Southern 500 returns to Darlington Raceway next May

By Rusty Ray
WBTW Anchor/Producer
Published: August 13, 2008

Mention “Southern 500” and it conjures up images of Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jeff Gordon sweating it out, along with thousands of race fans, every Labor Day weekend on NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway.
But, after the final running of the Southern 500, in November 2004 at Darlington Raceway, the name went away, and racing returned thereafter to the Lady In Black on Mother’s Day weekend.
The track announced Wednesday that the 2009 race will once again be called the Southern 500.
“The Southern 500 is synonymous with Darlington Raceway,” said track president Chris Browning in a press release. “Combining the tradition of the Southern 500 and Mother’s Day weekend under the lights at Darlington is a real treat for NASCAR fans everywhere.”
NASCAR’s realignment earlier this decade moved the Labor Day date to California, where that race has failed to sell out yet, and Rockingham, just an hour up the road from Darlington, lost its remaining race date.
NASCAR purists and fans feared Darlington would also lose its one and only date—Mother’s Day—which was seen as a doomed time slot.
But the track has sold out every race since 2005, and looks to start a new Southern 500 tradition in 2009.