Distinctive tracks like Darlington squeezed by growth
As Tony Stewart grew up slinging sprint cars around dirt tracks throughout the Midwest, he had one thought, one goal, in mind -- one day racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the famed Indy 500.
But there was another track, hundreds of miles away, that had a certain lure for the open-wheel ace.
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| Darlington remains a special venue for NASCAR's drivers. (AP) |
From the time that Hollywood stuntman and Indy 500 competitor Johnny Mantz won the first race at Darlington in 1950 -- 21 years before Stewart was born -- aspiring racers all over the country have been swept up in the history and allure of Darlington, the egg-shaped track that seems to have a mind of its own.
Four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon has won there more than any active driver, but he admits he has yet to figure out all the mysteries of the famed track.
"It's hard to call Darlington home because that track can just reach out and bite you at any time," he says.
Says Stewart: "When I'm watching TV and I see an old race from Darlington, I'm able to see all of the greats who have run there and won there and crashed out of the joint," Stewart says.
"There's some deep history at that place, and the race fans down there are some of the most dedicated race fans in our series. That makes it really enjoyable to run well and, hopefully, win there."
Though he has run well there, Stewart has never won at the historic track. Like Indy and Daytona, it's a track that all great racers want to eventually conquer, even drivers like Stewart, who hail from an Indy car background.
"As much as we know about the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I think people underestimate how much we know about Darlington and the history of that track, and how hard it is to win races there," Stewart says. "I guess that's why a win at Darlington is something that's really important to me."
Darlington will run its 100th NASCAR race this weekend, but it might be the last spring event there. This will almost certainly be the last year the 53-year-old facility plays host to two Winston Cup races each season.
Like baseball's Fenway Park and Tiger Stadium, Darlington's rich tradition is not enough to keep up with the fast-paced progress of its sport. NASCAR has outgrown historic old Darlington. Despite its charm, it no longer makes sense to run two races a year at one of its oldest and smallest tracks in a market that NASCAR no longer needs.
That's why Darlington will likely lose one of its two Winston Cup dates in NASCAR's realignment plan.
With only about 60,000 seats, Darlington is one of NASCAR's smallest tracks and markets. Even at that, it doesn't always sell out, not even for its crown-jewel event, the prestigious Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend.
It is also nestled in NASCAR's most saturated market, with two other Winston Cup tracks within two hours and three more within four. As a result, few of them sell out anymore. Only Bristol, the half-mile phenomenon that has become NASCAR's hottest ticket, is guaranteed a sellout each year.
So despite all their history and tradition, Darlington and Rockingham, located about 60 miles apart in North and South Carolina, are the two tracks most likely to lose dates next year when NASCAR expands its biggest series toward the West.
Despite the great racing the two tracks produce, it makes little sense to race there twice a year when NASCAR could be holding another race in California, Kansas City, Phoenix or Chicago.
As racers, Stewart, and others, hate to see that happen. Darlington and Rockingham are both unique. And though shaped differently, they are both challenging, high-banked ovals where the racing is almost always exciting.
The Feb. 23 race at Rockingham was NASCAR's most exciting race this year, yet it, too, was likely the last early-season race at that track. That date will also probably go somewhere else next season, likely to a more modern facility that holds more people but doesn't produce the same type of racing.
That, Stewart says, is the downside of NASCAR's planned realignment. Stewart would rather see NASCAR build another Darlington-type track somewhere else instead of going to what drivers call "cookie-cutter" tracks.
"Anything's better than building another mile-and-a-half, D-shaped oval," Stewart says. "We need more Richmonds. We need more Bristols and Martinsvilles and Darlingtons. We need variety in this series. We don't need to keep racing at a mile-and-a-half oval every week for 500 miles. We need to race somewhere different."
It's those mile-and-a-half ovals, though, that lend themselves to more grandstands. And more grandstands mean more people. And more people mean more money, which is what NASCAR's realignment is all about.
That's the flip side of the issue. In exchange for history and tradition, NASCAR must continue to expand its horizons to new areas to continue its explosive growth. Its high-paying sponsors and TV partners are demanding it, and they would much rather race in California or Kansas City than Darlington, S.C.
Gordon, who has six wins at Darlington, including a record four Southern 500s, understands NASCAR's dilemma.
"Obviously with my success at Darlington, I would hate to see one of the Darlington races go off the circuit," he says. "But I've always been a big supporter of seeing the sport grow and going to the next level. You look at the crowd at Rockingham -- and we'll see what it's like this weekend at Darlington -- but there are a couple of tracks in the Southeast that the sport is starting to grow to a point that it would be beneficial to everyone involved, including the fans, if it went to a venue in another part of the country in a bigger market.
"I really don't think that any new track should get more than one date. There are a few more cities out there that we can build some race tracks at that would be great for the sport and pick up new fans. I'd like to see us move into some of those areas. New York City, or near there, would be one of them."
A Darlington, Rockingham or Bristol in New York City would be the best of both worlds.
But until that happens, drivers like Stewart and Gordon will continue to cling to the rich tradition and history of tracks like Darlington. They had better enjoy it while they can, because it may not be around much longer.
