Southern 500 Darlington Speedway

StandOnIt

StandOnIt

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37 Cup entries for Darlington: 15-Grala 16-vanGisbergen 66-THill
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This is my favorite track. The egg shape or difference between 1,2 & 3,4 is incredibile. The Darlington stripe, the speed, the lady in black that almost never forgives.
The tire wear the comers and goers.
Watching a car with a good set up just eat going through turns one and two.

As long as it isn't a caution fest it will be great.
 
I love Darlington! In person, I wasn’t a big fan of the facility. Seemed a but rundown and the large amount of stairs was a lot to handle for my Dad to handle. If there’s an elevator like Kansas has, we missed it.

But the racing is almost always exciting! And I wont have to worry about my pick-em guy going from 1st to 31st in a matter if a few laps, mainly because he won’t be anywhere near the lead.
 

Goodyear Fast Facts: Darlington​

NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 26 – 367 laps / 501 miles Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile oval) – Darlington, S.C.
Fast Facts for August 31-September 1, 2024

Tire: Goodyear Eagle 18-inch Speedway Radials

Set limits: Cup: 1 set for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 13 sets for the race (12 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying)

Tire Codes: Left-side — D-5184; Right-side — D-5222

Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,263 mm (89.09 in.); Right-side — 2,277 mm (89.65 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 20 psi; Left Rear – 22 psi; Right Front — 48 psi; Right Rear — 44 psi

Storyline – Darlington’s abrasive nature leads to a busy pit road: Darlington’s track surface is probably the most abrasive on the NASCAR Cup circuit, wearing tires to the point of nearly three seconds of lap-time fall-off over anything approaching a full fuel run. With 13 sets of tires for the 367-lap race, teams will likely have to manage their tires to make them last, having to go an average of 28.23 laps per set if they use all their sets. Fresh tires are so important — if a team takes on a set and a caution comes out just a handful of laps later, they will likely pit again. That keeps the teams’ pit crews on their toes, and makes them a critical part of the event with four-tire stops all race. From the driver’s seat, tire management will be a major factor. Drivers that are easier on their tires early in a run will have their lap times fall off less rapidly, thus gaining relative to the field. That, of course, leads to more passing on the track.

“Darlington is well known as high wear race track,” said Greg Stucker Goodyear’s director of racing. “Drivers and teams need to manage both their tire wear and how they use their 13 race sets. With significant fall-off after just a few laps, reaching three seconds over a longer run, tire management is something a driver can do to positively impact the race. Tire wear and fall-off lead to more ‘comers’ and ‘goers’ amongst the drivers, with an emphasis on being faster later in a run. With teams taking four tires on every stop, pit crews will also play a key part in the race, with quick and efficient pit stops helping gain spots on pit road.”

Notes – Cup cars on spring tire set-up at Darlington: Being on 18-inch bead diameter tires, NASCAR Cup teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Xfinity Series at Darlington this weekend . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that these teams ran at Darlington and on the Charlotte oval in May . . . this right-side tire code is the most popular in the 2024 Goodyear tire lineup, being run at seven different tracks in 2024 – Las Vegas, Kansas, Charlotte, Nashville, Pocono and Homestead, in addition to Darlington . . . with this 18-inch tire, and its lower profile sidewall, NASCAR Cup cars do not run inner liners in any of their tires.
 
Petty's worst crash (I think) from the 1970 Rebel 400, why they have window nets.



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Greg said:
Petty's worst crash (I think) from the 1970 Rebel 400, why they have window nets.



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Worst crash I can recall seeing there during the classic era. People don’t really appreciate how blessed we are as NASCAR fans to still have King Richard with us. He still gets to the track a lot, signs autographs for everyone, puts in lots of time promoting the sport at a senior age. He was TOUGH…that was a horrible impact into solid concrete. He’s lucky he didn’t lose his arm in the aftermath.
 
Conover said:
Worst crash I can recall seeing there during the classic era. People don’t really appreciate how blessed we are as NASCAR fans to still have King Richard with us. He still gets to the track a lot, signs autographs for everyone, puts in lots of time promoting the sport at a senior age. He was TOUGH…that was a horrible impact into solid concrete. He’s lucky he didn’t lose his arm in the aftermath.
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The best ambassador Nascar has or ever will have.
 
Brentford said:
If there’s an elevator like Kansas has, we missed it.
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For the benefit of others,

My father had mobility issues. There's an elevator for Pearson Tower, at the end closest to the exit of turn 4. There may be others; call the track for information. Handicapped parking used to be outside turn 3, and the shuttle service used to be darn good! It's been a while since we used it, so it may have been moved.
 
Brentford said:
In person, I wasn’t a big fan of the facility. Seemed a but rundown ...
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No, no; that's called 'old school charm'! :mad: Y'all ain't from 'round heah, bless your heart...

Seriously, note the near-complete lack of luxury suites. If sponsors invite you to a race at Darlington, you're going to know you've been to a race. Along with the C600, the summer bookend races are probably the most physically demanding for the fans in the stands.

Also, the swampy area between the front stretch and the southern parking lot is some of the best birdwatching on the series. ;)
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
The Southern 500 is at or near the top of my racing bucket list. I’ve always wanted to go to Darlington
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Sit in Brasington for the spring race, Pearson for the 500. Florence is closest but there's a lot more to do and eat in Columbia, barely an hour to the west on I-20. If camping, Lee State Park is barely 20 minutes away, also west on I-20.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Sit in Brasington for the spring race, Pearson for the 500. Florence is closest but there's a lot more to do and eat in Columbia, barely an hour to the west on I-20. If camping, Lee State Park is barely 20 minutes away, also west on I-20.
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Columbia, South Carolina is where University of South Carolina is? If so, thanks for the tip. Trying to make it to the Indy 500 next year but if it falls through again, this one might be it
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
Columbia, South Carolina is where University of South Carolina is?
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Yep, although the university is buried in the center of town. For easier access to the track, look for something on the northeast side of town. If you're making a longer weekend of it, Riverbanks Zoo and Congaree National Park are the popular sites

For those who are ex-military and have access to guest housing, Ft. Jackson and Shaw AFB may be options. Myrtle Beach is just over 90 minutes east (double lane but mostly NOT controlled access) for those who want to combine a beach visit with the race.
 
Was an annual tradition when I lived in SC, definitely bummed we're unable to go down for this one. Darlington is one hell of a beast, so narrow and a complete cheese grater on the tires. Seeing Erik Jones hold off Denny a few years ago was one of the best performances I've ever seen.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Regan Smith holding off the field on old tires, something that was as close to impossible as I've seen at a race.
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One of the biggest upsets in the history of NASCAR. 2011 was filled with upsets, and my favorite driver won the championship after a pedestrian regular season. A very memorable season, saw the finale live on stream.
 
I’ll jump on the Darlington bandwagon for best joint to watch a race. You have the history, the summer heat, the “classy” race fans, and the beast of a track that eats tires and sends the drivers into the wall just for kicks. Watching those cars drive through 3 & 4 and down the front stretch is one of the “greatest spectacles in racing.”
You got to have good racing blood (and youth helps too) to attend the Southern 500!
 
Greg said:
This is my favorite track. The egg shape or difference between 1,2 & 3,4 is incredibile. The Darlington stripe, the speed, the lady in black that almost never forgives.
The tire wear the comers and goers.
Watching a car with a good set up just eat going through turns one and two.

As long as it isn't a caution fest it will be great.
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I'll take Harrison. Recent form looks good
 
DIDIT said:
I’ll jump on the Darlington bandwagon for best joint to watch a race. You have the history, the summer heat, the “classy” race fans, and the beast of a track that eats tires and sends the drivers into the wall just for kicks. Watching those cars drive through 3 & 4 and down the front stretch is one of the “greatest spectacles in racing.”
You got to have good racing blood (and youth helps too) to attend the Southern 500!
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I do love when you can take your ear plugs out on a long green flag run because the fall off has taken such a toll that the cars are noticeably less audible. Florence Speedway right down the road is a great little short track as well to watch a race
 
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