it made it history.
Darlington is street cars plowing around on the black asphalt with the sand and dust particles flying up. Darlington is convertibles with the taped up roll cages flying around at nearly 150 mph. Darlington is crew members getting tires off the cars parked in the infield just to finish the race
Darlington is Richard Petty flipping down the front stretch with his arms flying out the driver side window. Darlington is the birth place of "Million Dollar" Bill Elliott. Darlington is history; Darlington is The Lady In Black; but more importantly it's "Too Tough To Tame"
For 60 years drivers have chased the track rather than chased the other drivers. Its shape and size force drivers to respect their surroundings more so than their competitors. Make a mistake here and she will bite you.
It's what makes "The Lady in Black" so special and so challenging. More importantly it's why winning here rivals winning anywhere else. It's the Fenway Park and in some ways the Augusta National of NASCAR.
Win here and you've accomplished something. Win here and you are apart of history.
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