W
Ward Burton
Guest
When the fastest qualifier for the March 16, 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, the historic 100th NASCAR Winston Cup Series visit to Darlington Raceway, is presented his trophy during pre-race ceremonies, the award will have a different look than in years past. Following a three-week contest and three days of very difficult judging, the track has selected a new design for its pole day trophy. The winning designer is Mark McKellar of Mt. Pleasant, SC. Track staff members expected a good response following the announcement of the track's "Design Darlington Raceway's Pole Day Trophy" contest in January. What they didn't expect was to be overwhelmed. From Rock Hill to Hartsville, Myrtle Beach to Spartanburg, South Carolina residents were not the least bit hesitant to put their ideas and visual impressions of NASCAR's original superspeedway on paper, in graphics files and, in one notable case, in granite, and to submit them for consideration in the contest. Designs ranged from full-scale recreations of the track, complete with flagstand and grandstand seats, to a large number "1" emblazoned with the word "Tamed," a reference to Darlington's famous reputation for being the track "Too Tough To Tame." Several designs incorporated the palmetto, South Carolina's state tree, while others used a more traditional trophy style featuring bronzed driver figures with their arms held high in victory. In the end, judges chose a trophy which reflects Darlington's basic unpretentiousness. McKellar took the track's famous egg shape and literally turned it lengthwise, a vantage point that strongly resembles the letter "D “ for Darlington, of course. Only 12 active drivers have been pole winners at Darlington:. Kurt Busch, Jeremy Mayfield, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, Ward Burton, Ricky Craven, John Andretti, Bill Elliott, Ken Schrader and Sterling Marlin. For his winning design, McKellar “ a Johnny Benson fan “ will receive four tickets to all pole day events at Darlington Raceway through the year 2007; four tickets to the March 16 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway; four admissions to the "Darlington Stripe Zone" fan hospitality area on Sunday, March 16; a guided track tour; and a one-time cash award of $1,000. He will also present the new trophy to its first winner during pre-race ceremonies for the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400.
Benson fans, you can see it has Johnny Benson at the bottom...
Benson fans, you can see it has Johnny Benson at the bottom...
