Track will recognize specific moments in each decade of the sport’s storied history
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA (December 14, 2017) – In year four of its award-winning throwback platform, Darlington Raceway will be celebrating “Seven Decades of NASCAR” for its 2018 campaign.
The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR will be celebrated during the track’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500® and NASCAR XFINITY Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 weekend on Aug. 31-Sept. 2.
Today, December 14, marks NASCAR’s 70th birthday, as the first meeting at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Fla., took place on this day in 1947, a meeting that eventually led to the official formation of NASCAR on Feb. 21, 1948.
Throwback weekend will honor specific moments in each decade of the sport’s storied history, many of which occurred at Darlington Raceway. Recognizing many special iconic memories in NASCAR over the past 70 years will give industry stakeholders and fans an opportunity to honor the sport in a variety of different ways.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for Darlington Raceway and the NASCAR industry to celebrate the sport over a seven decade period during our 2018 throwback weekend,” Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp said. “We have been era specific the past three years, so we felt it was important to recognize the 70th anniversary of NASCAR with our ‘Seven Decades of NASCAR’ celebration next season and give the teams, sanctioning body and others a wider brush to paint a picture capturing memorable moments we might not have celebrated in year’s past.”
In tribute to the 70-year history of NASCAR, Darlington Raceway will focus on iconic occasions that occurred in the sport, many of which took place at the track Too Tough To Tame, including Ned Jarrett’s record-setting 14-lap victory in the 1965 Bojangles’ Southern 500, Ricky Craven’s record-setting photo finish over Kurt Busch in 2003, and Jimmie Johnson’s 2012 Bojangles’ Southern 500 win, which gave team owner Rick Hendrick his 200th career victory, among others.
For the fourth straight year, Darlington Raceway is also excited to announce it will once again highlight its rich history with a commemorative ticket design for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 linking the past, present and future.
“We have produced commemorative tickets for our fans every year of the throwback program, which is an important part of our platform,” said Tharp. “We appreciate how much the fans have supported Darlington Raceway and want them to walk away from our weekend with a special keepsake that recognizes our rich history and honors the stars of our sport.”
Just in time for the holidays, Darlington Raceway has also started the ticket renewal process with fans receiving an e-mail communication to renew their tickets and campsites early with the ability to print a gift letter when they renew.
Paper ticket renewals will be mailed in early February, but fans may log in to their accounts now to receive exclusive renewal benefits. Renewing tickets early guarantees seats at the track’s best value prior to the opening of all remaining seats to the general public on March 28.
Renewing fans receive many great benefits for being a loyal customer for Labor Day weekend.
Renewal benefits include:
- The track’s best value of the season for the Bojangles’ Southern 500® and Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200
- Convenient four-part payment plan
- One free admission to the Darlington Raceway Museum ($7.50 value)
- One free Lionel RCCA (Racing Collectables Club of America) Membership ($19.95 value)
- First 1,000 accounts renewed receive a 1/64th scale Darlington diecast ($8.99 value)
- All renewal accounts are entered into a random drawing for a chance to attend the 4th annual Bojangles’ Legends Breakfast on Sunday, September 2, 2018
- Special renewal pricing for Darlington Stripe Zone Hospitality ($30 savings)
- Special renewal pricing for all-inclusive driver intros, pre-race concert and pre-race pit road access ($15 savings)
- Special renewal pricing for an exclusive “Untamed Access” race day experience ($10 savings)
- Special renewal pricing for FanVision rentals ($20 savings)
- Special renewal pricing for Racing Electronics scanner rental ($10 savings)
- Fans can create custom “Weekend Ticket Packages” (Practice, NXS & MENCS) that range from only $55-$124 per Adult and $20-$64 per Youth 12 & Under based on grandstand locations
- Guests may renew their tickets and campsites by calling 866-459-RACE (7223) or visiting www.DarlingtonRaceway.com/renewals. The renewal deadline is Friday, March 9.
The Tradition Continues on Labor Day weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500® is set for Sunday, Sept. 2, 2018. The NASCAR XFINITY Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 will race on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. You can keep up with all of the latest news from Darlington Raceway at DarlingtonRaceway.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DarlingtonRaceway and on Twitter at Twitter.com/TooToughToTame.
