|
|
 |
 |
  |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Sunday Scene Infield residents proclaim Darlington a treasured gem
By Lee Geeker, CNNSI.com DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Darlington. The name is synonymous with NASCAR and its upbringings in the rural South. One of the circuit's oldest tracks, the egg-shaped oval in northeastern South Carolina has played host to NASCAR events since 1950. However, with NASCAR's popularity booming and new tracks being added to the schedule each year, it becomes increasingly likely that some places may lose a race, Darlington among them. Most diehard NASCAR fans agree though, that the possibility of not racing twice a year at Darlington is almost unthinkable. "I'm a traditionalist. I'd hate to see it happen," says Richard Johnson, who traveled from Logan, Ohio, to spend the weekend camped out in the infield. "There's a lot of history here."
Johnson's sentiment is echoed throughout the infield area, where RV’s line the length of the backstretch, full of fans enjoying a weekend away from it all. "It's a break away from all the monotony," says David Hughes, who traveled from Fayetteville, N.C., with his friends Joel Bittner and Darren Dennis to enjoy the race weekend. "We’ve been coming every spring for seven years," comments Bittner. "The people around here we see every year. They're our friends, our neighbors." Bringing an RV and spending the weekend in the infield is part of the Darlington tradition that makes it so special. Plenty of tracks offer the possibility, but for the people at Darlington, this is one of the best. "There's no trouble here," says Johnson. "Last night, we had about 30 people over here. Everybody was singing, having a good time. "It’s not full of obnoxious drunks." Fans Charlie Boykin and Danny Morris from nearby Sumter, S.C., were working the grill outside their camper at 9 a.m. Sunday morning. "It's real good," says Boykin. "We eat and watch the races and play horseshoes all weekend." The community in the infield agrees the racing at Darlington is among the best in NASCAR. Get rid of a road course, they suggest. Or stop building the flat tracks that have become all the rage in recent years. Whatever NASCAR does, it should not leave Darlington, they all agree. "It would be an injustice," argues Hughes. "This is one of the gems of NASCAR. Why would you take it away?"
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
