Racing 501 miles over 367 laps at the unusually egg-shaped Darlington Raceway is not an easy task to do. The Southern 500 is rightly honored as one of the crown jewel races in the NASCAR Cup Series for its daunting demand. Over the past 74 years, only the best among the best have managed to win this event. This begs the question, what makes it such a pressing endeavor?
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The inaugural Southern 500 was held in 1950. Johnny Mantz piloted a dead-slow Plymouth that was on truck wheels and still won the race after a masterclass display of endurance. The meaningfulness of his feat and that of the other drivers who won the race after him are amplified through the recent words of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 driver Martin Truex Jr.
He told the press, “The challenge is that it’s a long race, a lot of pit stops, and a lot of chances for things to go wrong. Track position is obviously really important.” Cars eat up roughly 13 sets of tires before reaching the checkered flag. Managing the time taken in the pits while maintaining track position is something that requires a very detailed and well-put-together strategy.
Hendrick Motorsports is the one team that has mastered the event and won it on twelve occasions. Team legend Jeff Gordon is responsible for six of those victories and is the most successful Southern 500 entrant in all history. But not every driver and outfit is worthy of this distinction.
The treacherous nature of the 1.36-mile Darlington Raceway adds to the challenge. Drivers of every racing generation have breathed a sigh of relief when the race has been crossed on the schedule. The iconic motorsports journalist Bob Myers described the track as a “heavenly bit of hell” in 1977. The words remain apt to this day. Drivers might not always enjoy it but racing purists sure do.
Truex Jr. says of the track’s technicality, “It’s a track that is really fast but the two ends of the track are completely different, which makes the crew chiefs scratch their heads. It’s hard to get your car working right on both ends, so you have to compromise. It’s never going to be perfect.” The 43-year-old himself won the 2016 Southern 500 and mentions Darlington as one of his favorites.
This being his final full-time season in the Cup Series, he hopes to add another Johnny Mantz trophy to his collection. Moreover, his spot in the playoffs completely depends on his performance in this weekend’s race, which will be the 75th edition of the Southern 500. He currently sits 58 points above the elimination line battling for one of the remaining three playoff spots.
