Post by dalejrfan on Jan 15, 2006 1:58:01 GMT -5
DARLINGTON, S.C. – For the first time in a long while, Darlington Raceway president Chris Browning can exhale.
Browning and track officials have held their collective breath for the past few years, listening to whispers about when the Nextel Cup's next visit to "The Track Too Tough To Tame" would be its last.
But with construction equipment setting the foundation for 3,000 new seats and ticket sales already 8,000 ahead of this time last year, Browning says it's finally nice to talk of Darlington's future without hedging about bad news around the corner.
"For the near future, I'm very confident and very comfortable about Darlington's position" on the Nextel Cup schedule, Browning said Wednesday.
The most concrete evidence of that came when Darlington officials were in New York last month for NASCAR's lavish awards banquet, the questions they got were about upgrades and not "when are you going to close the track?" Browning said, smiling.
It's been a dicey time for NASCAR's oldest superspeedway.
In the past two years, it has gone from housing one of the sport's crown jewels, the Southern 500, to a single-stop venue saddled with a challenging Mother's Day weekend night race.
Instead of sulking, Darlington's leaders made sure its one weekend would standout in the minds of drivers, race fans and, perhaps most importantly, officials at track owner International Speedway Corp.
The Saturday night race sold out in advance and was an unqualified success for those at the track and people watching on TV. The showcase got Browning a green light to add 3,000 seats that will be ready for Darlington's Dodge Charger 500 on May 13.
If the pace of ticket sales continue, Darlington should have a sellout even earlier than last May. That race, won by Greg Biffle, was out of tickets the Sunday before.
"We're looking at something better this time," Browning said.
Since its first NASCAR race in 1950, Darlington has been a touchstone for racing. It held two races a season each year from 1960 through 2004.
"If it wasn't for this race track, the sport wouldn't look like it does today," Browning told a group of students from Fayetteville (N.C.) Christian School.
School officials donated a set of original tickets from Darlington's first year of 1950 to the track's museum. A similar set of three – it also included Darlington's only motorcycle race – was given to the Smithsonian Museum of American History in November.
Despite the dark months without racing since last May, Darlington has seen a fervor for tickets unlike anything in recent memory.
"People know if they want to watch something here, they've got only one alternative now," Darlington spokeswoman Cathy Elliott said.
Also, Darlington has found ways to keep itself in the minds of race fans. Besides the construction, the track has put up a kart track alongside that should begin weekend races this summer, Browning said.
Last August, the track was site of the finals of Jack Roush's new driver competition, "Roush Racing Driver X," currently showing on the Discovery Channel. The winner, whose identity will be revealed sometime before Daytona's Speedweeks next month, gets a seat in a Roush Craftsman Truck for the upcoming season.
Erik Darnell, a 22-year-old "Driver X" competitor from Beach Park, Ill., says he's glad to see the old track add lights, seats and improve in other areas so young drivers like him can experience it for years to come.
"You watch the NASCAR races growing up, watch Dale Earnhardt go around this place and hear about ‘The Lady in Black,' " Darnell said. "It's some place you want to come and race."
Browning and track officials have held their collective breath for the past few years, listening to whispers about when the Nextel Cup's next visit to "The Track Too Tough To Tame" would be its last.
But with construction equipment setting the foundation for 3,000 new seats and ticket sales already 8,000 ahead of this time last year, Browning says it's finally nice to talk of Darlington's future without hedging about bad news around the corner.
"For the near future, I'm very confident and very comfortable about Darlington's position" on the Nextel Cup schedule, Browning said Wednesday.
The most concrete evidence of that came when Darlington officials were in New York last month for NASCAR's lavish awards banquet, the questions they got were about upgrades and not "when are you going to close the track?" Browning said, smiling.
It's been a dicey time for NASCAR's oldest superspeedway.
In the past two years, it has gone from housing one of the sport's crown jewels, the Southern 500, to a single-stop venue saddled with a challenging Mother's Day weekend night race.
Instead of sulking, Darlington's leaders made sure its one weekend would standout in the minds of drivers, race fans and, perhaps most importantly, officials at track owner International Speedway Corp.
The Saturday night race sold out in advance and was an unqualified success for those at the track and people watching on TV. The showcase got Browning a green light to add 3,000 seats that will be ready for Darlington's Dodge Charger 500 on May 13.
If the pace of ticket sales continue, Darlington should have a sellout even earlier than last May. That race, won by Greg Biffle, was out of tickets the Sunday before.
"We're looking at something better this time," Browning said.
Since its first NASCAR race in 1950, Darlington has been a touchstone for racing. It held two races a season each year from 1960 through 2004.
"If it wasn't for this race track, the sport wouldn't look like it does today," Browning told a group of students from Fayetteville (N.C.) Christian School.
School officials donated a set of original tickets from Darlington's first year of 1950 to the track's museum. A similar set of three – it also included Darlington's only motorcycle race – was given to the Smithsonian Museum of American History in November.
Despite the dark months without racing since last May, Darlington has seen a fervor for tickets unlike anything in recent memory.
"People know if they want to watch something here, they've got only one alternative now," Darlington spokeswoman Cathy Elliott said.
Also, Darlington has found ways to keep itself in the minds of race fans. Besides the construction, the track has put up a kart track alongside that should begin weekend races this summer, Browning said.
Last August, the track was site of the finals of Jack Roush's new driver competition, "Roush Racing Driver X," currently showing on the Discovery Channel. The winner, whose identity will be revealed sometime before Daytona's Speedweeks next month, gets a seat in a Roush Craftsman Truck for the upcoming season.
Erik Darnell, a 22-year-old "Driver X" competitor from Beach Park, Ill., says he's glad to see the old track add lights, seats and improve in other areas so young drivers like him can experience it for years to come.
"You watch the NASCAR races growing up, watch Dale Earnhardt go around this place and hear about ‘The Lady in Black,' " Darnell said. "It's some place you want to come and race."