Out of all the crown jewel events in the NASCAR Cup Series, the Southern 500 has a smaller global appeal. However, according Dale Earnhardt Jr, it is the race that most drivers would want to win more than a Brickyard 400. That’s because of its track, the Darlington Raceway. It has been called the toughest track in NASCAR for several years now. Winning there is a clear indication that you’re a highly talented driver. The unique thing about the track is that any car can win there if the driver is good enough.
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These days with technology rapidly advancing, cars are getting better and better. That’s not to say that you don’t need to be a good driver to win races. But on several tracks, if you have a good car, you will be near the front of the pack. That is not the case in Darlington. It takes expert racecraft and a high level of maneuverability to master the decades-old asphalt. Few people have consistently run well at the track and they’re all considered to be greats of the sport.
“It’s the Everest of NASCAR,” Junior said on his podcast. “If you pulled all of the NASCAR drivers, you get to win one, you want to win Darlington, the Southern 500 or you want to win at Indy, the Brickyard 400? I think the majority are going to tell you Darlington and the reason is they know if you win there, it’s like bonafide factual evidence that you’re a talented driver.”
Luck does not play a part at Darlington Raceway, such is the nature of the track. There have been surprise winners at the track but all of them were fantastic race car drivers. It takes a lot out of the drivers to run there and even some of the greats of the sport have not been able to run well on it.
Chase Elliott rues poor Darlington display
One such person is Chase Elliott. The 2022 Cup Series champion is considered by many as one of the best of the current generation but Darlington has been a challenge he hasn’t been able to overcome yet.
He finished P11 in the 2024 Southern 500 and was distraught with how poorly he had run. Thankfully, he won’t have to deal with that in the playoffs that will begin this coming weekend.
“We got a gift to finish where we did, a bunch of gifts but yeah obviously excited to have that one over with and looking forward to getting the playoffs started. These next 10 are…they’re intense so we’re going to have to have myself and our entire Napa team hit the reset button,” he said.
The Southern 500 will be one of the playoff races next season despite several drivers supporting the decision to make it a regular season race this year. Maybe it will be back in the regular season in 2026.
