Darlington, South Carolina is home to one of the oldest tracks in NASCAR. Darlington goes by many names, “The Track Too Tough To Tame,” “The Lady in Black.” The predominant racing line is right up by the wall leaving no room for error. When error inevitably comes and the driver scraps the wall, the mark on the car is referred to as the Darlington stripe.
Darlington is also home to “Throwback Weekend” where today’s current stars pay tribute to the stars of yesterday. Most of the drivers will be racing schemes of legends across all racing worlds. The fan-favorite is NASCAR’s popular driver Chase Elliott sporting the 2014 Dale Earnhardt Jr Daytona 500 winning car.
The History of Darlington
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The history of the legendary track dates back to 1950, built by retired race car driver Harold Brasington. Brasington bought 70 acres from peanut and cotton farmer Sherman Ramsey. Brasington promised Ramsey he would not disturb the minow pound to the west of the property giving Darlington its now famous egg shape tightening the corners in what is now turns three and four.
In 1950 Brasington made a deal with NASCAR founder Bill France to run a 500-mile race on Labor Day weekend and called it “The Southern 500.” The purse for the Inaugural race is $25,000 ($323,995.83 in today’s money). More than 80 cars showed up to qualify and 75 cars made the show to start the first ever Southern 500 which was won by Johnny Matz.
Nascar Hall of Famer David Pearson has the record for most wins at the Track Too Tough To Tame, while seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt has led the most laps with 2648. Current drives do have records of their own to protect, Denny Hamlin has the highest average finish with 7.7 and Kyle Larson has the highest average start with 8.5.
Class of the Field
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So far this year there have been three multiple winning drivers. William Byron led the way with three wins coming at Daytona, Circuit of America, and Martinville. Denny Hamlin won 3 races of his own coming at Richmond, Bristol, and Dover. Lastly, Kyle Larson won two at Las Vegas and last weekend with the closest finish in NASCAR history in Kansas.
There are three (assuming Erik Jones returns after his injury at Talladega) drivers who have won at Darlington multiple times. Erik Jones (2019, 2022) Denny Hamlin (2010, 2017, 2020, 2021), and Martin Truex Jr. ( 2016, 2021). The defending winners in last year’s races are first-time winners William Byron and Kyle Larson.
Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing have been the class of the field and with drivers who have had past success at Darlington, it’s hard to believe that this weekend will be no different. With the two powerhouses race teams winning 10 of the first 12 races and the Fords being a nonfactor for most of the season expect Darlington to be yet another battle of the ages between Hendrick and Gibbs.
The Betting Favorites
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Las Vegas has its favorite. Kyle Larson is the favorite sitting at +400 according to Caesars Sports Book. Denny Hamlin the other favorite sitting at +450. Both would be good bets considering that Larson is a great running wall, and Hamlin has the most wins among active drivers. Truex rolling in at the third favorite at +650 and William Byron and Tyler Reddick at +800 and Christopher Bell at +900.
Now would we be gambling responsibly if we weren’t looking at the long shots? Of course not. Some of the long shots that I find interesting are the young phenom Ty Gibbs at +2500 Alex Bowman who has been consistent and quiet this year so far at +4000 Erik Jones a multi-time winner at Darlington at +5000 and Chase Briscoe who won here in the Xfinity series at +10000.
Now if I were a betting man (which I am not) I would take a chance on a Kyle Busch breaking through for the first win of the year. Busch sitting at +1600 having a quiet year but consistent year sitting 12th in points with 5 top 10s and 2 top 5s. Buch is primed for a breakthrough and being at a track where he’s won at in the past.
About The Author
Dillon Hildreth is a writer for Total Apex and a lifelong fan of Football with my favorite teams being the New England Patriots and the Georgia Bulldogs. Dillon is also a fan of Motorsports Red Bull in Formula One and William Byron in NASCAR. You can catch Dillon Stream F1, NASCAR, and other video games and sidecasts on Twitch.
