DARLINGTON — Three Pee Dee residents with the highest professional credentials are on hand this weekend at the Darlington Raceway in the event somebody needs to be airlifted to a hospital.

DARLINGTON — At age 40, a lot of drivers might start thinking about getting out from behind the wheel. But not Jeff Burton. With the same determination he displayed as a rookie in the Cup series in 1994, Burton is still driving hard.

The Florence School District 1 Board of Trustees received information on several items Thursday evening, including a petition urging a constitutional change to require high-quality schools and public school choice.

An initial call heard over police scanners about an officer down in Florence early Thursday evening turned out to be part of a training exercise.

Brad Keselowski is driving in his first full season for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series. On Thursday, Keselowski sat down with Morning News writer Shawn Singleton to talk about racing and other aspects of his life.

DARLINGTON — All week, the talk heading into Darlington has been how the Lady in Black’s new $10 million surface is going to produce higher speeds and more cautions. Thursday’s practice did nothing to quell such talk.

DARLINGTON — James “Shifty” Shifton is ready for the storm. No, Shifton isn’t one of those storm chasers that goes from city to city chasing down tornadoes. He’s the producer in charge of a 200-plus member crew which broadcasts all 36 Nationwide and 17 Cup races on the ESPN family of networks.

We welcome all the race fans to the Pee Dee and thank them for their support of Darlington Raceway’s Mother’s Day race. It seems that the change has turned out well for the fans and the track.