1950 Southern 500 - Darlington Raceway Photo

While H.W. “Harold” Brassington had plenty of visions about Darlington Raceway when he broke ground on the project in 1949, one sight he couldn’t have possibly imagined was seeing a pick-up truck tour the now 1.366-mile oval at more than 160 miles per hour.

But that’s exactly what fans will see when they settle in for the Darlington 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington on Friday, November 12. “The Track Too Tough To Tame” will serve up some of the best racing of the year as well as provide a historic moment for the tradition-rich Darlington oval – the first-ever night race at the facility.

Brassington’s idea to build a racetrack out on 70 acres of land one mile from downtown Darlington proved to be somewhat of a dark comedy when the project began construction on December 13, 1949. Brassington, a longtime fan of auto racing, was convinced he could build a “superspeedway “ much like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track he first attended a race at in 1933.

Considering stock car racing was primarily contested on dirt, fairgrounds ovals at the time, the idea to build a paved speedway of a mile and a quarter in length seemed folly to many. Along with original partner J. S. Ramsey and later, stockholders Bob Colvin and Barney Wallace, Brassington moved forward with the idea of building the track and staging the first race on September 4, 1950 – Labor Day weekend.

While Brassington had the idea for the track, Ramsey had the land. Ramsey’s only stipulation on the construction of the racing oval was that it didn’t disturb his house and small minnow pond. Brassington obliged and the track took on its unique egg shape during construction with one set of turns (now Turns 3-4) narrower and tighter than those at the other end of the raceway.

With construction well underway, Brassington made a deal with the Central States Racing Association (CSRA) to sanction the first Southern 500. CSRA, an Ohio-based organization, couldn’t deliver enough cars, however, and the inaugural Southern 500 was amended to be co-sanctioned by CSRA and another new stock car racing association – NASCAR. Brassington kept his end of the bargain finishing the then 1.25-mile speedway in time for the Labor Day event. Depending on which reports you believe, the construction costs for the track ranged from $50-250,000.

Qualifying for the first race at Darlington was unlike any other in that each car took eight laps to post an average speed over a 10-mile distance. Additionally, only the Top-5 cars from each day’s qualifying session were guaranteed a spot in the event meaning it took 15 days of qualifying to complete the 75-car starting field. In the end, Curtis Turner won the pole position in an Oldsmobile with an average speed of 82.034 miles per hour.

Interest in the inaugural Southern 500 was high and speedway officials had to open the track’s infield to allow early arriving fans to camp overnight. With a full grandstand and an estimated crowd of 18,000 fans on hand the following day, the beginning of the 1950 Southern 500 saw 12 different makes of cars take the green flag in a three-abreast start, all vying for the lion’s share of the $25,225 posted purse.

Goober Sosebee led the first four laps from his outside front row starting position before Turner, Cotton Owens and Myron Florian all took turns leading the field. Eventually, Jack Smith took control of the race and was leading when he flipped his Olds on Lap 346 giving the lead to Johnny Mantz.

Mantz was the slowest qualifier of the 75 cars who started the race but stayed in contention as the leaders experienced mechanical failures and crashes. Tire wear proved to be critical as the new Darlington surface shredded tires to the point teams were taking tires off passenger cars in the infield to get them through the race.

Mantz, meanwhile, had put harder truck tires on his six-cylinder Plymouth two-door sedan and never pushed his car past the limit saving his rubber throughout the race. After 6 hours, 36-minutes, 40.26 seconds, Mantz rolled his underpowered Plymouth past the checkered flag to score a most improbable win in NASCAR’s first-ever superspeedway race – the 1950 Southern 500.

Mantz won by more than nine laps over Fireball Roberts, Red Byron, Bill Rexford and Chuck Mahoney. The race was slowed only twice for cautions totaling 13 laps and Mantz posted a winning average speed of 75.250 mph.

From that day on, Darlington was a staple on the schedule hosting two NASCAR premiere division events each year since 1952. That is until this year when the facility was cut back to one NASCAR Nextel Cup event. Additionally, the Southern 500, a Labor Day icon and one of NASCAR’s most enduring events, lost its traditional early September date to California Speedway. This year’s Southern 500 will be contested on Sunday, November 14.

Dubbed “The Lady In Black” and “The Track Too Tough To Tame” by all who have raced on it, Darlington has always been one track every driver would like to win on. Darlington is also a track that everyone who has ever raced at or attended an event there points to with a sense of pride and accomplishment. It’s stock car racing’s Wrigley Field, Madison Square Garden and Lambeau Field all rolled into one.

Over the years, there have been a number of changes to the track at Darlington. Multiple resurfacings over the years grew the track to its current 1.366-mile length. In 1997, the track “flipped” with the backstretch becoming the current frontstretch. Today, Turns 1-2 feature 25-degree banking while Turns 3-4, the narrowest part of the racetrack at just 62 feet, are banked at 23 degrees.

In 2001, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series made its debut at Darlington. Jack Sprague won the pole for the inaugural Darlington 200 piloting his Chevrolet Silverado to an speed of 162.878 mph, nearly double that of Curtis Turner’s pole- winning effort for the 1950 Southern 500.

Bobby Hamilton won the race, the sixth event of the 2001 NCTS season, in a Dodge. Hamilton earned the victory when he passed Sprague for the lead late in the race. He then waited out a rain delay of more than an hour that red-flagged the race after 129 circuits. The race was eventually restarted under yellow flag conditions, but never went green again as rain continued to plague the event. At the finish, it was Hamilton, who led a whopping 125 of the 135 laps contested, followed by Ken Schrader, Scott Riggs, Rick Crawford and Joe Ruttman.

2002 Craftsman Anniversary 200 winner Ted Musgrave (left) celebrates with Team Owner Jim Smith in Darlington Raceway’s victory lane. - High Sierra Photo

Ted Musgrave added his name to the Darlington record books when he won the 2002 Craftsman 200 NCTS event at Darlington. Cold and blustery conditions greeted the 36 starters in the March 15 race, but Musgrave proved to be red hot taking the lead from Hamilton on Lap 135. Musgrave then cruised the final 12 laps to earn the victory with Robert Pressley, Mike Bliss, Kevin Harvick and Crawford completing the Top-5 finishers. Last year, Hamilton returned the favor passing Musgrave with 10 laps to go to win the Craftsman 200. Brendan Gaughan, Travis Kvapil and Chad Chaffin rounded out the Top-5.

As mentioned, this year’s Darlington 200 will mark the first time a night race has been held at the famed facility. This event will be an action packed affair, a trademark of all the races at Darlington, and a must see for any race fan who values the history of the track and the sport.

Unfortunately, the Darlington 200 might also mark a final appearance for the Truck Series at Darlington as the track is not on the division’s 2005 schedule of events. That said, you won’t want to miss this year’s Darlington 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Darlington Raceway.

Qualifying for the event is set for Thursday, November 11 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time with Happy Hour to follow from 6:45-7:30 p.m. that evening.

The 147-lap Darlington 200 will take the green flag at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, Friday, November 12. Tickets for the race are still available and will also be sold on a walk-up basis at the track the day of the event. The Darlington 200 will be telecast live on SPEED and will be broadcast worldwide on MRN Radio.